February 19, 2004
Gâteau à l'Orange et au Gingembre
[Flourless Orange and Ginger Cake]
This is another cake I baked for our Goûter de Cousins last Sunday. I tasted my first flourless orange cake about a year ago at Rose Bakery, and absolutely loved it. I had tried to reproduce it then, and had made an Orange and Poppyseed version, adapting a recipe found on the web. It was really good - the orange and poppyseed pairing was great - but the texture wasn't quite what I was looking for.
This time, I was very happy to use a recipe from Trish Deseine's book "Mes petits plats préférés", a brilliant and friendly and appealing collection of her favorite easy and slow-cooking dishes. The recipe is called "Gâteau de clémentines pochées" (Poached Clementine Cake) and is actually pretty similar to the one I used a year ago, with just a little more almonds and a little more sugar.
As you know, following a recipe without throwing in my two cents just isn't as much fun, so I decided to make an orange and ginger version of this cake, adding fresh ginger and candied ginger to the batter. The oranges I used were three of the small blood oranges from my last Campanier basket.
This cake was a real hit and I received lots of compliments about it. Incredibly moist and flavorful, with the wonderful taste of orange, the subtle kick of ginger and a delicious sugar crust, it also looks beautiful. I will definitely make this again while the orange season lasts...
Gâteau à l'Orange et au Gingembre
- 3 small oranges or 2 large oranges (preferably organic)
- 6 eggs
- 250 g (1 C + 1 Tbsp) sugar
- 250 g (2 1/3 C) almond powder (a.k.a. powdered almonds or almond meal)
- a thumb-sized knob of fresh ginger
- 1/4 C candied ginger
- half a packet (1 tsp) of baking powder
For the frosting :
- the zest and juice of a lemon
- 60 g thick sugar crystals, the type used as a topping for chouquettes or brioches. Substitute old-fashioned lumps of sugar (like sucre Candi or La Perruche) or ordinary lumps of sugar, crushed.
Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F). Grease a 24 cm (8-inch) springform cake pan.
Clean and scrub the oranges well. Put them in a medium saucepan, and cover with water. Put the saucepan over medium heat, and simmer for two hours, adding a little hot water when the level gets too low (note : you may, like me, find the smell of whole oranges boiling very unpleasant, but it has nothing to do with the smell or taste of the finished product). Drain, and let cool. Cut in quarters and puree in the food processor.
Peel and chop the fresh ginger. Cut the candied ginger in small dice. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs with a fork. Whisk in the orange puree, the sugar, the almonds, the baking powder, the fresh ginger, until well blended. Fold in the bits of candied ginger.
Pour the batter in the cake pan, and bake for about an hour, until puffy and golden. Let cool for a few minutes on a rack, while you prepare the frosting. Run a knife around the cake to loosen it, and remove the sides of the pan.
Put the sugar crystals in a small bowl with the lemon juice and zest. Spoon this mixture evenly onto the top of the cake. Let cool completely before serving. It can be made a day ahead, wrapped in plastic and stored in the refrigerator.
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More Recipes Like This One:
~ Fresh Fig and Rose Smoothie
~ Piège Cake
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~ Celeriac and Sweet Potato Soup with Ginger
~ Chez Panisse Gingersnaps
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Comments (54)
Permalink | Posted by clotilde in Desserts & Sweets - Recipe Inside!
it looks wonderful clotilde. where did you buy the almond powder from?
Posted by hatice on February 19, 2004 2:27 PMHatice - In France, you can find almond powder everywhere, it's a very common baking supply. Mine comes from the G.Detou store (review in the "Shopping Bag" category).
If you can't find almond powder, use the same weight of whole almonds, and put them in a food processor with 1/4 C of the sugar. Mix in short pulses until the almonds are finely ground and powdery. You can also ground the nuts in a grinder if you have one.
Posted by clotilde on February 19, 2004 2:50 PMHi Clotilde, the cake sounds delicious and intriguing. Excuse me for nitpicking, but according to my calculation a 24cm pan (assuming the same depth) is closer to a 9-inch pan (1 inch = 2.54 centimeter). It occured to me when I was searching for the perfect cake pan for the chocolate cake...
