For as much orange is in this from-scratch Orange and Almond Spice Cake, the orangy flavor steps back and provides a rich backdrop for the beautifully autumnal spices in the syrup. The crumb has a creaminess: it’s sort of like pound cake, but much lighter. That delicate texture is balanced by the tiny flecks of almond. Don’t skimp on the garnishes: they provide you with a spectrum of experience from muted cake; to sticky, syrup-infused cake; to bright and tangy syrup; to very occasional hits of orange peel. The sour cream simply makes the whole thing transcendent. But for all of that, the cake overall still has a humble hominess. It’s the perfect end to a nice, home-cooked meal.
Moroccan Orange and Almond Cake
Course: Dessert2
small loaves14
Make the syrup while the cakes are baking.
Ingredients
- For the cakes
Butter for pans
3½ oz. (1 generous cup) almonds
4 oz. (1/2 cup) sugar, divided
6 oz. (1 scant cup) AP flour
1½ tsp baking powder
1 large orange
4 oz. butter, softened
Orange juice, as needed
2 eggs
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Sour cream, for serving
- For the syrup
10 oz. (1¼ cups) orange juice
4¾ oz. (2/3 cup) sugar
1 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Directions
- Make the cakes
- Butter two small (3-cup capacity), silicone loaf pans. Set aside.
- Place the almonds and 1 Tbs of the sugar into a coffee grinder, and process to a fine meal. By hand, whisk it together with the flour and baking powder. Set aside.
- Use a channel knife to remove strips from 1/4 of the orange; wrap in plastic and set aside. Then, zest and squeeze the orange. Place the remaining sugar into a coffee grinder and process to superfine granuals.
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Beat the sugar, zest, and butter together on medium speed (setting 4 of 7) until light and fluffy, 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, on low speed (setting 1), just until each is fully incorporated, 30 seconds per egg.
- Add enough orange juice to the squeezed juice to bring the total to 5¾ oz. On lowest speed, mix the flour mixture into the butter mixture in three additions, and the juice in two additions, starting with the flour. Beat on low speed (setting 2) for 30 seconds. Spoon the batter into the loaf pans. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until well risen and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pans on racks for 10 minutes.
- Make the syrup
- Place the orange juice, sugar, and spices in a pan over low medium-high heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil and let simmer until syrupy and reduced to 1 cup, 15 minutes.
- Soak and serve the cakes
- Turn the warm cakes out upside down into a deep serving dish. Using a toothpick, make holes all over their bottoms. Pour or spoon 3/4 of the syrup over the cake. Let stand for 5 minutes, constantly spooning syrup that has collected in the bottom of the bowl back onto the cakes. Flip the cakes. Let stand 5 minutes, constantly spooning syrup that has collected in the bottom of the bowl back onto the cakes. Let stand for 25 minutes. Transfer cakes to a serving platter.
- When ready to serve, garnish the cakes with reserved orange strips, dust somewhat generously with confectioner’s sugar, and drizzle with reserved syrup. Serve immediately, accompanying individual servings with sour cream.
Social Learning: Pre-Baking
Do the pans have to be silicone? Probably not. It’s hard to get a warm cake out of a metal pan, but so easy to get them out of silicone. One drawback is that silicone pans bulge when filled, so the sides of the cakes won’t be as perfectly shaped as they would be in metal pans. A silicone pan should be nonstick, but again, because I want to turn the cakes out when still warm, I felt a light coating of butter would be wise.
Brush out your coffee grinder before processing the almonds … although a little bit of coffee in this cake is going to be fine. You have to be careful when processing almonds that you don’t turn them into a paste. Adding the sugar helps with this, but still… When you start to see signs of clumping, you’re running very close to the edge.
Weigh one of the loaf pans, and then tare the weight. This will allow you to divide the batter in half precisely, which will guarantee that both loves come out the same.
Social Learning: Post-Baking
Note that the sticky surface of the cake will soak up confectioners’ sugar rather readily. Dust on a bit more than you might think you want.
