Greek Almond Cake

This is a great gluten free “pound” cake that substitutes almond flour for all-purpose flour. Almond flour has numerous health benefits.  It is high in fiber, gluten free, low glycemic index to control blood sugar, a fantastic source of antioxidants, high in protein, and high in natural healthy fats so no extra fats are needed.  As a result, the cake is light and moist, not overly sweet

Serves 8
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 45 minutes 

Ingredients

2 oranges

2 ½ teaspoons orange zest

1 cinnamon stick

5 organic large eggs

1/3 cup local organic honey

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups almond flour, not meal

1 teaspoon baking powder

 Glaze (optional)

1 tablespoon orange juice

1/2 teaspoon orange zest

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Directions

1. Zest the oranges and set aside 

2. Peel the skin off the oranges and coarsely chop

3. Place orange pieces in a small saucepan, add cinnamon stick and cover with water

4. Bring to boil, reduce and simmer 1 hour

5. Preheat oven to 350

6. Line an 8-inch springform pan with buttered parchment paper

7. Drain orange pieces, discard cinnamon stick, cool, and dry

8. In a food processor add, sugar, eggs, 2 teaspoons orange zest, vanilla and process 30 seconds

9. Add the cooled orange pieces and process until pureed

10. Add almond flour and baking powder, mix until smooth, it will be very runny

11. Pour into springform pan and bake for 45 minutes until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean 

12. Remove from oven and cool

13. Combine ½ teaspoon zest, orange juice and powdered sugar and spoon on top of cake

14. Serve warm or at room temperature

Make it your own

Substitute sweet tangerines for the oranges, about 1 cup of flesh, Step 1

Substitute Turbinado raw cane sugar for local organic honey, step 8

Sprinkle thinly sliced almonds on top of the batter before backing, step 11