Posted by Jacqueline on February 19, 2004 3:01 PMJacqueline - Nitpicking is allowed, and even encouraged around here! :)
You are right of course, 24 cm are closer to 9 inches. I indicated an 8-inch cake pan because it seems to me that this is the most widely used size, but I may be wrong. In any case, I hardly ever pay attention to the pan size recipes indicate, I just use the pans I have! :) I think this recipe would work in either size of pan, it would just be a little thicker and take a little longer to bake in the smaller one...
Posted by clotilde on February 19, 2004 3:11 PMClotilde, I mention this because I tried in vain searching for a 8-inch pan this past Saturday. The smallest I had found was a 9-inch. Admitted, Milano is quite lacking in terms of stores for cooking equipment.
Posted by Jacqueline on February 19, 2004 3:19 PMGreat recipe, Clotilde! One quick question, though. After boiling the oranges, do you puree the entire orange, peel and all?
Posted by Jenny on February 19, 2004 6:44 PMI guess I know what I'm baking this weekend. This looks delicious.
Posted by Barrett on February 19, 2004 7:38 PMThis is very yummy cake, indeed! Nigella Lawson has it in her book, How to Eat, and says that her source was Claudia Roden... just f.y.i ;)
Posted by Luisa on February 19, 2004 8:40 PMJacqueline - Is it because Milenese people bake huge cakes? :)
Jenny - Yes yes yes, you just puree the whole thing! Unusual, no? That's why organic is preferable... ;)
Barrett - I'm sure you'll love this! Do report back if you try it!
Luisa - Interesting! Is it the exact same recipe?
Posted by clotilde on February 19, 2004 9:40 PMThat is such a fantastic photograph. The recipe looks great too.
Posted by Robert on February 20, 2004 5:21 AMThe same recipe (minus ginger!) appears in Stephanie Alexander's The Cook's Companion - an essential cookbook/encyclopaedia from Australia - and she credits Claudia Roden for it as well.
Posted by Niki on February 20, 2004 5:48 AMI think it must be similar to the flourless chocolate cake which appears everywhere, and is credited to Elizabeth David!
Many people have told me it is an incredible recipe. Certainly now I am planning to try it. I just love the idea of chopping up the soft, cooked oranges and pureeing the whole lot. So sumptuous and earthy!! None of this pedantic grating, peeling and slicing rubbish.... ;-)
Robert - Thanks, I rarely use backgrounds in pics, so this was a nice change! :)
Niki - I agree, the handling of the cooled cooked oranges is the best moment of making this recipe (well, apart from the eating, of course) : I actually tore them into quarters with my fingers, they felt so soft and looked so delicate!
Posted by clotilde on February 20, 2004 10:01 AMwow, this looks incredible. there are no words! i hope to try it soon.
thanks for all this inspiration - i just discovered your site a few days ago and have been thumbing my way through your archives. AMAZING. keep it up!
Posted by julia on February 20, 2004 7:52 PMClotilde - looks utterly delicious! With such tasty treats, keeping in touch with the cousins should be easy. ;-)
About how much in weight were the oranges before they are boiled?? We have such variable sizes. (if you didn't weigh, I'm giving you an excuse to do it again)
King Arthur Flour sells pre-ground almond (and hazelnut, and pecan, although I like the idea of almonds with oranges better) meal in the US, and it's starting to appear in smart groceries thanks to the "low carb" craze. Trader Joe's has it too.
Posted by Charlotte on February 21, 2004 2:49 AMI made this cake from your recipe last night. I couldn't find two of the ingredients so I made do with blendering slivered almonds with a little of the sugar, and used raw cane sugar in place of the large sugar crystals which I couldn't find anywhere.
It was fantastic. The biggest challenge I had was keeping my wife away from it until it cooled.
Next time out, I thought I might add some ground star anise or cardamon to give it a more exotic flavor and scent. And if anyone knows where to find the big sugar crystals in Chicago, please let me know.
Posted by Barrett on February 22, 2004 5:21 PMJulia - Thanks a lot for your kind words, I'm happy you like it!
Charlotte - I have weighed my oranges especially for you, and they are about 180 g each. So three of them must have been 540 g, which amounts to about 1.2 lbls. Hope you try this, it's really amazing.
Barrett - I'm so glad you tried this (despite the substitutions challenges!) and that you and your wife enjoyed it! I am not much of an aniseed fan, but cardamom would indeed be a great addition!
