Flourless Chocolate Orange Cake

Hehe, another decadent chocolate cake to add to the archives. This one has the benefit of being both extremely moist and rich, but also flourless and, thus, suitable for those avoiding wheat flour or the gluten intolerant. I made this for my mum's birthday last week, knowing that amongst the crowd who would eat it would be three men who are not overly fond of sweet food, and a group of women who love moist cakes with lashings of thick cream. I thought this would fit the bill perfectly.
I should explain why this cake suits those who don't usually like sweets; the oranges which make up the bulk of the cake are boiled whole (yes, unpeeled) for 2 hours until really soft, and then whizzed in the food processor - skin, pith and all until a mush is formed. The inclusion of the skin and pith creates a cake that is not too sweet in flavour, and yet without a trace of the bitterness you get with uncooked orange peel. This recipe is middle-eastern in origin and there doesn't seem to be a cookbook or trendy cafe around nowdays which doesn't include it. I have it in both Stephanie Alexander's Cook's Companion and Nigella Lawson's How To Eat, and both credit Claudia Roden for the first published recipe of it.
The cake is given its structural integrity by adding ground almonds and eggs, and sweetened with some sugar. All thrown in the food processor. Basically it's the easiest cake you can make, and yet one of the most impressive. It has the taste and texture of a cake doused in syrup, without the tediousness of doing so, and without the excessive sweetness that involves. It's both wet and light, and keeps for ages without going stale.
But I haven't yet mentioned the chocolate inclusion, have I? I've only ever seen this as an orange cake. To add chocolate sounds so very wrong, but in Nigella's Feast she includes a version to which she adds a hefty dose of good cocoa powder. Australians who have ever tasted a Jaffa, or Brits who like a good Terry's dark chocolate orange, this is a very posh version of that taste. Surpringly (for me) it works better than I expected; neither flavour is overpowering, rather they complement each other really well.
I know that adding a decadent chocolate ganache to such a cake is the antithesis of what it should be, as it derives from the Jewish period of Passover when dairy products are not consumed. I did worry that it would be overkill on such a moist cake, but it worked SO very well. It made the cake look a bit more special and glam, and the icing gave a textural change that, I think, was welcomed. I made sure I stuck with bittersweet chocolate so as not to create new flavours, and hope I haven't offended any people who firmly believe such a cake shouldn't be iced, but I do think I've discovered a wonderful new food pairing!
I think this was a very popular cake. Everyone seemed to really enjoy it and were fascinated by the concept of adding whole, pureed oranges without making it taste horrible. The best indicator for me, though, was seeing the men enjoy it as much as the women!
Read on for the recipe:

Flourless Chocolate Orange Cake
Inspired by both Claudia Roden & Nigella Lawson
Unpeeled oranges (or other orangey citrus) to the weight of approx 375g
6 eggs
1 heaped teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
200g ground almonds
150g caster sugar
50g Dutch cocoa
Ganache:
200g dark chocolate
200ml cream
-Put the whole, unpeeled oranges in a saucepan with cold water to cover and bring to the boil. Cover with a lid and cook for 2 hours or until soft. -Drain, and when cool, cut the oranges in quarters and remove any big pips.
Place everything - peel, pith and all - in a food processor.
-Cool the fruit before proceeding with the next step. Often it's best to complete the cooking of the fruit the day before.
-Preheat oven to 180C and line a 20cm springform (or standard) tin. Lining it is very important, if you want to remove your cake later; a double layer of paper is a good idea.
-Add the eggs, baking powder, bicarb, almonds, sugar and cocoa to the oranges in the food processor. Process until you have what looks like a cake mixture with a few knobbly bits of pureed orange.
-Pour and scrape into the cake tin and bake for an hour, by which time a skewer should emerge fairly clean. Start checking after 45 minutes, as you may have to cover with foil to stop the surface burning. It may take up to 1 1/2 hours to cook through, depending on your oven.
