This Gluten Free Orange Almond Flour Cake recipe, made with six healthy ingredients, is one of our favorite gluten free desserts.
Gluten Free Orange Almond Flour Cake
Every time I serve it people are shocked to find out my Orange Almond Flour Cake is made with whole oranges, peel, and all.
Almond Flour Recipes
Using the whole orange adds an incredible flavor dimension to this gluten free cake, as well as healthy bioflavonoids.
This is one of my nutritious almond flour recipes that you don’t want to miss out on.
Gluten Free Cake
Wondering how to make Orange Almond Flour Cake from scratch? All you need is whole oranges, almond flour, eggs, honey, salt, and baking soda. –that’s it!
People tell me it’s the best recipe for gluten free cake they’ve ever had!
Gluten Free Orange Almond Flour Cake
Ingredients
- 2 small oranges, 6.5 ounces each
- 4 large eggs
- ¾ cup honey
- 2 cups blanched almond flour (not almond meal)
- ½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Wash the oranges and boil them whole (peel and all) for 1½ hours, or until soft
- Place whole oranges (peel and all) in a food processor and blend until smooth
- Pulse in eggs, honey, almond flour, salt, and baking soda until well combined
- Pour batter into a greased 9 inch springform pan
- Bake at 375°F for 35-45 minutes, until a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean
- Cool in the pan for 2 hours
- Serve
Orange Cake Recipe
This easy orange cake recipe is the perfect dessert for holidays such as:
But we love it so much we make this cake all year long! My holiday guests rave about this healthy gluten free recipe.
Orange Cake
If you’ve never had orange cake you’re in for a treat.
I first came upon an orange almond cake recipe in the 1990s in one of Claudia Roden’s cookbooks, The Book of Jewish Food.
Roden is a British cookbook author, food scholar, and cultural anthropologist. She is also one of my heroes.
According to Roden, orange almond cake is a traditional Sephardic recipe commonly served at Passover.
Gluten Free Passover Dessert Recipes
This Gluten Free Orange Almond Flour Cake is perfect for Passover because it does not contain chametz.
As an aside, all of my dessert recipes are Kosher for Passover since they are free of chametz!
Whole Orange Cake Recipe
It seems weird to make a cake with whole oranges.
However, using the orange with its peel is what makes my orange cake with almond flour moist and totally unique.
Yes, as I mentioned, use the entire orange, including the peel! Make sure your oranges are fresh and sweet so the cake is fresh and flavorful.
Make Ahead Almond Flour Cake Recipes
You can make this cake recipe ahead of time, that’s what I do when we’re entertaining.
If I’m having people over for Shabbat dinner, I make the cake Wednesday, let it cool on the counter overnight, then wrap it and store it in the fridge until Friday.
Cuisinart Food Processor
You know I love getting into the kitchen to test recipes for you and enjoy sharing my favorite kitchen tools, including this food processor.
This one is not only affordable, it gets the job done quickly and easily.
Gluten Free Dairy Free Desserts
Using a good food processor blends this cake batter to perfection, making it incredibly smooth.
Still, it’s amazing this cake is so rich and melt in your mouth delicious, given the lack of butter and flour. This is a fantastic gluten free, dairy free dessert.
Chocolate Orange Cake
I’ve always wanted to smother this orange cake in my Chocolate Dairy Free Frosting recipe.
As a kid, I loved chocolate-covered orange peel, and couldn’t get enough of that flavor combo. I haven’t tried it here yet, but I imagine it would be incredible.
Almond Flour Lemon Cake
This paleo cake recipe would be incredible with lemons, though many adjustments would need to be made since lemons are smaller than oranges, not as sweet, and far more bitter.
I tested this orange cake recipe a couple of dozen times to perfect it so I’m not sure how substitutions would work in order to create a recipe for lemon cake.
I wish I had a crystal ball, it would make the process so much easier! If you do experiment with lemons leave a comment and let us know if it works.
Gluten Free Desserts
Thankfully, you really don’t need to experiment with anything, given that I have hundreds of easy recipes for gluten free desserts here on the website and in my three cookbooks!
Gluten Free Orange Cake
But back to my orange cake recipe, which has been shared over ten thousand times on social media –it’s a real deal hit!
When I serve it, everyone loves it –those with diet restrictions as well as folks who can eat anything they want.
Almond Flour Cake
My cakes with almond flour are so popular because they’re rich, dense, and full of flavor.
Almond Flour Baking
Another benefit of almond flour baking is that it’s low carb and healthy.
I love using almond flour rather than the usual high carb wheat flour, the main ingredient in most cakes.
Gluten Free Dessert Recipes
All of the easy gluten free recipes for desserts below are also dairy free cakes.
Gluten Free Coffee Cake
My homemade Gluten Free Coffee Cake is one of my favorite comfort foods. It’s also one of my most popular recipes, with over forty thousand shares on social media.
Made with a base of almond flour, plus five other ingredients, you can throw this low carb coffee cake together in no time.
Gluten Free Carrot Cake
This lightly sweetened nut free Carrot Cake recipe from scratch will blow your mind.
This is one of my favorite cakes made without almond flour.
It’s a nut free cake everyone can enjoy. If you’re allergic to nuts, be sure to check out my Nut Free Recipes page.
Gluten Free Birthday Cake
If you’re looking for a cake that’s chocolate, this family favorite Gluten Free Birthday Cake is a clear winner.
