I’m pretty sure that everybody who asked about recipes from this event only wanted this one. Food, yeah yeah, whatever - let’s get to the good stuff: this dense, rich, creamy, amazing, and yes, gluten-free marvel of a cake. I made a trial run of this recipe and we ate cake for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for a couple of days because it’s just that irresistible. The juice and cheese can even help you convince yourself that it’s full of Vitamin C and calcium and thus a sensible breakfast choice.
Baking hasn’t been much fun since we took gluten out of our lives. This is a big loss to me, since baking was my initial introduction to the kitchen, and up until my mid-30s baking was one of my favorite stress relievers. Yes, I know there are a million gluten-free recipes out there. We own at least a dozen cookbooks. We have an extensive array of non-wheat flours in the pantry. But every time I make a recipe, I can’t help but notice the differences in how the original gluten-y version would taste (chocolate chip cookies are the exception - David’s GF chocolate chip cookies are far superior to any other version in existence). But this cake - it was fun to make. It felt like I was really baking again.
I’ve made both the orange-topped and almond-topped versions, and opinions are divided as to which one is best. I love the bitterness of the candied orange slices and the finished product is just stunning; but Anna prefers the almonds, as shown by the insanely perfect arrangement she made to top the version we made for the event. I topped it with a dollop of creme fraiche, which is a little funky on its own but makes for a nice counterpoint to the richness of the cake.
I found this recipe via Deb Perelman’s wonderful Smitten Kitchen blog (subscribe immediately! And buy her books!). Her photos are lovely, her introductions are fun to read, and I adore her recipes - they make up a huge percentage of my file of favorite recipes. I want to grow up to be Deb, and I'm afraid that if I ever met her in person I would act like a silly fangirl and embarrass the hell out of myself.
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon water3 large eggs, separated
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 blood oranges, or another orange of your choice
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup ricotta
1/3 cup cornmeal
1 cup firm-packed almond flour or meal
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
Optional: sliced almonds (if you're using them instead of the orange slices)
Heat oven to 300 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with a round of parchment paper.
Stir brown sugar and water together so they form a thick slurry. Pour into prepared cake pan and spread thin. Set aside.
Whip egg whites in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until they hold thick peaks. Set aside.
Place granulated sugar in a large mixing bowl. Finely zest both oranges over it.
Cut both oranges in half. Cut one of the halves into paper-thin slices and arrange slices over brown sugar base in cake pan OR arrange the almonds in some kind of pleasing way. Juice the remaining orange halves (I had about 1/3 cup juice) and set juice aside.
Add butter to zest and granulated sugar in large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer (you can use same beaters you just did for egg whites, because yay for fewer dishes to wash) until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, and beat to combine. Add juice and ricotta; mix until smooth. Sprinkle salt over batter, then add almond flour and cornmeal and mix until just combined. Gently fold in egg whites.
Scoop batter in large dollops over prepared cake pan base. Gently spread batter flat, trying not to disturb orange slices or almonds underneath. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and then for 5 more minutes.
Cool cake in pan on rack for 5 minutes, and then run a knife around the side and invert onto a cake plate. If any orange slices or almonds don’t come out easily, just gently arrange them on the top of the cake and eat that slice first. Let cool and cut into slices. The cake keeps at room temperature, but we prefer it (eaten with a fork directly) from the fridge (because yay for fewer dishes to wash).