To cut the cake, use a serrated knife with a gentle sawing motion.
The sour cream is an unusual garnish, but it works perfectly.
You should store the cakes in the refrigerator, and the extra syrup, too. The cake is OK cold, but it’s much, much better at room temperature. Thirty seconds in the microwave on 20-30% power ought to do it for a single serving.
Orange and Almond Spice Cake
Credit for images on this page: Make It Like a Man!, unless otherwise indicated. Thank you, Kesor. This content was not solicited by anyone, nor was it written in exchange for anything. References: “Moroccan Orange and Almond Cake,” in Perfect Mediterranean. (Bath, UK: Parragon, 2008), 208. Make It Like a Man! has been ranked by Feedspot as #14 in the Top 30 Men’s Cooking Blogs!
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This looks and sounds lovely!!!
Thank you, Mimi!
This sounds and looks absolutely delicious. I love orange cakes so this is going on my list of things to try. Thank you for sharing!!
Thanks, Lori!
I love when the taste of a recipe is all its parts coming together. People forget that garnishes aren’t optional. I love this cake, Jeff — and now I have a shopportunity; clearly, I need some silicone loaf pans! And Christmas is coming…
It sure is! I vacillate about my silicone pans. They’re nonstick, which is nice. You can also peel them away from things – meaning that you could use them to freeze something, and you could be sure that you’d be able to get the frozen thing out of the pan. But they’re not ridgid, and sometimes when baking, I want something with cleaner lines.
Oh my goodness this sounds decadent! I am not baking right now, but am bookmarking this for closer to the holidays.
Thanks, Anne!
The cake loaf looks marvelous with that spiced orange syrup and sour cream!
Thanks, Angie!
Your pictures are works of art Jeff! From the cake to the plate, absolutely gorgeous. I love the flavor combination of the orange and the spices. And I’m always a fan of adding almonds to baked goods!
Oh gosh, thank you. I took them with my cell phone, and I was worried they might look awful.
This looks really good. The combination of ingredients in this cake is perfect.
Thank you!
This would be so perfect for Thanksgiving or Christmas dessert. I love orange flavored treats during the winter holiday months and this one is too pretty not to have on the table this year!
Thanks!
Whoa!! This cake looks divine. I don’t think I’ve ever made a cake with orange and almond flavors together. What a wonderful combination. I’m very intrigued now and must give this a try. Thanks so much for sharing.
Thank you Kristy!
Now THIS is a dessert worthy of company! Serving with sour cream and a lovely orange sauce sounds terrific!!
Thanks, Liz!
You had me at the word Moroccan. I love Moroccan recipes and this cake looks amazing and your presentation is a work of art. Just looks mouthwatering!
Thank you, Judee!
This is winning dessert Jeff. I love orange and almond cake at the best of times, and you have taken this to the next level with the syrup and sour cream. Could it be baked as just one cake do you think? Once again I don’t have two smaller silicone cake pans but have one larger one? Absolutely lovely.
I’m sure that it could. You’d probably have to adjust the amount of baking time.
I love the spices in the syrup — I’d use it on pancakes, waffles, ice cream . . .
The cake sounds lovely, too! 🙂 ~Valentina
That’d be a great idea!
I am sensing a theme, is there a trip to Morocco in the future? We just adore the simple and warm spices of Moroccan cuisine. This orange cake looks and sounds absolutely fantastic. I usually get my almond meal from Costco, the price is right and it saves the coffee grinder which may, or may not have been ruined a couple of times processing almonds 😉
No trip, sadly … just a desire for something a bit different. Ruined you grinder? Yipes!
Wow, this looks very amazing 👍😊 I really like such desserts. Thx so much for it that you share with us these recipes. In one word … masterpiece culinary art 👍😊
Best regards to you
Patrick
Thank you, Patrick!
I want a thick slice of it, so inviting!
Thank you!