Blender orange and almond syrup cake (SCD & GAPS)

Grain-free, dairy-free and sugar free and couldn’t be healthier!

It’s amazing how a few simple whole ingredients can turn into a cake with the right kitchen tool! This fabulous blender cake begins not only with whole almonds in place of flour, it uses whole oranges too! Yes, including the peel! Trust us; in under a minute the Vibe Blender System produces a smooth cake batter without a fleck of almond or peel. Note: This really requires a high-performance blender - without powerful blades and a killer motor, you’ll definitely end up with lumpy batter.  

With the whole food approach, the texture is not your typical, light and fluffy, nutritionally sparse tea-cake. What you get is moist and dense like a brownie or pound cake. The secret? First, we simmer the oranges until the skins are tender. The bitterness gets washed away and, in the blender, the squishy cooked oranges, puree down into a healthy, honey-sweetened marmalade tasting batter.

Because it is so dense, the cake is large enough to feed a crowd. On its own, it’s a perfect snack (especially spread with butter) but add the syrup and it’s special enough to serve as a dessert, either warm or cold. We highly recommend also smothering it in homemade yogurt, cultured cream or quark. The tang of yogurt is a perfect accompaniment with the delicious orange syrup glaze.

TIPS
You can use either whole blanched almonds or almonds with their skins on. Skins will produce a darker batter. If you have sensitive digestion or are on the SCD and GAPS diet, we recommend using activated almonds. If you don’t have whole almonds, 2 ½ cups of almond meal is a fair substitute.  

With honey as a sweetener, the cake can be SCD & GAPS friendly. On the down side, honey burns easily, so to avoid the top becoming too dark, lay a sheet of baking paper over the cake while it’s cooking.

Choose the cake shape to fit the occasion. Square is great for lunch boxes, round looks lovely as a dessert cake and for high tea, use a tea-ring which looks awesome dripping with orange syrup and garnished with strips of orange zest. 

PIN THIS RECIPE