Orange Cake with Oat Flour & Almond Flour

I am slightly obsessed with this Orange Cake from Elana's Pantry blog. She adapted it from the Orange Cake sold at Starbucks, making it gluten-free using almond flour. The recipe is fascinating to me because you boil two oranges for over an hour, then process them in a food processor, peel and all, and that is the base of the cake! You add some eggs, almond flour, honey, salt and baking soda and you've got yourself an amazing cake with no added oil!! It has a custardy texture to die for and the addition of chocolate chips takes it to another level of YUM YUM YUM!

I recently made this for my sister-in-law days after she had her baby. She told me that she wanted to get a lot of oats in her diet. Turns out oats help new mothers' milk come in for breastfeeding. So I decided to alter the original recipe a bit to incorporate some oat flour for Cindy (and baby Oliver!)...and incorporate more ingredients for two cakes! The results were fantastic!

Orange Cake with Oat Flour & Almond Flour

Makes 2 cakes...one for you, one for me!

3 naval oranges

5 large eggs

1 cup honey

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup reserved orange water

1 1/4 cup almond flour

1 1/4 cup rolled oats

1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp sea salt

Chocolate Chips (optional)

• Wash the oranges well and boil them whole in a large pot of water for 1 1/2 hours, or until soft.
• While oranges are boiling, place oats in dry food processor and process until you have a flour consistency. Remove and set aside.
• When oranges are done boiling, reserve 1/2 cup boiling orange water. Add oranges to food processor*** whole (peel and all) and process until smooth.
• Gradually add eggs, vanilla, orange water, oat flour, almond flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt and mix until well combined.

Pour into two well greased pans and swirl in chocolate chips last (this reduces the melting since the mixture is hot). Bake 20-25 minutes**.

**Bake time will vary based on your altitude and the size of your pan. Once the sides are browning and the top feels firm you will know it is done. A little undercooked is desirable as it gives a nice custard texture. Refrigerate after a few days or cake will spoil!

***Note that for this recipe I recommend a 10 cup capacity food processor. If you have a smaller food processor, I suggest processing the wet ingredients first, then if you don't have room for the flour, transfer to a large mixing bowl (or two) to combine. You can also cut the recipe in half, or use Elana's original recipe here.

This orange cake is packed with protein, fiber and fruit and is the kind of cake you don't feel guilty eating for breakfast, or with afternoon tea. It seems to get better and easier every time you make it, so I consider it a great kitchen staple!