Posted by clotilde on February 22, 2004 8:56 PMI made this cake for a dinner party Saturday night and it was FABULOUS! I had no trouble finding the ingredients at the local Whole Foods Market. This is my kind of dessert. Not too sweet with lots of intriguing flavors. I will take the leftover piese to my French class tomorrow. Our teacher is French and loves to try new dishes as she and her husband also own a wonderful café here in Houston.
I love your site!!! Joanne
Posted by Joanne on February 23, 2004 3:10 PMJoanne - I'm so glad you liked this! Heavenly, is it not? Thanks a lot for reporting back - and say hi to your French teacher for me! :)
Posted by clotilde on February 23, 2004 11:20 PMHi Clotilde,
Posted by Luisa on February 25, 2004 12:04 AMI checked Nigella's HOW TO EAT, and the recipe is indeed the same (minus the ginger)...she calls it Clementine Cake. It's good to know that the recipe has so many devoted fans - it speaks to its goodness!
By the way, I tried my own version of your pear and marron confit crumble yesterday, substituting dates and prunes for the marrons and it was lovely - thank you so much for the inspiration!
Luisa - It's interesting that Trish and Nigella share the exact same recipe, because in some way, their cooking styles, comfortable and no-fuss, are a bit similar!
The dates and prunes sound like an excellent twist to the pear cumble (I *love* prunes), thanks for passing on the idea, so happy it inspired you!
Posted by clotilde on February 25, 2004 6:10 PMHi clotilde,
Posted by christoph on February 26, 2004 2:35 PMI made the orange cake on the weekend and I brought the leftovers (yes there were some though I did my best) of the cake to work. Now the whole CNRS is crazy about this recipe. The next time I think I will experiment with some different sortes of citrus fruits. I could imagine a blend of kumquats, pomelo and oranges to bring a slightly bitter taste in it. I'll report back.
Christoph - So happy the recipe worked out for you as well! I agree, it would be great with other citruses. I've read about people having good success using Meyer lemons in that kind of recipe. The Meyer variety is sweeter than the regular one. Not sure they're available in France, though.
Posted by clotilde on February 27, 2004 2:47 PMwonderful cake, tried it last weekend. you're right about the boiling oranges smell. what can it be compared to? a gym locker? petroleum processing?
thank you.
Posted by david on April 2, 2004 5:00 PMDavid - I'm glad you tried this and liked it! But yeah, I'd love to know what chemical reaction makes those oranges stink so *badly*! :) Fortunately the final taste couldn't be further from that smell...
Posted by clotilde on April 4, 2004 10:50 AMSalut Clotilde, you mentioned these meyer lemons in your comment and since that time I was regularily searching for this variety, encouraged through enthusastic descreptions in the internet. But I was never lucky to find some. Last sunday we were at the Truffaut garden center to buy some plants for our balcony, and there was a rallly little tree of meyer lemons which I had to buy despite the its horror price. It has a lot of very small lemons hanging. Now it sits on our balcony and despite Paris is not the Nr 1 spot for growing lemons, I hope some of them will ripe. In this case I'll get you one or two, promised.
Posted by christoph on May 26, 2004 3:45 PMChristoph - Oh thank you so much, how kind of you, I'll look forward to that! I adore citrus trees, and have been pleading with Maxence for us to get one -- they are indeed, horribly expensive. But isn't Truffaut a small garden of Eden? ;)
Posted by clotilde on May 26, 2004 4:04 PMHello Clotilde, I'll try this tonight and it will be our 4o'clock treat at the office tomorrow. What does the "C" in 1/4C candied ginger stand for please ? and do you actually boil and then purée oranges with peel ?? Thank you for all these delicious recipes, thank you also for all the excellent advice you give and for you inimitable personal touch !
Posted by Isabelle on October 14, 2004 12:48 PMIsabelle - The "C" stands for "cup", it's a standard measuring unit in anglo-saxon countries. 1/4C is 4 tablespoons, the equivalent of four "cuillérées à soupe". And yes, the whole oranges, peel included, get used! Good luck and let me know how it turns out!
Posted by clotilde on October 14, 2004 12:51 PMI would love to try the orange and ginger cake for Passover, but don't know the equivalents in spoons to grams for the sugar and almond powder. Thank you, Margaret
Posted by Margaret on April 23, 2005 1:49 AMMargaret - I have added the US equivalents, happy baking!
