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Writer's picture52Steps

Frugal Season: Flour-Free Orange Loaf Cake.


- Cake can be cut into 10 to 12 slices - Ready in 1 hour 45 min - Gluten free -


Gather together...

2 oranges / 4 small satsumas, with the star-shaped stalks removed.

180g brown sugar.

200g ground almonds.

1 tsp baking powder (the Dr Oetker brand is gluten free).

4 medium, free-range eggs, whisked.

Get cooking…

1. Remove the star-shaped stalks and put the two oranges (skin and all goes in!) into the base of the pressure cooker, sitting in 2 cm of just-boiled water, seal it up, let it reach pressure over a medium heat (for circa 5 minutes) then pressure cook for 20 minutes with the heat turned down low. Before attempting to open the pressure cooker, run the lid under cold water for twenty seconds to release the pressure. (ALTERNATIVELY, simmer the oranges in a lidded saucepan for 2 hours, with 2cm of water, which will need topping up regularly as it evaporates away).

2. Meanwhile line a 900g loaf tin (9"x5") with a greaseproof paper liner (you can get a reusable loaf tin liner, but it is a bit fiddly to use and your cake will come out rather oddly shaped as the excess material folds in on itself - we happily use one but I thought I'd warn you!). Then gather the rest of the ingredients to hand whilst you wait for the pressure cooker to finish.

3. Drain the cooked oranges - you can discard the liquid from the pressure cooker.

4. Carefully cut the hot cooked oranges in half, this allows you to remove any pips and it also means that the oranges will cool down (so they are less likely to scramble the eggs!)

5. Preheat the oven to 190ºC (170 C fan) or Gas 5.

6. In a medium/large bowl, blitz the cooked (de-seeded) oranges - skins, pith, fruit and all - with a handheld stick blender (or use a food processor).

7. Add the 180g of brown sugar and the 200g of ground almonds, then sieve in the 1 tsp of baking powder. Stir.

8. Finally add the 4 medium pre-whisked eggs (these are added last so that the sugar and almonds cool the hot fruit down, so the eggs don't scramble!) Mix well with a spoon.

9. Pour the cake mixture (it is supposed to be runny) into the prepared tin and bake for an hour; you'll probably have to cover the top with foil after about 45 minutes to stop the top burning. Then let it bake under the foil for the final 15 minutes.

10. Carefully remove the cake from the oven and leave it to cool IN THE TIN for 10 minutes.

11. Remove the cake from the tin, peel off the greaseproof paper and let the cake cool fully on a wire rack, or eat it whilst it's still warm - this cake is yummy warm or cold!


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