I made this easy cake recipe often when the boys were growing up. Soon they took over and made it for my birthday!
Prefer vanilla birthday cake? Check out my fan favorite Gluten Free Vanilla Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting.
Both of these gluten free cakes are nut free and made with a base of coconut flour.
Healthy Cake Recipes
I hope you love these healthy cake recipes as much as we do and that you enjoy all of my gluten free recipes!
Which of these cake recipes will you bake?
This post is an oldie but goodie from the archives. I first shared this Gluten Free Orange Almond Flour Cake in November 2008.
Vittoria says
This was really great and a very unique technique! The orange flavour in the cake tastes “softened” to me, with the result is a very soothing orange flavour – if you can describe something like that! :) I only had a large navel orange on hand, so I used 1 navel orange (very ripe/juicy/sweet) and I shaved off a bit of the zest and pith after it boiled to try and more closely approximate a regular orange with thinner skin/pith. I’d love to try it with lemons next time too as some of the other reviewers did. I really loved how moist the cake was – this is exactly my kind of cake! I think it would be delightful with a spoonful of freshly whipped whip cream on the side, but it was delightful on its own. A kind of cake that is PERFECT with tea or coffee, or at the end of a heavy meal because it’s actually very light tasting and feeling. Even my 3 and 6 year old liked it! I think it is very important for anyone wanting to try this to ensure that their oranges are sweet-tasting, not dry and bitter/out of season. The cake really relies on the quality of the orange, so if you don’t have good ones, try something else in the meantime!
Elana says
Vittoria, thanks for your thoughtful comment :-)
Sylvia says
I made it and it is delicious! I loved using whole oranges. The result is a moist and very flavourful cake. Thanks for the great recipe.
Elana says
Sylvia, thanks for letting me know this is a great recipe!
Gale says
How long will this cake last after baking? Wanted to serve it Saturday night — can I make it on Wednesday and then store it in the fridge for a few days, or is that too long?
Elana says
Gale, I have done that and it was fine :-)
Liz W says
My cake came out bitter, is there a way to make it less bitter? I followed the instructions closely. I used cara cara navel oranges.
Elana says
Liz, I ate a cara cara orange last night, or at least tried to. It was so bitter I couldn’t even get a slice down. I don’t think it would work in this cake, just stick to regular navel oranges, nothing fancy :-)
Denise says
I used cara cara and it came out great!
Elana says
Thanks Denise!
Vittoria says
I used a navel orange too (regular, not cara cara – which can sometimes be sweet but can also be more bitter at times) and I also cut off about 1/3 of the peel and white pith after the boiling process to help bring any extra bitterness down from not using a regular, thinner skinned orange. I think the quality of the flavour here in this cake really relies on the taste of your orange – so if it is not sweet and juicy (in-season), then your cake won’t have that nice orange flavour.
Elana says
Thanks Vittoria! Totally agree :-)
Diane Sterling-Shreve says
Dearest Elana,
I am extending my deepest sympathy to you and your family and all the residents of Boulder
who are mourning the senseless deaths, many in line for their covid 19 shots. You are the
only person I “know” from Boulder, and my heart goes out to all of you.
I make your Paleo Flax Seed bread as toast every morning of my life. God Bless you and
your family, and God Bless America, all who weep with you. ❤️ Diane Sterling-Shreve
Elana says
Diane, thanks so much for reaching out about this. It is a devastating and preventable loss which makes it all the more senseless and tragic.
Mimi says
I’m so sorry about the shooting in your community. My prayers are being said, and my sorrow for you, your family, and all in Boulder is deep. I pray healing and recovery is swift. I’m so very sorry for the pain you’re going through. I’m also praying none of your family was a victim of the shooter.
Your follower,
Mimi Hildebrandt
Elana says
Mimi, thank you so much. It is a tragedy that after Sandy Hook, when kindergarteners were murdered that this is still happening. We are devastated.
Luis Camacho says
Hi Elana,
I like this recipe and will try to bake your gluten free orange cake myself. I see you used almond flour and I have never baked with just almond flour. I like your gluten free recipes thank you for sharing them!
Elana says
Thanks Luis!
Lucy says
How much water to put the oranges in? Perhaps already answered ..I’ll try to scroll
Elana says
Lucy, enough to submerge them :-)
Carmelle Goldberg says
Can I use egg replacer or a different egg substitute?
Elana says
Carmelle, I haven’t tried that but in general egg replacers do not work in my baked good recipes :-)
Elizabeth Felix says
Hi Elana! Thank you so much for sharing your recipes. I am 70 years old and at the moment I don’t have any condition to be gluten free but I want to stay away from wheat and sugar as much as I can. When I found you I was very happy to be able to make healthier deserts. And they are simple and delicious!! Thank you again.
A question about this recipe. How much water for boiling the oranges? Do you use that water in the cake?
Many blessings,
Elizabeth
Elana says
Elizabeth, thanks for your comment! So great to get to hear a bit about your journey to healthy eating! To answer your questions, use enough water to cover the oranges and discard it when you are done boiling them. Happy baking :-)
stacey says
Hi. sounds delicious. do you use raw honey? thank you
Elana says
Stacey, if you click the highlighted text in the ingredients portion of the recipe you will be taken to the product I use. BTW, either type of honey will work, raw or regular :-)