Chocolate, Orange, and Almond Olive Oil Cake
If you have ground almonds in your freezer, this cake takes almost no time to prep. But don’t rush the baking and final steps: it is important to bake the cake until it is dark golden-brown for the best texture, and to sprinkle a layer of chopped almonds on the serving plate so that the bottom of the cake doesn’t stick to the plate.
This recipe calls for two kinds of almonds, unpeeled sweet whole almonds and Marcona almonds from Spain, but you can use all sweet almonds if that’s what you have on hand. In that case, sprinkle a little more flaked salt over the top of the cake since Marcona almonds are already salted and fried in oil when you buy them. To highlight the taste of the olive oil in the cake, use one of the more pungent varieties. Just make sure you select oil that you really like, since you will taste it even after the cake is baked
Makes one (8 1/2 -inch) Cake, 8 to 10 servings
Ingredients
- 3 ⁄4 cup organic all-purpose flour
- 1⁄2 cup organic whole wheat pastry flour
- 3 ⁄4 cup organic granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1⁄2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1⁄4 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
- 1⁄2 cup ground roasted unpeeled whole almonds, divided
- 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1⁄3 cup fruity olive oil, such as arbequina
- Finely grated zest of 2 large oranges, preferably organic
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1⁄2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1⁄2 teaspoon pure almond extract
- 1 recipe Chocolate Orange Glaze (recipe follows)
- 1 ounce Marcona almonds, coarsely chopped (or use more whole almonds chopped and sprinkled with sea salt)
- Flaked sea salt, for serving (optional)
Preparation
- Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat to 350°F. Oil the cake pan and line the bottom with a parchment circle. Do not oil the parchment.
- Place a wire mesh strainer over a medium bowl. Add the all-purpose flour, pastry flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and baking powder to the strainer and stir with a whisk to sift the ingredients into the bowl. (If any small bits remain in the strainer, add them to the mixture in the bowl.) Add 1⁄4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of the ground almonds and stir with a wire whisk to combine and aerate the mixture.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the orange juice, oil, zest, vinegar, and vanilla and almond extracts until completely combined. Immediately pour into the dry mixture and whisk until the batter is smooth.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Rotate the pan to level the batter and tap it lightly on the counter. Bake for 43 to 45 minutes or until the cake is dark golden-brown, the sides have started to pull away from the pan, and a wooden toothpick or skewer inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. The cake will have risen considerably, but will become more compact as it cools.
- Place the pan on a wire rack. Carefully run a thin knife between the cake and the inside of the pan. Cool for 5 minutes. Invert the cake onto the rack. Remove the bottom of the pan and the parchment paper. If the bottom of the cake feels very wet, sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of the reserved ground almonds, pressing lightly so they adhere. Cool the cake completely without inverting it. Make the glaze while the cake cools.
Assemble The Cake
Sprinkle a serving plate with the remaining ground whole almonds. The almonds will keep the moist cake from sticking to the plate. Slide a 9-inch cardboard cake board under the cake and gently slide the cake off the board onto the plate. It will be bottom side up.
Drizzle or spread the Chocolate Orange Glaze on top of the cake and sprinkle with the Marcona almonds. Refrigerate the cake until the glaze is set.
Serving
Slice the cake cold but serve at room temperature with the optional sprinkling of flaked sea salt. Drizzle the plates with olive oil if using.
Keeping
I like the texture and flavor of the cake best the day it is made, but the cake will hold overnight at room temperature loosely wrapped in parchment. The cake freezes well for up to one month with no loss of flavor, but do not add the chopped nuts until the cake is defrosted. Wrap the cake tightly in a double layer of plastic wrap and slip it into a large zipper-lock bag. Defrost the cake unwrapped. Refrigerate the glaze in a covered container for up to three days. Allow the glaze to return to room temperature before using.
Chocolate Orange Glaze
Makes 2 ⁄3 Cup
Ingredients
- Finely grated zest of 1 large organic orange
- 1⁄4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice, strained
- 3 1⁄2 ounces dark chocolate (70 to 72%), very finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons fruity extra-virgin olive oil
- 1⁄4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1⁄8 teaspoon fine sea salt
Preparation
- Combine the zest, orange juice, and chocolate in a small saucepan. Cook over the lowest heat until the chocolate begins to melt.
