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orange cake with chocolate chips on a plate with slice taken out and slice of cake on a plate in front
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4.88 from 8 votes

Gluten-Free Whole Orange Cake with Chocolate Chips

This gluten-free Whole Orange Cake is made with whole oranges boiled then pureed for an authentically fresh orange flavour. The cake is beautifully moist and flavourful with chocolate chips dotted throughout for added luxury.
Prep Time1 hour 15 minutes
Cook Time50 minutes
Total Time2 hours 5 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: British
Servings: 10 servings
Calories: 479kcal

Ingredients

  • 2 large oranges together they should weigh about 450g
  • 6 eggs medium, 60g each with shell
  • 250 g caster sugar
  • 125 g polenta
  • 125 g ground almonds
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • ¾ teaspoon sea salt
  • 275 g dark chocolate use vegan chocolate if you want the cake to remain dairy-free

Orange Syrup

  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 tablespoon juice of an orange

Instructions

  • Place the oranges in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 1 hour until soft.
  • Pre-heat the oven to 180°C /160°C fan assisted oven / gas mark 4 and line and grease a 8 inch round x 4 inch deep cake tin.
  • Remove the oranges from the saucepan and cut in half to remove and discard the pips.
  • Place the oranges in a blender and blitz until smooth and set aside for a minute.
  • In a large bowl or food mixer beat the eggs and sugar together for until pale and thick.
  • Add the polenta, ground almonds and baking powder and mix until thoroughly incorporated. Then finally mix in the pureed orange.
  • Roughly chop 175g of the chocolate into chunky chips (saving the extra 100g for the chocolate drizzle on top) and stir into the cake mixture until evenly dispersed.
  • Pour the batter in the prepared cake tin and bake for 50 minutes until firm to the touch and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
  • Once the cake is ready, remove from the oven and prepare the orange syrup by dissolving the honey in the orange juice in a saucepan on medium heat. Once dissolved and reduced slightly, prick the cake all over with a toothpick and brush the orange syrup evenly all over the surface of the cake.
  • Leave the cake to cool in the cake tin.
  • Once the cake has cooled and been removed from the cake tin then prepare the chocolate drizzle by melting the remaining 100g of chocolate in a bain marie or bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Pour the melted chocolate into a piping bag (or a small plastic food bag – just snip the corner off when you are ready to drizzle) and leave the chocolate to thicken slightly for about ten minutes before drizzling over the cake.

Video

Notes

*I like to use a fan oven for this cake as it is so moist that the fan helps the cake bake more evenly.
This cake is naturally gluten-free and dairy-free

Ingredients

  • Navel oranges work beautifully here but any orange is good to use. Preferably waxless though.
  • If you can’t get hold of polenta then you can use fine cornmeal.

Baking Tips

  • I do recommend using a stand blender rather than an immersion blender (although it can be done if you only have the latter) as it will create the smoothest puree.
  • You can use a stand mixer for making the cake batter or you can beat the ingredients together by hand.
  • Allow the cake too cool in the tin. Place the tin on a cooling rack and if leaving unattended I often place a sheet of kitchen roll over the top to protect it.
  • The cake does sink a little in the middle due to the amount of chocolate chips in the recipe. If you prefer a cake with a more level look and less chocolate mayhem then reduce the amount of chocolate chips by a third.

Make Ahead

You can prepare the orange puree a day or two in advance. Once you have blended the whole oranges you can keep in the fridge until you are ready to make the rest of the cake.

Storing

It can keep well for up to 5 days if stored in an airtight cake tin in a cool dark place.

Freeze

  • You can freeze this cake as soon as it has cooled completely and before you drizzle with the chocolate. Double wrap in cling film and aluminium foil.
  • To defrost remove from the freezer and allow to cool completely at room temperature before unwrapping. Drizzle with the chocolate before serving.
Adapted from 90 Years of KitchenAid-The Cookbook

Nutrition

Calories: 479kcal | Carbohydrates: 65g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 98mg | Sodium: 253mg | Potassium: 478mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 43g | Vitamin A: 250IU | Vitamin C: 20.6mg | Calcium: 221mg | Iron: 1.7mg