vegan whole orange & almond cakes

Andrea
Jul 30, 2021
3 min read

Updated: Nov 6, 2021

These small cakes are jammy, nutty, sweet and sticky and made with whole oranges – rind and all! Zero waste!

Not only are these super adorable, but they are a big hit in my family. It always makes me happy knowing I am not the only one enjoying my recipes!

What is a whole orange cake and why are the oranges boiled?

A whole orange cake is exactly what it says, it uses the whole orange, skin and all. ZERO WASTE!

By boiling the oranges, it removes the bitterness and softens them to make the blending process a lot easier.

It also gives it that jammy flavour and helps keep the cake juicy and moist.

These vegan orange & almond cakes are

Light
Flavourful
Moist
Fluffy
and vegan

Alternative options

These can also be baked in muffin tins, but the baking time might take a bit longer.

Set a time for 16 min and check if the muffins are cooked. It might take 20 - 25min, but it's worth testing every few minutes with a cooking needle to see if they are done.

I have not tried it, but I am sure a whole wheat cake flour could work well too.

You can use any type of orange you like. I used a blush orange for the icing and a navel orange for the cake.

Blood oranges are fantastic in this recipe.

At the moment the orange trees in my parents garden are heavy laden with ripe oranges.

This blended chocolate & orange baked oats and this chocolate & orange oats overnight oats have been my breakfast pretty much every morning for the past few days and I am not complaining! I love orange season!

Using freshly picked oranges from my parents trees made these little cakes even better. The flavour is exceptionally fresh and sweet.

For the glaze I used a blush orange to give it that pretty, soft pink colour, but you can use any orange type you like.

For the cake itself you can also use blush or blood oranges! Blood oranges are my favourite to use in this cake, but they are unfortunately currently not in season.

To make this cake you only need 8 ingredients

whole oranges
cake flour
almond flour or ground almonds
coconut oil
cane sugar
corn starch
baking powder
And a pinch of salt

If you don't have almond flour or ground almonds, simply blend raw almonds in a blender until fine chunks.

Other recipes you might like

vegan chocolate orange brownies

vegan citrus & coconut drizzle cake

salted chocolate, blood orange & almond tart

Omas Nusstorte (Nut torte)

VEGAN WHOLE ORANGE & ALMOND CAKE

These small cakes are jammy, nutty, sweet and sticky and made with whole oranges – rind and all! Zero waste!

Makes 16 mini cakes ( OR more or less, depending on the size of your cake tins)

Prep time: 10 min, plus 30 min for boiling the orange

Cooking time: 20 min

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE MINI CAKES

1 fresh medium orange
75g cake flour
100g ground almonds or almond flour
60g coconut oil
150g cane sugar
85g corn starch
3 tsp baking powder
4 tbsp fresh orange juice or water

FOR THE GLAZE

3 tsp orange juice (blush or blood oranges will give it that pinkish colour)
1/2 cup vegan icing sugar

INSTRUCTIONS

Simmer the orange in boiling water for 30 min. Remove from the water and let it cool completely.
Preheat the oven to 170C and prepare you mini cake tins.
Cut the cooled oranges in half and remove the seeds.
Transfer the orange into a high-speed blender (skin and all) and blend until a puree. It does not have to be completely smooth.
Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until well combined and the batter has a thick texture.
Spoon the mixture into the cake moulds (fill each about 3/4 full) and bake them in the oven for 16 - 18 min or until a cooking needle comes out clean.
Let the cakes cool in the tin for 5 min before transferring them onto a cooling rack to cool.

FOR THE GLAZE

Once the cakes have cooled completely, mix the ingredients for the glaze until smooth. The best is to sift the icing sugar before mixing. If the mixture is too runny add a bit more icing sugar. If the mixture is too thick add 1/2 teaspoon more orange juice.
Drizzle over the cooled cakes and enjoy!