-Leave the cake to cool in its tin and remove when cold.
-To make the ganache, heat the cream in a heavy saucepan and add the chocolate off the heat. Mix until combined, then whisk until the mixture cools and becomes thick and glossy, ~5-10 minutes, and apply with a spatula or cake knife. Decorate with pieces of orange peel if you so desire.

32 Comments:
Looks great as always niki :)
By
eat stuff, at 7/15/2005 06:25:00 pm
What a delicious idea! Chocolate and orange is a great idea, and the icing is always the best part! =)
By
Helen (AugustusGloop), at 7/15/2005 07:18:00 pm
wow this looks absolutely decadent!
By
Anonymous, at 7/16/2005 12:16:00 am
You purveyor of sinful delights you! This is something I would like to try. I'm always on the lookout for recipes of flourless cakes.
By
Anonymous, at 7/16/2005 12:37:00 am
Oh, Niki...I can't remember the last time I saw such a gorgeous cake. I love how dense it is...flourless cakes are fantastic, and yours is clearly the cream of the crop! Or should I say, orchard??
By
Stephanie, at 7/16/2005 02:20:00 am
Niki, that cake is inappropriately delicious looking. And yet I can't take my eyes off it...
By
Nic, at 7/16/2005 03:18:00 am
Chocolate and orange is a fabulous combination and who could say no to a ganache - the ganache is the best bit!
Didn't you love how Nigella devoted An Entire Chapter of Feast to chocolate cakes?
By
plum, at 7/16/2005 10:18:00 pm
Niki - I made this cake yesterday having seen it on your blog, and it was absolutely delicious! Really lovely. My Dad is wheat intolerent and I'm sure it's one of the best cakes he's ever had since he went wheat-free. I should have let the ganache cool much more before pouring it on, but I'll know for next time. Thanks for a great recipe.
By
FactoBrunt, at 7/17/2005 08:30:00 pm
Hi Niki, your photos of this cake look so delicious! I swooned so much when I saw them that I nearly fell off my chair!
By
Kelly, at 7/18/2005 11:29:00 am
Clare - merci beaucoup!
AG - I love icing, and this one is great as it's not too sweet. But nice and thick.
Gwenda - Yes, it was!
Karen - Flourless cakes taste so decadent for the little effort they take to make. I encourage you to try this one; I think it's a great recipe.
Staphnie- Why, thank you! Yes, very dense and dark, but surprisingly light as well.
Nic - My photos really surprise me sometimes. The ones I think aren't going to turn out well are often the best.
Plum - Chocolate and orange is such a British flavour for me. I'm not sure why I think of that. Must be those Terry's choc orange ads.
I think Nigella was bowing to reader pressure with her whole chapter of chocolate cake recipes; especially as she doesn't have a sweet tooth or enjoy chocolate very much!
Factobrunt - I had a look at your entry, and I'm so glad you made it AND that your dad enjoyed it. It's no fun having to avoid wheat (I'm having to cut down on it at the moment too, for medical reasons) so a recipe like this can make you feel a bit better about the world.
Briskjj - Don't hurt yourself there! Seriously, thanks so much.
By
Niki, at 7/18/2005 05:43:00 pm
This is the most fabulous sounding cake I have heard of you tempt me to bake cake nearly every week.
By
Amanda, at 7/19/2005 09:42:00 pm
How interesting...here I am performing a search online for a decadent chocolate orange cake recipe, and I find a delightful one from another musician/librarian!
By
misti, at 3/26/2006 03:58:00 pm
Made this cake yesterday for a friend's 30th and he loved it! Going to make a plain orange or lemon cake and top it with white chocolate ganache. Thanks for sharing!
By
Anonymous, at 5/17/2006 10:03:00 pm
I love an orange and chocolate combo but have not found a recipe that balances both flavours well, until this fabulous cake! It's amazing how the orange flavour comes through despite all that chocolate. It's moist and light as well, and so easy to make. Thanks you for a lovely recipe - this is now my favourite cake.
