Let Them Eat Cake
Dec. 30th, 2025 07:36 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
madbakerThis week's Resolution Recipe: Tunisian Orange-Almond Cake.
"Breadcrumbs, used in place of flour, give this Tunisian-style cake a delightful texture."
Cake:
Unsalted butter, for greasing pan
1 1/3 cups white breadcrumbs
1 cup almond flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup minus 2 tablespoons veg oil
4 large eggses
Finely grated zest of 1 large orange and 1/2 lemon
Syrup:
Juice of the above orange
Juice of the above 1/2 lemon
1/3 cup granulated sugar
4 cloves
1 cinnamon stick, broken in two
Butter an 8-inch springform pan and line the bottom with a round of parchment. In a mixing bowl, combine breadcrumbs, almond flour, sugar and baking powder. In a small bowl, thoroughly whisk together oil and eggses, then pour into dry ingredients. Add zests. Whisk batter to thoroughly combine. Pour into prepared cake pan.
Set pan in cold oven and set to 350°. Bake until cake is golden brown and a knife comes out clean, 45-60 minutes. Let cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes, then flip and unmold cake onto rack.
Make the syrup: In a small saucepan, combine all ingredients. Cook over low heat until slightly reduced, 10 minutes. Use a sharp knife to prick surface of cake about two dozen times. Pour syrup over cake in a slow, steady stream until it has all been absorbed. You can leave the cloves and cinnamon on for decoration or discard.
What worked: It was tasty enough. We all liked the spicy syrup flavor.
What didn't: Not as good as the Tangerine Cake which is in a similar vein. This cake was a bit crunchier, which makes sense due to using breadcrumbs and fewer eggses. I wouldn't call it "delightful", but it wasn't bad. If I hadn't known about the breadcrumbs, I might have thought it was hand-ground almond flour with coarse bits.
"One cup minus 2 Tbsp"? That makes me do math and introduces a higher possibility of error. Just say something like "7/8 cup" or "3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp". Sheesh.
Will I make it again? Maybe. I might just make the tangerine cake with a bit less sugar and soak with the cinnamon-clove syrup.
"Breadcrumbs, used in place of flour, give this Tunisian-style cake a delightful texture."
Cake:
Unsalted butter, for greasing pan
1 1/3 cups white breadcrumbs
1 cup almond flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup minus 2 tablespoons veg oil
4 large eggses
Finely grated zest of 1 large orange and 1/2 lemon
Syrup:
Juice of the above orange
Juice of the above 1/2 lemon
1/3 cup granulated sugar
4 cloves
1 cinnamon stick, broken in two
Butter an 8-inch springform pan and line the bottom with a round of parchment. In a mixing bowl, combine breadcrumbs, almond flour, sugar and baking powder. In a small bowl, thoroughly whisk together oil and eggses, then pour into dry ingredients. Add zests. Whisk batter to thoroughly combine. Pour into prepared cake pan.
Set pan in cold oven and set to 350°. Bake until cake is golden brown and a knife comes out clean, 45-60 minutes. Let cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes, then flip and unmold cake onto rack.
Make the syrup: In a small saucepan, combine all ingredients. Cook over low heat until slightly reduced, 10 minutes. Use a sharp knife to prick surface of cake about two dozen times. Pour syrup over cake in a slow, steady stream until it has all been absorbed. You can leave the cloves and cinnamon on for decoration or discard.
What worked: It was tasty enough. We all liked the spicy syrup flavor.
What didn't: Not as good as the Tangerine Cake which is in a similar vein. This cake was a bit crunchier, which makes sense due to using breadcrumbs and fewer eggses. I wouldn't call it "delightful", but it wasn't bad. If I hadn't known about the breadcrumbs, I might have thought it was hand-ground almond flour with coarse bits.
"One cup minus 2 Tbsp"? That makes me do math and introduces a higher possibility of error. Just say something like "7/8 cup" or "3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp". Sheesh.
Will I make it again? Maybe. I might just make the tangerine cake with a bit less sugar and soak with the cinnamon-clove syrup.