Posted by clotilde on April 23, 2005 11:43 AMDear Clotilde, thank you so much for answering my question about converting grams to cups and spoons. I read about your blog in a newspaper article here in Chicago and immediately looked it up. I have enjoyed it ever since. Best regards,Margaret
Posted by Margaret on April 25, 2005 5:46 AMI made a version of this for Passover and it was a hit. I used 2 organic Valencia oranges and ground almonds. My recipe is from a Jewish cookbook and this cake is Sephardic in origin. Also, I separated 2 of the eggs, whipped the whites, folded, etc. etc. etc. Delicious.
Posted by Stacey on April 25, 2005 9:53 PMhi clotilde.I made the cake last week but wasnt puffy.Did you beat the eggs with fork? or mixer?
Posted by silvea on April 30, 2005 10:48 AMthank you
I made this recipe to rave reviews! My only modification was to add 1 cup of chocolate chips. I love ginger/chocolate and orange/chocolate combinations so I figured all three would be a real treat. Keep up the great work you are doing with this site.
Posted by Sonal on April 30, 2005 4:05 PMWas fascinated by the orange puree (or in my case, Meyer lemon which happened to be in frig) so after reading the recipe, moved straight to the kitchen. I was surprised when the cake was done -- outside edge already burned in fact -- after only 45 minutes. (Checked: Oven temp is fine.) I'm an experienced baker/cook and am much puzzled by such variation. Any thoughts? Taste report to follow, am taking to friends tonight.
Posted by Alanna on May 12, 2005 3:41 PMTaste report: man oh man oh man. Even devoted chocoholics devoured this. It was much moister than expected, in the 24 hrs of refrigeration the glaze permeated about half way in. Thank you ... will try again with oranges some time soon.
Posted by Alanna on May 13, 2005 4:24 PMI made this cake for a dinner party last night. It was delicious.
Posted by Eric Goff on June 23, 2005 5:27 PMOrange and almond cake is my favourite but i never cook the oranges just throw them in my mini chopper and puree them. Do you know if this is dangerous to do as you are eating the whole orange (unboiled - and I do try to use organic mostly). Didn't realise cooked oranges had a nasty smell!
Posted by Lorraine on September 11, 2005 9:12 PMThis recipe is dancing in my head for our upcoming Thanksgiving holiday gathering. And now it's flirtatiously tangoing with the StickyYummyToffee-yPudding recipe.
Do you have any comment on what difference Lorraine's mention of fresh oranges would have on the taste of this recipe?
I stumbled across your site a couple of days ago, while researching rhubarb of all things (I've been thinking of a rhubarb compote to compliment a holiday roast pork), and I have been perusing your archives gleefully like a kid with a new toy since then.
Lovely work.
Posted by pennyrile on November 8, 2005 6:44 AMDo you know the origins of the Clementine cake?
Posted by Rhian Lombard on November 12, 2005 5:47 AMHi Clotilde,
I'm looking for ideas at the moment for a wedding cake - it has to be something that will last a long time so that it can be made well before - possible a month or so. Do you have any idea of how long this cake will keep for? (By the sounds of it no-one has kept it longer than a day...)
Posted by claire on February 10, 2006 12:15 PMThanks!
Hi Clotilde,
Posted by Rita on February 20, 2006 4:06 AMThis cake sounds so good! I am in the process of making it and I am confused about how much of almond meal to use. The recipe says 250g (2 1/3C). I understand that 2 1/3 cups are about 750g. Please clarify!
Thank you, Rita
P.S. Loved your recipe for Chocolate Chili Bites.
Hi Clotilde,
Thank you for the great recipe! It's so good. I made the cake using Meyer Lemons, and it was heavenly! I posted your recipe and photos of my meyer lemon cake on my blog. Please feel free to take a look.
http://letseatmeal.blogspot.com/2006/04/meyer-lemons.html
Thank you!
Posted by Hiroko on April 24, 2006 4:58 PMhiroko
Hello Clothilde,
Posted by Ellen on June 18, 2006 3:00 PMThanks for all those lovely recepies. About the orange and ginger-cake: I would love to try, but mij experience with cooked oranges in cakes, is that the result stays too bitter in the end; because of the peel en pith? But maybe I'm doing something wrong?
thanks for you're comment!
