Happy almost Passover! I am getting ready to zip on over to Chicago for my family seder but before I go I must show you this year's Passover cake! It's not chocolatey, like last year's, rather it's inspired by the flourless tangerine apricot cake from olives, lemons, and za'atar and an almond cake recipe that my friend marshy gave me, which calls for an entire orange (the peel and all!) to be chopped up and tossed in the batter. both of them were quite similar to my valentine's day almond cake but I loved the addition of the citrus. Eggboy, on the other hand, did not. So rather than adding a whole entire orange into the mix, I took a cue from yossy's grapefruit tarts, threw a supreme party, and then sprinkled in just a wee bit of zest to brighten the whole situation.

this is not a super model cake! it looks great when it comes out of the oven, but after a few minutes of cooling, it collapses just slightly to turn into a very rustic, yet lovable dessert. it's almost like a sweet crustless quiche that's packed with ground almonds (thanks to king arthur's almond flour, which is suuuper finely ground) and balanced out by a little zing of orange. it's great with a heavy dusting of powdered sugar or a dollop of whipped cream (or whipped coconut cream) or both!

Orange and Almond Passover Cake

Makes one 9-inch cake

ingredients

6 large eggs, separated
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 c sugar
2 oranges, plus more for garnish
2 c king arthur almond flour
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Powdered sugar, for serving

clues

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9” springform pan and set it aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the egg whites and 1/4 teaspoon salt and beat to soft peaks. Gradually mix in 1/4 cup sugar and beat to stiff peaks. Set aside.

Zest one of the oranges, and supreme both of them. Place the zest, segments, and juices in the clean bowl of a stand mixer. Add the egg yolks, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, remaining 3/4 cup sugar, almond flour, almond extract, and vanilla and beat on medium high until pale, about 3 minutes.

Use a rubber spatula to fold the whites into the yolk mixture and then pour the batter into the pan. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean; begin checking for doneness at 35 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes, remove to the rack and cool completely. It’s completely normal for this cake to cave slightly as it cools, its rustic-ness is part of the charm. To serve, dust with powdered sugar and decorate with orange slices.

-yeh!

i used the following king arthur flour products in this recipe: almond flour, vanilla extract, and almond extract. thank you so much, king arthur, for sponsoring this post!