Orange and chocolate cake
Orange and chocolate cake
This is a typical Sephardic Passover cake, which has various versions, made throughout the Mediterranean.
Persons
10
Ingredients
- 2 medium-sized organic oranges (thin rind is better)
- 200g (1 1/3 cup) ground almonds
- 100g (1/2 cup) sugar
- 3 eggs
- 150 g/5 oz dark chocolate (and a knob of butter - optional)
Instructions
- Wash the oranges and place them in a high-sided pot.
- Fill the pot with cold water and cook them on a moderate heat for 2 hours, or with a pressure cooker for 30 minutes, until they are very soft.
- Let the oranges cool in the cooking water.
- Remove the oranges from the water, slice them with the rind on, getting rid of any seeds.
- Liquidize the orange slices with a blender until you get a smooth paste. Weigh 300g of this orange pulp (10 oz).
- Preheat the oven to 170°C/340°F.
- Separate the egg yolks from the whites.
- Beat the eggs yolks with the sugar.
- Add the ground almonds and the oranges. Work until you get a smooth mixture.
- Beat the egg whites until they are stiff and then fold them into the rest very gently.
- Pour the mixture into a lined cake tin (buttered and breadcrumbed) and bake in the oven for 1 hour.
- Take the cake out the tin and let it rest for a few hours, if possible.
- Cut the chocolate into small pieces and let it melt in a small saucepan in a double boiler (with a knob of butter if you wish).
- Pour the melted chocolate on the center of the cake and spread it out quickly over the entire surface.
- Let the frosting solidify a little before you serve.
it was the best cake i hade ever had
it was the best cake i hade ever had
Sounds fabulous! One question: Would matzo cake meal substitute appropriately for the all-purpose flour during Pesach? Anybody?
I think it would be fine. The original Passover cake didn’t have flour of course. We added very little flour to keep it together. I think very finely ground matzo should do it.
Sounds lovely, am going to make it for valentines day! I do have a question though, does anyone have an opinion about if normal cream or some sort of custard would go well with it? thanks
You can serve it by itself, with some custard or vanilla ice-cream.
This has become a favorite to all that I serve it to! I have been making this ever since I had the opportunity to come to the cooking school and everyone requests it, even over other traditional favorites. I am making it again today and was prompted to say how much I enjoyed the cooking school. I frequently return to the recipes and to look for any new ones you have added. Thank you Shilpa and Riccardo! Coleen
I love this cake! I am not a big chocolate fan, so having something moist and delicious like this is fabulous! Plus, we have orange trees in our backyard, so I love being able to use them in unique ways! We have made it three times since being back from the cooking class and it has been hit each time!
Hi – I’m with Coleen on this one – this is my #1 cake and I don’t think people really believe I make it myself. Steve is now retired and is our official cook – so glad we did the course together – he uses our Organic Tuscany recipe book all the time and our aprons are still in use. Love to you all. Kim Rose
Did you forget to include baking powder in the recipe list? I used to make this recipe from your website many years ago and I think it was previously included in the list…
Hi Anita, the traditional recipe does not have baking powder. After all, is a Sephardic Passover dish and any kind of leavens are prohibited. if you beat egg whites until they are stiff and then fold them into the rest very gently, you give the cake a soft texture. Otherwise, you can try adding a little bit of baking powder.