[suzy]

I researched this cake when Clotilde first posted a similar recipe and made a version of it for Passover that year. It is so much better than the standard Pasover desserts and it was a big hit, with requests for recipes from guests. I had forgotten all about it! Thanks for the reminder. I'll make it again, as oranges start to show up in the market.

[Griffin]

I am shocked, shocked I tell you!!! I not only made this cake, but... it worked!!! I am not the cake-maker in the house either, my dad does a mean fruit cake. But this was declared a winner! I took some in to the museum and my curator, my fellow volunteer, the Access Officer and a couple of museum assistants all said how good it was!

Very pleased to hear it, cos I was beginning to wonder if it was just me! I will definitely be making it again. In the UK, the shops are full of oranges now for Christmas aka Crimbo!

It may be cold out, but it's orangey and cakey indoors!
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Confusion comes fitted as standard.

[sporky]

i can also testify to the moist, wonderful texture and taste of this cake. i am often on the lookout for other flourless cakes (when i'm on my no-flour diet that is...) so if anyone has anything similar, please do post.

[Deste]

I make what may be the original recipe from Claudia Roden, but emailed from a friend. It contains flour (much less caloric and less expensive than the almond flour which also sounds wonderful as does the ginger), BLOOD ORANGES and EVOO for the fat.

The blood oranges are not boiled, just processed raw, whole. I swear the pith doesn't make it bitter. While the recipe a friend emailed to me (sorry, I need to get it from her again since it was on a now dead computer) called for a simple dusting of powdered sugar, I made a blood orange glaze and poked holes in the top of the warm cake. Reserved another orange to slice and decorate cake, too. Stunning, especially when you cut into the cake and see how GREEN the olive oil makes it. Perfect for this time of year.

[swan]

I wonder if it would work with mandarin/clementines/tangerine?

[Deste]

Swan: If the peel can be candied, I would think it would work. The skins of clementines are not thick, true, but see the wording in the linked recipe which explicitly discourages use of thick-skinned navel oranges.* I just don't know how pleasant the taste of clementine or tangerine skins is.

I found the recipe that I mentioned above. It's not the same as the flourless cake, but wonderful nonetheless: Gâteau à l’Orange de Madame Mahjoub from a cookbook by Nancy Jenkins Harmon.

I don't agree with the blogger who didn't like the greenish color and therefore made some changes that resulted in what looks like an ordinary cake. As I said, when you've made a blood orange glaze and poked holes in the top of the warm cake, you'll get these lovely fuchsia streaks mixing with green tint. http://www.kitchenchick.com/2005/04/gateau_a_lorang.html

*That said, cf. an incredible recipe for muffins at Epicurious with dates and whole oranges (I hope; from Gourmet at any rate). I've used thick-skinned navel oranges with success. Not bitter at all.

[suzy]

Nigella's cake is made with clementines:

http://www.nigella.com/recipes/recipe.asp?article=175

[Istanbul Girl]

This cake is called 'Revani' in Turkish. The origin of it is unknown, just as many food in the Turkish cuisine. There are so many different ethnic and religious groups in Anatolia and beyond that it would be wrong to attribute a certain food to one particular culture anyway. The Greeks for example do wonderful Revani...

[swan]

Nigella, ofcouse!!

Mine is in the oven as we speak (made with clementines), will report back with results

for starters I loved the smell of those boiling fruits!
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It worked! it's fresh out of the oven now, cooled a bit, I had to try it, it looks beautiful, and has a wonderful flavour with a hint of bitterness which makes me describe it as an adult cake - not too sweet as well. I love it ! The texture is light and moist and - well - cake-y. It'll go a long way : half of it goes with me to a newyearsparty tonight, the other half will have to proof the story that it gets better after a day or two. (go to tea with me to a friend tomorrow, and to work the day after tomorrow )

[suzy]

Glad to hear it's good with clementines, since they are plentiful in markets now. I'll try Nigella's recipe. (I used an amalgam of Clotilde's and a few others I found on line when I made it for passover a few years ago.)
happy new year!

[swan]

a couple of days later...it still tastes wonderful!! This will become one of my favourites!

[Donna]

I have made 2 versions of this cake - both to loud acclaim. So yummy! I made Gisele's flourless/almond meal version and then also went to the kitchenchick link and made the version with flour (for a friend with diverticulitis who can't eat nuts). They are both just yummy - and the perfect post holiday treat...not too sweet, not heavy. And very satisfying! Thanks to Gisele and Deste for the recipes. Next time, I plan to try Clotilde's recipe for the orange and ginger cake!

The kitchenchick recipe did not require pre-boiling the oranges and I wondered what the difference would be if you didn't boil them in the other recipes? FoodSciGeek - are you lurking and would you care to surmise on this matter? Or any of you other food chemistry folks? (Rainey.....)
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L'appetit vient en mangeant. -Rabelais

[gisele]

Good to see everyone liked the recipe as much as I did!

[Donna]

I actually made Clotilde's version Saturday for a birthday party and it was a big hit. I think that's our favorite of the 3 different recipes I've tried. The ginger adds a lovely pop to the slightly bitter orange flavor.


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L'appetit vient en mangeant. -Rabelais

[gisele]

I've been meaning to try that one. I love ginger! I'm sure I'll probably enjoy that one more.

Will have to wait for the weather to cool a bit and oranges to drop in price!