- Remove from the heat and stir until the chocolate is completely melted and the glaze is smooth.
- Stir the olive oil, vanilla, and salt into the glaze. Pour into a bowl and allow the glaze to thicken at room temperature for 20 to 25 minutes or until the glaze has set enough to coat a spoon thickly. Stir a few times before using.
Keeping
Refrigerate the glaze in a covered container for up to three days. Allow the glaze to return to room temperature before using, or warm it in a water bath.
Recipes from Vegan Chocolate: Unapologetically Luscious and Decadent Dairy-Free Desserts, © 2013 by Fran Costigan. Photo © Kate Lewis 2013
I love the combination of chocolate and orange <3 your cake looks awesome! I am pinning this recipe, can't wait to make it (just need some more almonds!).
How I just swwooooon over chocolate desserts! Cakes in particular. My birthday is coming up and this just might be the cake for me to drop not-so subtle hints so all I have to do is just eat it. I love your cookbook. Flipping through its gorgeous pages makes me happy. I made your Blackout Cake and my baker friend was amazed it was vegan (apparently they teach zero vegan baking skills in schools). Thank you so much for contributing to the VVP and sharing this wonderful recipe!
Happy almost birthday, Jessica. I cannot tell you how happy I am when read you love my chocolate cookbook. The Blackout Cake for me was personal, as I wrote in the introduction to the recipe. No one can tell that it is vegan.. and that is the point.
Oh my Fran.
Speachless ♥
<3 back at you!! Make this cake!You (and any doubters) will love it.
yum, this looks amazing! and very decadent.
Why yes, yes I do have ground almonds in the freezer! Thank you for sharing, Fran!
Always keep ground almonds in the freezer! So, we think alike!
What a gorgeous cake. There are a few birthdays coming up so I’ve got a good excuse to try this recipe 😉
Dripping with deliciousness! What a beautiful cake!
Love your describtion and your blog name!
Oh this is stunning!!! It looks wonderfully decadent.
This looks sensational! I’ve never looked out for a fruity olive oil but it’s definitely on my next shopping list. Yum!
Arequina oil is lovely. IT is a Spanish olive but California Olive Ranch in Caliornia makes the one I use.
Beautiful! I am gonna have to make this because it looks so good.
Just wait until you taste it!!
Wow, looks like it has an amazing consistency – all moist and sticky 🙂 I wish I could eat a piece right now. Thanks for bringing it to our potluck!!
You are so welcome!! It is really a wonderful cake. I hope you make it sometime.
Fran I purchased your book and I am planning on making this recipe but I’m not quite sure how I should be preparing the ground roasted unpeeled almonds this recipe needs. I flipped over to page 19 and it describes how to roast the almonds but does not go into details on how you grind them. What consistency am I looking for? Should it be more like a flour or a paste-like almond butter? Please help
Cyst, you will be making almond meal/ flour. If the recipe required a paste, like nut butter, it should specify that. Be careful to stop grindung the cooled nuts before they get oily. I hope this helps. Enjoy!
I am falling in love with your book Vegan Chocolate, it has been one of the best birthday present. I am looking forward doing this marvellous cake and I wonder if I can use spelt flour. What do you think about this change, Fran? Could I do it?Thank you in advance.
I’m thrilled to hear you are so happy with the Vegan Chocolate cookbook. Spelt flour can replace the flours in the recipe but I highly recommend you use 50-50 white/light and whole spelt. Spelt does tend to hold liquid a bit differently so do make sure you test the cake for doneness, keeping in mind it’s a very moist cake.
Let us know how it goes.
All best,
Fran
Wow! It is delicious. I used 85 grams white spelt flour and 85 grams whole spelt flour and coconut sugar instead of granulated sugar(because it was what I had on hand). It was moist, creamy. Everyone loved this cake. Thank you!
I’m so happy to read that you the Almond Orange Olive Oil Cake from Vegan Chocolate was a big hit! Your substitutions were smart. Thank you for letting us know.
Do you have any photos to share?? Keep baking!
Best regards,
Fran