By
Anonymous, at 7/10/2006 12:14:00 pm
Oh yummm!! This looks awesome!
I also like the orange-chocolate combination and found the orange boiling technique quite interesting!!
It must be a nice and flavorfull cake!
Ana
By
Ana, at 9/02/2006 05:00:00 am
This sounds fantastic! I wonder, however, if anyone has a suggestion on replacing the almonds; I am considering making this for someone with a nut allergy. It's also going on the list for my Celiac father. He will love this.
By
Anonymous, at 11/12/2006 06:09:00 am
This is very easy and delicious, I wanted to make it a little bigger (10' cheese cake pan) so I put seven eggs and 250g of ground almonds and about 75 g of cocoa, 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder and kept the baking soda at 1/2 tsp (full). I put the icing in a bowl (bought a can)because my husband said not to ice it but I thought I'd give a choice. Worked out perfectly.
This would make an excellent Passover cake, by separating the eggs (include the stiffly beaten whites at the end) instead of the baking powder / baking soda. Instead of icing put some seasonal fruit on top.
I give it 5 * for easiness, taste, looks, and it's low fat as well!
By
Unknown, at 2/25/2007 05:07:00 am
sylvia
Can anyone tell me how low fat this is in grams
By
Anonymous, at 2/25/2007 08:01:00 am
In January I visited the Julaymba Restaurant in Daintree, Australia. They had the most delicious flourless chocolate cake I have ever tasted. Is there someone out there who would have their recipe. I would be forever grateful.
Yours truly
dorothy.salomon@gmail.com
By
Unknown, at 3/05/2007 07:12:00 am
Hi, this cake sounds wonderful, but, I need help to convert this into cups and ounces, as I am in the US. I went to some sites, but they all give slightly different amounts and I want it to be as exact as possible to the receipe. Can anyone help? Thanks. Elizabeth
By
Elizabeth, at 4/01/2007 01:59:00 am
Made this cake and found it to be very dry. If I were to make it again I would add 1/2 cup butter. (I didn't use the chocolate ganache frosting).
By
Anonymous, at 7/03/2007 03:28:00 pm
This is truly one of the best cakes EVER!!WHoever that was that said it was dry...well, I am sure something went wrong because this is sooo moist! :)) M M M
By
Anonymous, at 10/14/2007 11:02:00 pm
thank you nice sharing
cep program
symbian program
nokia program
firefox indir
html kodları
modifiye resimleri
By
Anonymous, at 5/09/2008 01:00:00 am
Thank you for posting this recipe. Just an FYI though: dairy is most assuredly consumed during Passover; however, grain and leavening is not.
By
Anonymous, at 11/20/2008 06:04:00 am
EVEN by wow gold the standards gold in wowd of the worst financial buy wow gold crisis for at least wow gold cheap a generation, the events of Sunday September 14th and the day before were extraordinary. The weekend began with hopes that a deal could be struck,maplestory mesos with or without government backing, to save Lehman Brothers, America''s fourth-largest investment bank.sell wow gold Early Monday buy maplestory mesos morning Lehman maplestory money filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. It has more than maplestory power leveling $613 billion of debt.Other vulnerable financial giants scrambled maple money to sell themselves or raise enough capital to stave off a similar fate. billig wow gold Merrill Lynch, the third-biggest investment bank, sold itself to Bank of America (BofA), an erstwhile Lehman suitor,wow power leveling in a $50 billion all-stock deal.wow power leveling American International Group (AIG) brought forward a potentially life-saving overhaul and went maple story powerleveling cap-in-hand to the Federal Reserve. But its shares also slumped on Monday.
