I baked this cake during Christmas time, as an alternative for the traditional fruit cake. Though I bake fruit cake religiously every year, it's not much in demand here because of the raisins. I've seen that many people enjoy the taste of fruit cake but don't like the raisins in it. I think, year before last, I baked this Rum cake, it doesn't have fruits in it, but it was too boozy. Surprisingly, I enjoyed that cake but Jose and most of our other friends were saying it's a bit too much “rum” for them. Since, it wasn't very popular (except for me), I didnt post it here.
I kept on looking for some sort of fruit and nut cake, to bake during Xmas season and landed up on this. Though I love citrus flavours, I tend to lean towards lemon all the time. I was a bit skeptical whether I'll love Orange scent and flavour. It was a good change from the usual and I loved the rich buttery and nutty dense texture of this cake. Not to forget that slight golden hue of the cake. It's ideal, if you are having people over for tea. I mostly had it for breakfast, I love to have cakes for breakfast ;)
Well, if you are wondering why I didn't post it during Xmas time… I had already posted some Xmas recipes and I didnt want to over do it. Somehow, I feel like, I'm spamming your mailbox, if I post too many recipes ;) Looks like, now is the time for this cake. I loved everything about this cake, colour, texture, flavour and I'm sure you will not be disappointed with this. Btw, you dont have to wait till next Christmas to bake this one, it's good anytime. Make sure you've a huge slice while it's still warm, that taste is kinda special!
Here is the recipe:
Using a handheld electric whisk or a freestanding electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, orange zest and sugar until the mixture is soft and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking well after each addition…
In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, ground almonds, baking powder and salt. Tip the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture in two batches and whisk together on a low speed until just incorporated…
then mix in the yoghurt and vanilla essence…
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf tin and sprinkle the flaked almonds on top. Place in the oven and bake for 50-60 mins or until the sponge is firm on top and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean…
Recipe adapted from “Cake Days, The Hummingbird Bakery”
Ingredients
- 190 gms Unsalted Butter (softened)
- 190 gms Plain flour
- 1 tbsp Finely grated orange zest
- 190 gms Caster sugar (refer notes for substitute)
- 3 Large eggs
- 60 gms Ground almonds (refer notes)
- 1 tsp Baking powder
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 25 gms Plain yogurt
- 1 tsp Vanilla essence
- 10 gms Flaked almonds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 175 C, 10 mins before baking. Grease a 9 inch loaf tin, with butter and dust with flour.
- Using a handheld electric whisk or a freestanding electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, orange zest and sugar until the mixture is soft and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, every now and then to ensure the eggs and butter are properly mixed in.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, ground almonds, baking powder and salt. Tip the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture in two batches and whisk together on a low speed until just incorporated, then mix in the yoghurt and vanilla essence.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf tin and sprinkle the flaked almonds on top. Place in the oven and bake for 50-60 mins (refer notes) or until the sponge is firm on top and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and allow the loaf to cool, a little before turning it out of the tin on to a wire rack to cool completely for serving.
Notes
I used store bought almond meal, to make ground almonds at home, please check out this link. Make sure you sprinkle extra flakes on top of the cake (especially center portion), since it spreads out during baking.
Hi Maria, can we use oil instead of butter? If yes, how much oil should we use?
Hi Ruby,
I haven’t tried it with oil, so I’m not sure how it works.
Cheers
Maria
Hi, if we are using almond meal for the above recipe, will the almond flour be substitute to plain flour and ground almond
Hi Mili,
I havent tried using only the almond meal. In the recipe, we are using a combination of plain flour and almond flour. I’m not sure about the texture if you sub almond flour for plain flour.
Cheers
Maria
Hi Maria!
I made this cake yesterday and it was a huge hit! My husband who rarely eats more than 1 slice of cake actually had 4 yesterday!!! I have a question though. The top part of my loaf did split and I see that that hasn’t happened to yours. How do you ensure that the top doesnt crack/split like that? It didn’t affect the taste at all, but aesthetically, I would like to get it without it splitting on the top! Thank you ?
My son is allergic to nuts . I don’t use any kind of nut for cooking . Can you tell me a substitute for almond flour .
Hi Suma,
I havent tried this with a substitute, so I’m not sure what works best. However I guess you can just replace almond flour with the plain flour. There might be a small difference in the texture and taste though…
Cheers
Maria
Hello Maria,
Thanks for your wonderful recipe. Its the best cake I have ever made. I got an earfull of appreciation and big thanks to you!
Hi Anu,
You are welcome :) Thanks a bunch for your feedback, I’m really happy to know that this recipe worked out well for you.
Wish you a Happy New Year!
Cheers
Maria
Hello,
I would like to thank you for this amazing recipe, I made it many times and it’s one of my favorite recipe:)
Merci
Hi Merci,
You are welcome :) Really happy to know that this is one of your fav recipes..
Thank you so much for leaving a comment here.
Cheers
Maria
Hi Maria,
I have a Morphy Richards OTG. Can you help me on which mode and at what temperature should I be baking my cakes…. ? I tried different options on it. On some mode it take a lot of time. Can you suggest the best mode for baking cakes and also do I need to preheat my oven? Do lemme know.
Hi Yasmine,
I guess the baking mode varies for each oven and I’m not familiar with the brand you use.
For my baking, I use both lower and upper mode.
Yes, you need to preheat the oven for most baking recipes, unless the recipe says otherwise.
Hope you get to figure out the best mode that works for your oven.
Cheers
Maria
Can this be made eggless.if so what would be the substitute
Hi Sowmya,
I havent tried it yet, so I’m not sure. Sorry I’m not of much help to you.
However I’ve posted an eggless vanilla cake recipe, may be you can try adding orange and almonds to that one and see.
You can see the recipe here: https://mariasmenu.wpcomstaging.com/desserts/eggless-vanilla-cupcake-with-chocolate-frosting
Cheers
Maria
Maria, Thank you so much for this recipe.It’s as though you heard my thoughts and posted this recipe today.I was planning to bake an almond cake for my wedding anniversary this week and was toying with the idea of adding orange to it. Your recipe has given me the confidence to go forward with the idea.I am a huge follower of your blog every recipe tried out have come out well. I am sure this one will also turn out to be a huge hit!
Regards,
Lakshmi
Hi Lakshmi,
Good to know that this recipe came out at the perfect time for you. Wish you a very happy anniversary :)
Hope you get to bake this cake and like it too..
Cheers
Maria