Perfect Flourless Orange Cake Food

PERFECT FLOURLESS ORANGE CAKE

Steps:

• Place the oranges in a large saucepan, and add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and boil for 2 hours over medium heat. Check occasionally to make sure they do not boil dry. Allow the oranges to cool, then cut them open and remove the seeds. Process in a blender or food processor to a coarse pulp.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Thoroughly grease a 10-inch round cake pan and line it with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar together using an electric mixer until thick and pale, about 10 minutes. Mix in baking powder and saffron (optional). Stir in the pureed oranges. Gently fold in almond meal and candied orange peel (optional); pour batter into the prepared pan.
• Bake until a small knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Allow the cake to cool in the pan. Tap out onto a serving plate when cool.

NIGELLA LAWSON FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE ORANGE CAKE

Steps:

• Put the whole orange or oranges in a pan with some cold water, bring to the boil and cook for 2 hours or until soft.
• Drain, and when cool, cut the oranges in half and remove any big pips.
• Then pulp everything - pith, peel and all - in a food processor.
• Preheat the oven to gas mark 4/180°C Butter and line a 20cm springform tin.
• Add the eggs, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, almonds, sugar and cocoa to the orange in the food processor. Run the motor until you have a cohesive cake mixture, but slightly knobbly with the flecks of puréed orange.
• Pour and scrape into the cake tin and bake for an hour, by which time a cake tester should come out pretty well clean. Check after 45 minutes because you may have to cover with foil to prevent the cake burning before it is cooked through, or indeed it may need a little less than an hour; it all depends on your oven.
• Leave the cake to get cool in the tin, on a cooling rack. When the cake is cold you can take it out of the tin. Decorate with strips of orange peel or coarsely grated zest if you so wish, but it is darkly beautiful in its plain, unadorned state.

FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH ORANGES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Butter an 11-by-17-inch baking sheet with 1/2-inch sides, line with parchment paper and butter the paper.
• Bring the orange juice to a boil in a medium-sized saucepan and add one cup of the sugar. Remove from the heat. Break up the chocolate and add it, stirring until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Add the softened butter a little at a time, stir well and set aside.
• Beat the eggs with the remaining sugar for 12 minutes, until very thick and light. Gently fold a third of the eggs into the chocolate mixture. Fold in the rest.
• Spread the batter into the prepared pan and bake until set, about 15 minutes. The surface of the cake will have dulled somewhat and have become firmer to the touch. Allow to cool completely in the pan.
• Meanwhile remove all the skin and pith from the oranges, separate the sections and toss with the liqueur. Refrigerate.
• Run a knife around the edge of the cake in the pan. Place a large flat baking sheet over the cooled cake, invert, then lift off the baking pan. Peel the parchment paper off the cake.
• To serve, preheat the oven to 150 degrees. Cut large squares of the cake and, using a wide spatula, place each on an ovenproof plate. Place in the oven to warm for about five minutes. Arrange the orange sections and a little of their syrup in a decorative pattern on the cake or around it, sift a little confectioners' sugar over the top and serve.

FLOURLESS ORANGE AND CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• Put the orange in a microwave safe bowl.
• Add 250ml water, cover with clingfilm and microwave on high for 20 minutes, turning halfway through (or simmer for 1 hour in a small saucepan).
• Leave to cool, still covered.
• Heat oven to 180°C.
• Line a 20cm round springform tin with baking parchment.
• Cut the orange in half and remove pips.
• Put in a food processor with 5 tbsp of orange liquid left in the bowl and blitz to a smooth puree.
• Add the sugar, melted chocolate, egg yolks and baking powder and whiz again to mix thoroughly.
• Tip into a large bowl.
• Beat the egg whites until stiff, but not dry and fold into chocolate mixture.
• Spoon into lined tin.
• Put the tin on a baking sheet, then in the oven.
• Bake for 1 hour covering with a piece of foil or baking parchment halfway through to stop the top burning.
• Cool in the tin.