By
wow power leveling, at 1/31/2009 06:24:00 pm
情趣用品,情趣,情色,成人,A片,自拍,情趣用品,情趣,色情,成人影片,色情影片,免費A片,情趣用品,情趣,成人網站,A片下載,日本AV,做愛,情趣用品,情趣,美女交友,A片,辣妹視訊,情色視訊,情趣用品,情趣,色情聊天室,聊天室,AV,成人電影,A片,情趣用品,情趣用品,情趣,情趣
情色,A片,AIO,AV,日本AV,色情A片,AV女優,A漫,免費A片,A片下載,情色A片,哈啦聊天室,UT聊天室,聊天室,豆豆聊天室,色情聊天室,尋夢園聊天室,080視訊聊天室,080聊天室,080苗栗人聊天室,免費視訊聊天,上班族聊天室,080中部人聊天室,視訊聊天室,視訊聊天,成人聊天室,一夜情聊天室,辣妹視訊,情色視訊,成人,成人影片,成人光碟,成人影城,自拍
情趣用品,A片,AIO,AV,AV女優,A漫,免費A片,日本AV,寄情築園小遊戲,情色貼圖,色情小說,情色文學,色情,色情遊戲,一葉情貼圖片區,色情網站,色情影片,微風成人, 嘟嘟成人網,成人,成人貼圖,18成人,成人影城,成人圖片,成人影片,UT聊天室,聊天室,豆豆聊天室,尋夢園聊天室,080聊天室,080苗栗人聊天室,080視訊聊天室,視訊聊天室
情趣用品,A片,aio,av,av女優,a漫,免費a片,aio交友愛情館,a片免費看,a片下載,本土自拍,自拍,愛情公寓,情色,情色貼圖,色情小說,情色文學,色情,寄情築園小遊戲,色情遊戲,嘟嘟情人色網,一葉情貼圖片區,色情影片,情色網,色情網站,微風成人,嘟嘟成人網,成人,18成人,成人影城,成人圖片,成人貼圖,成人圖片區,成人小說,成人電影
情趣用品,情趣用品,情趣,情趣,情趣用品,情趣用品,情趣,情趣,情趣用品,情趣用品,情趣,情趣,情趣用品,情趣用品,情趣用品,情趣用品,情趣用品.情趣,情趣,情趣,情趣,視訊聊天室
麻將,台灣彩卷,六合彩開獎號碼,運動彩卷,六合彩,遊戲,線上遊戲,cs online,搓麻將,矽谷麻將,明星三缺一, 橘子町,麻將大悶鍋,台客麻將,公博,game,淘,中華職棒,麗的線上小遊戲,國士無雙麻將,麻將館,賭博遊戲,威力彩,威力彩開獎號碼,龍龍運動網,史萊姆,史萊姆好玩遊戲,史萊姆第一個家,史萊姆好玩遊戲區,樂透彩開獎號碼,遊戲天堂,天堂,好玩遊戲,遊戲基地,無料遊戲王,好玩遊戲區,麻將遊戲,好玩遊戲區,小遊戲,電玩快打
麻將,台灣彩卷,六合彩開獎號碼,運動彩卷,六合彩,線上遊戲,矽谷麻將,明星3缺一,橘子町,麻將大悶鍋,台客麻將,公博,game,淘,中華職棒,麗的線上小遊戲,國士無雙麻將,麻將館,賭博遊戲,威力彩,威力彩開獎號碼,龍龍運動網,史萊姆,史萊姆好玩遊戲,史萊姆第一個家,史萊姆好玩遊戲區,樂透彩開獎號碼,遊戲天堂,好玩遊戲,遊戲基地,無料遊戲王,好玩遊戲區,麻將遊戲,好玩遊戲區,小遊戲,遊戲區,電玩快打,cs online
情趣用品,情趣,A片,AIO,AV,AV女優,A漫,免費A片,情色,情色貼圖,色情小說,情色文學,色情,寄情竹園小遊戲,色情遊戲,AIO交友愛情館,色情影片,情趣內衣,情趣睡衣,性感睡衣,情趣商品,微風成人,嘟嘟成人網,成人,18成人,成人影城,成人圖片,成人貼圖,成人圖片區,UT聊天室,聊天室,豆豆聊天室 ,哈啦聊天室,尋夢園聊天室,聊天室尋夢園,080苗栗人聊天室,080聊天室,視訊交友網,視訊
By
Anonymous, at 3/27/2009 01:09:00 am
百家乐 轮盘 21点 德州扑克 百家乐系统 真人娱乐场 百家乐足球德州扑克 电子游戏 英格兰超级联赛 德国甲组联赛 意大利甲组联赛西班牙甲组联赛法国甲组联赛欧冠杯 英超 足球比分 足球彩票 体育彩票 即时比分 免費a片 a片 免費av 色情影片 情色 情色網 色情網站 色情 成人網成人圖片成人影片 18成人 av av女優avav女優性 情慾 走光 做愛 sex H漫 情色 情趣用品 情色 a片 a片 成人網站 成人影片 情趣用品 情趣用品アダルトアダルト アダルトサイト アダルトサイト 情趣用品
By
Anonymous, at 5/07/2009 08:28:00 pm
Am about to make this cake for a friend since it looks really good. Wondered whether you had reduced the sugar in the cake since the original recipe called for more sugar (think 250 grams). Was it because of the ganache?
