This Flourless Orange Cake with Honey and Yogurt Cream is incredibly light and moist - It's also gluten-free and can be easily made dairy-free, making it the perfect allergy-friendly dessert!
I have a confession to make, I'm in love with fruity cakes, and in particular with citrusy cakes. If you've been following The Petite Cook for sometime, you'll probably remember this Lemon & Beer Cake or these awesome Clementine Cake Bars, which follow a similar method of this Flourless Orange Cake I'm sharing with you today.
To make this gluten-free and dairy-free orange sponge cake all you need is 5 simple ingredients: organic oranges, almond flour (also called almond meal), free-range eggs, sugar and a pinch of baking powder.
For the topping, all you need is thick natural Greek Yogurt and your favorite honey. I like to use Manuka honey whenever I can, but any honey will do. Also, it's optional, but I do recommend to add a little orange zest into the cream, to enhance the lovely citrusy aroma of the cake.
The inspiration behind this fabulous Flourless Orange Cake comes from a recent collaboration with Ancestry.
AncestryDNA is a cutting edge DNA testing service that utilizes some of the latest technology to help you discover your family history. This service combines advanced DNA science with the world’s largest online family history resource to predict your genetic ethnicity and help you find new family connections.
A few weeks ago I sent off my DNA to be tested, and I was quite impressed with the result! It turns out I am 74% Italian-Greek, which it's not too much of a shock considering my mum is Sicilian and my father is half-Italian and half-Greek. What surprised me the most was the 17% Middle Eastern heritage, a 5% Caucasus and a 4% European Jewish origin. The results revealed a mix of Mediterranean ethnicities going back as far 1000s of years, which pretty much sum up my heritage background.
This inspired me to make a fusion of Mediterranean flavours, that would really reflect my heritage. So I made an Italian flourless orange cake with a lovely almond aroma, topped up with staples of Greek cuisine, honey and yogurt, which are also ingredients you can find in Middle Eastern cuisine. I loved taking part to this collaboration, as it shows how deeply connected our roots can be.
The result was a deeply aromatic dessert that's light and refreshing and such a pleasure to share with family and friends, in typical Mediterranean-style. 
This gorgeous Flourless Orange Cake, is really the kind of dessert perfect to welcome fall season. It's light and refreshing but quite rich and indulgent, even though there's no butter or flour involved.
The cake itself is naturally gluten-free and dairy-free, which makes a great allergy-friendly dessert option. To make the cream dairy-free, simply swap Greek yogurt with a thick dairy-free yogurt alternative.
I call it the “magic cake”, because it's simply wonderful how few simple ingredients combined can make up such a delicious flavourful dessert!
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?
Please let me know how you liked it! Leave a comment below and share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #thepetitecook! Looking at your pictures always makes me smile *and super hungry*!
**This post is sponsored by Ancestry™. I truly recommend this brand and I’m really proud to collaborate with their team. Thank you for supporting the brands that support The Petite Cook!**
Recipe
Flourless Orange Cake with Yogurt and Honey Cream
Ingredients
- 400 g organic oranges, approx. 3 medium-sized ones
- 6 large free-range eggs
- 150 g white sugar
- 50 g demerara sugar
- 250 g ground almonds
- 1 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder
For the cream:
- 200 g Greek yogurt, well drained (or dairy-free alternative)
- 3 tablespoon honey + extra to decorate
- zest of one organic orange +extra to decorate
- handful of slivered almonds, to decorate (optional)
Instructions
- Put the oranges in a large sauce pan and cover with cold water. Cover with a lid and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to low, and cook for 2 hours, adding extra water if necessary.
- Drain the oranges, and when cool, cut each in half and remove the pips.
- Transfer the oranges in a food processor and pulse until creamy but still a bit chunky.
- Preheat oven to 180C/370F and arrange a rack in the middle shelf. Grease and line with parchment paper a 8-inch spring-form pan, and set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat the eggs until pale and lightly foamy. Add the sugar, almond flour, and baking powder to the eggs, and mix until combined.
- Finally, fold in chopped oranges and mix until combined.
- Pour batter into the previously prepared cake pan.
- Bake for 40 minutes, then cover loosely with foil, and continue to bake for another 10min or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool for 10 min.
- In the meantime prepare the cream. Simply mix together yogurt, orange zest and honey, adding some extra sugar to make it sweeter if you like. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Spread the cream over the top of the cake, decorate with extra orange zest and an extra drizzle of honey.
- Serve immediately, and store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Natalie says
wow, The AncestryDNA is very interesting, I should try this one day xD
One question, is it bitter if we don't peel the oranges? I'm scared that it will become bitter when we pulse them in the food processor without peeling.
Emma says
I adore citrus flavours so I know I will love this cake. Pinning for later because I have to make this cake!
Jocelyn (Grandbaby Cakes) says
This cake is a must try! I just started to develop a flour allergy. Thanks for sharing!!
Marte says
Do you have to peal the oranges before you cook them?
Andrea says
Hi Marte! Nope, you don't need to peel the oranges, just boil them whole, once ready cut them in half and remove the seeds inside, then proceed and pulse them in a food processor.