Made this cake for a friends birthday party,now everybody wants the recipe.
Posted by Lita on November 13, 2006 10:15 AMgreat succes.
Hi Clotilde!
I know i'm commenting on a two-year-old post, but I'm hoping you might spot this question anyway!
I made this cake (sans ginger; I didn't have any on hand), and ground the almonds myself in my food processor. I wasn't sure how finely to grind the almonds, but I didn't want to accidentally make almond butter, so I perhaps left them a bit too coarse. Are you meant to be able to feel a bit of a granular texture in the cake? It feels it a bit strange to me, for a cake!
Merci beaucoup pour ta reponse!!
Posted by Deanna on December 26, 2006 2:58 AMEllen - I've never had a problem with bitterness using this recipe. Perhaps it's a question of what oranges you use, too?
Deanna - This recipe is normally made with almond meal that you buy already ground to a very fine powder. I don't think I would mind the nubbyness of coarsely ground almonds personally, but next time you can try grinding the almonds together with the sugar and working in short pulses: this prevents the almonds from turning into butter.
Posted by clotilde on December 26, 2006 9:34 AMHi Clotilde,
I just happened to find your website while searching for recipes using Meyer lemons. I baked the Gâteau à l'Orange et au Gingembre (Meyer Lemon variation) for some friends the other day, and it is just wonderful. The contrast of the sour/bitter lemons with the sweetness of the almond cake makes a great combination. As you say, the ginger is so subtle that my guests noticed it only after I mentioned it. I could not find the crystallized sugar, which, from your photo, gives the cake an elegant appearance.
I live in San Francisco and have a Meyer Lemon tree that finally, after years of nurturing, is finally bearing fruit year-round. I always look for recipes that show off the taste of the lemons, and this cake does it justice. Thanks for your recipes.
Posted by brad on January 17, 2007 6:57 PMi baked this cake last night, and threw some rhubarb tossed with sugar in the oven to roast along with it, and served them together along with a dollop of greek yogurt. delicious. i only made a half recipe for some reason, which i'm totally regretting...
Posted by deensiebat on May 8, 2007 6:21 PMhi clotilde,
this recipe reminded me of philip johnson's mandarin cake.
a local chef here in brisbane, australia, his e'cco bsitro is wonderful, and his books always compelling.
it is also interesting to note along with stephanie alexander, another australian chef of note's interest in this style of cake.
of course chocolate and zucchini is also compelling and has inspired my purchase of a canelle pan and their now regular production in our home.
thanks, joel
Posted by joel on May 15, 2007 3:53 AMHas anyone tried to make this with lemons instead of oranges? As with most, can't help but fiddle with something so good- not to improve upon something good but to justify continuously making it!
Posted by tjdavis on December 10, 2007 11:58 PMDear Clotilde,
I have only just recently discovered your blog and I've been going through your archives like an addict.Your recipes sound wonderful! Thanks for sharing:) I am thinking of trying this recipe sometime soon but I'm rather confused by the amount of almond powder I should use because 2 1/3 cups is not equivalent to 250g. Please get back to me as soon as you can :)
Thank you,
Bella
Posted by Bella on March 21, 2008 9:33 AMBella - I can confirm that you should use 2 1/3 cups ground almonds (lightly packed) for this recipe. And if you weigh that amount on a scale, it will come close to 250 grams or 9 ounces (weight to volume conversions are not 100% exact because it depends on how the cook packs the ingredient).
Posted by clotilde on March 21, 2008 11:14 AMHi Clothilde,
I work in a small non-profit coffeeshop, and this cake very quickly became a favourite (so quickly, in fact, I was tempted to call it the "When Harry Met Sally" cake :-) ). Several people have asked for the recipe - I always send them here.
One suggestion - if using stem ginger preserved in syrup, when making the topping, substitute a tablespoon or so of the syrup for some of the lemon juice for a little extra gingery warmth. (Perhaps reduce the sugar in the batter to compensate.)
This recipe has many possibilities with chocolate, too. One can substitute 50g of the almonds with cocoa powder, and/or coat the final cake with a ganache and decorate with orange peel.
Many thanks for the recipes and the inspiration!
Posted by Chris on March 29, 2008 11:54 AMPrivacy. The email addresses you enter will not be used for any other purpose than the sending of this message.