By
Anonymous, at 7/10/2009 06:47:00 pm
From cell phones users to see the specific situation of occupational segmentation in 2009, accounting for 19.5% of students dropped 21.2 percent over last year, other types of occupations than those last year, the proportion of Internet users cheap cell phones increase. White collar crowd from last year's 29.2% increase to 38.9% this year, accounting for 9.7 percentage points up to replace the student groups cellphone users as one of the biggest occupational hierarchy; blue-collar crowd from last year's 13.9% to 18.9% this year, accounting for rose by 5.0 percentage points, showing that mobile phones users by a group of students to the occupational groups a significant trend in the development. Ereli advice that, cheap cell phones and mobile phone users Internet users monthly income distribution of age, education, occupational distribution has strong correlation with high spending capacity of white-collar workers and some students in the crowd will be a huge cell phone china online potential consumer groups.
By
Anonymous, at 10/13/2009 06:18:00 pm
By comparing the traditional Internet users, Internet users to iResearch found that the traditional white-collar-based, cell phones wholesale, corporate general staff accounted for 18.9%, higher than the 5.6% of the wholesale cell phones users accounting; and discount cell phones users in the years students and blue-collar workers accounted for significantly more than the traditional Internet users, respectively, accounting for 19.5% and 18.9%, higher than the traditional Internet users Students and blue-collar workers accounted for 7.8% and 5.1% respectively.
By
Anonymous, at 10/13/2009 06:18:00 pm
The survey found that consumer 3G wholesale china from the crowd of view, the buyer 25 to 40 years old mainly white-collar workers, accounting for about 40%, followed by consumer groups of students, accounting for about three into. According to statistics, 3G wholesale products in sales, compared with a 2G mobile phone sales are still a wide gap between, but since June has been, 3G mobile phones increase in the average monthly buy products for more than 50%, "11" period due to holiday business, the increase of more than 150%. Pk that the "11" after the peak sales of 3G handsets likely to usher in more stable growth.
By
Anonymous, at 10/13/2009 06:19:00 pm
Jimmy Choo China strappy sandals
Jimmy Choo Patent leather sandals
Christian Louboutin - Declic leather pumps
Christian Louboutin Very Jaws 140 pumps
Alexander McQueen black skull zipper bootie
mcqueen shoes
alexander mcqueen heels
Alexander McQueen Store
Jimmy Choo sale
Replica jimmy choo shoes
manolo blahnik online store
manolo shoes
manolo blahnik sale
replica christian louboutin shoes
discount christian louboutin shoes
alexander mcqueen shoes
jimmy choo outlet
jimmy choos
jimmy shoes
Manolo Blahnik Shoes
christian shoes
By
jimmychooshoes, at 8/19/2010 09:06:00 pm
Post a Comment
<< Home