Bibi’s Orange Cake

Ingredients

For the cake : 

  • 1 cup (2 dl) fine breadcrumbs
  • 1 cup (2 dl) sugar
  • 1 cup (2 dl) finely ground almonds
  • 1 tbsp baking soda
  • grated zest of ½ orange
  • (save the orange for the coulis)
  • 4 whole eggs
  • 2 dl peanut oil
  • powdered sugar

For the coulis:

  • 2 cups (4dl) water
  • 2 cups (4dl) sugar
  • julienned strips of orange zest from 1 orange (the peel with the white removed)
  • 2 oranges cut in sections
  • Grand marnier (optional)

The cake:

Line the bottom of a 12-inch or 30 cm oiled cake pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Oil the paper.

Stir all the dry ingredients together, add the eggs and blend well with a wooden spoon or a hand mixer. Add the peanut oil and mix until integrated. The batter will be rather thick. Pout the batter into the pan.

Put in a cold oven, turn on to 325°F (180°C or about 7) and bake for 40 minutes or until the cake comes away from the sides of the pan.

Remove from oven and let cool on a cake rack before inverting onto a cookie sheet. Remove the oiled paper. 

Before serving, dust the top with powdered sugar and decorate with strips of julienned orange zest.

The coulis:

Heat water and sugar while stirring until sugar is dissolved. Add the julienned strips of orange zest and boil for five minutes. Remove the strips and set aside.

Add the sections from the two oranges, white membrane removed. Boil to reduce to a thick syrup.

Remove orange pulp to a sieve and press all the syrup into the pan. Add the Grand Marnier, if desired. Add the julienned strips of zest.

When serving the cake place a few spoonfuls of coulis around or under each slice.

I used organic ground almonds and bread crumbs from organic whoe wheat bread. I also used brown sugar, cutting back the quantity by about a quarter in both the cake and the coulis. The next time I make this cake I’ll try cutting back a little bit on the oil too. There was much too much coulis, so more cutting back is possible. I omitted the Grand Marnier.

I have also tried this recipe with lemon instead of orange and that’s good too.

Contributed by John Olsen. Eaten at VD2 in Jaulzy, France.