Recipe by Silvia Baldini— I tasted my first almond and citrus cake in Sicily.
I’ll never forget how my first forkful exploded in my mouth with the concentrated flavor of oranges and almonds.
“Pan d’Arancio”, which literally translates from italian as orange bread, is baked by using only almond flour and the whole orange; juice, peel and pulp. This is the reason why this cake has a very moist and soft texture with a slight bitter taste and it is completely gluten free. The cake takes some time to prep but once you boil and crush the tangerines, or oranges in a food processor or a blender you are home-free.
I have made this cake with oranges, lemons and even kumquats, but tangerines are by far the family favorites. When I make it with lemons I increase the sugar amount by about 2 teaspoons to balance the bitterness. I dust the top of the cake with powder sugar right before serving it or on special occasions, I drizzle it with a thick sugar and citrus glaze. Blood oranges give a gorgeous festive pink/red tint to the cake and to the glaze.
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 8/10 | 2 hours for boiling the citrus, 20 minutes to prep |
| Cook Time |
| 1 hour |
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Recipe by Silvia Baldini— I tasted my first almond and citrus cake in Sicily.
I’ll never forget how my first forkful exploded in my mouth with the concentrated flavor of oranges and almonds.
“Pan d’Arancio”, which literally translates from italian as orange bread, is baked by using only almond flour and the whole orange; juice, peel and pulp. This is the reason why this cake has a very moist and soft texture with a slight bitter taste and it is completely gluten free. The cake takes some time to prep but once you boil and crush the tangerines, or oranges in a food processor or a blender you are home-free.
I have made this cake with oranges, lemons and even kumquats, but tangerines are by far the family favorites. When I make it with lemons I increase the sugar amount by about 2 teaspoons to balance the bitterness. I dust the top of the cake with powder sugar right before serving it or on special occasions, I drizzle it with a thick sugar and citrus glaze. Blood oranges give a gorgeous festive pink/red tint to the cake and to the glaze.
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Ingredients
- 4-5 medium tangerines or 3 oranges, or 3 lemons, or 1 cup of kumquats
- 6 large eggs
- 1 ¼ cup superfine (caster) granulated sugar add 2 extra teaspoons of sugar if using lemons
- 2 1/3 cups ground almonds
- 1 full tespoon baking powder
Servings:
Instructions
- Put the tangerines in a pot with enough water to cover them, bring to a boil and cook for 2 hours. Drain and cool. Cut the tangerines in half and remove the seeds. Chop the skins, pulp, pith and fruit in a processor or by hand.
- Preheat the oven at 375F/190C Butter and line an 8-ich springform cake pan.
- Beat the eggs. Add the sugar, almonds and baking powder. Mix well and add the crushed tangerine, folding them in by hand.
- Pour the cake mixture in to the lined springform and bake for one hour, until a skewer comes out clean. Cover the cake with foil after about 40 minutes of baking to stop from burning.
- Cool cake in the spring-form on a rack. When cold take it out. You can glaze it, or cover with powder sugar.
Recipe Notes
To make a simple cake glaze mix 2 cups of powder sugar with a few drops of your favorite citrus juice. I put the sugar in a metal bowl and I add a few drops of juice at the time while whisking. I keep adding drops and whisking until the glaze is smooth but thick.
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Silvia, could you use an Instant Pot to cook
the tangerines? Do you buy almond flour or grind almonds in a food processor? Thanks.
Hi Margaret. Of course yu can use an instapot for the tangerines. As long as they are soft and cooked through. I usually by grind almonds but you can easily grind your own. Patel brothers in Norwalk is a great source. Happy new year!