Whole Orange and Coconut Cake uses entire oranges for intense citrus flavour with the addition of yummy coconut for texture & richness
Kia ora from New Zealand
We’re currently on day 8 of our road trip here in New Zealand. Only 3.5 hours plane trip from where we are but oh boy, our flight to Auckland was dreadful. We had a 2 hour delay on our flight and by the time we reached Auckland it was 2am in the morning.
By the time we got through customs it was 3am and Kai (our toddler) was overly tired and was acting up with tears and tantrums. Wait for it, it gets even better! When we went to pick up our car from the rental the company we found out, they did not install the baby seat in the car as per our booking. No joke, after all the dramas, we ended up checking into our hotel at 4am in the morning!
We’re now in Wellington with Tomi’s (husband) relatives and we’re happy to report that the trip got better! New Zealand is a beautiful country, so well looked after and pristine. Tomi’s sister babysat Kai today so we could get some time alone.
I’ve packed my older MacBook laptop so I could continue to post my recipes along the way but ran into some problems. Finding time, and Wi-Fi connections proved challenging when travelling.
Fortunately, we got a little break here in Wellington and the internet connection is good so here is my first recipe for the month. A unique and delightful gluten-free Whole Orange and Coconut Cake.
Two whole oranges!
When I discovered this cake I knew I had to try it. I loved the idea of using entire oranges to make this cake because I’m a massive fan of citrus based desserts.
Yes, we’re going to be using whole oranges, including their flesh, juice, pith and peels. By doing this we get an intense orange flavour in this cake. The zest or peel from an orange and lemon is where the zesty citrus flavour is the strongest.
The orange’s pith (the white part between the peel and flesh) is bitter. To remove the bitterness we’ll be boiling the oranges for an hour.
The rest is easy peasy! This Whole Orange and Coconut Cake is actually a ‘blender cake‘, but not to worry because I promise it won’t end up tasting like rubber! You’ll end up with a sticky, moist cake with an intense orange flavour, and the coconut adds richness and texture.
There is no flour in flour in this cake, instead, its prime ingredients are almond meal and desiccated coconut. This means the cake is gluten-free! Like most flourless cakes, this cake is dense and rich so you’ll only need a small slice to satisfy your sweet craving.
We have more delicious sweet recipes for you to try:
Orange & Poppy Seed Friands
Passionfruit Slice
Chocolate Cherry Slice
Chocolate Oat Slice
Ingredients for Whole Orange and Coconut Cake
Oranges – Choose oranges that are not too large, they should be the size of a baseball or weigh approximately 150gm/5.3oz per orange. I used blood oranges but any type of orange should work.
Almond meal is ground almonds. Over here you can get both unpeeled and peeled (blanched) ground almonds, either would work in this cake.
Desiccated coconut – I used unsweetened desiccated coconut which is dry and finely shredded into fine flakes.
Caster sugar (superfine sugar) – Caster sugar has finer granules than regular white sugar. However, it’s not the same as icing/powdered sugar. Many baking or candy recipes call for caster sugar as it dissolves faster and better into mixtures. If you can’t find caster sugar, you can make your own by placing regular sugar in a food processor or blender. Pulse the sugar a few times until it looks finer, but don’t over-blitz to a powder consistency. Or, just use equal amounts of regular white sugar.
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How to make Whole Orange and Coconut Cake?
Step-by-step guide with photos
Fill a medium saucepan 3/4 full with water and add in the oranges. Place the saucepan over high heat and bring the water to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium then cover and boil the oranges for an hour. Check occasionally to make sure there’s enough water to cover the oranges during the boiling process.
Meanwhile, in the last 15 minutes of the boiling the oranges, preheat the oven to 160°C (320°F) or 140°C (284°F) Line and grease the sides and base of a 24cm (9.5in) spring form tin with baking/parchment paper.
Drain the hot water from the oranges and rinse them with cold water. The oranges will be quite soft and may slightly split, but this is okay and won’t impact the overall cake. Once the oranges are cool enough to handle, chop them roughly and remove any seeds.
Place the chopped orange in a blender or food processor, and blitz until the oranges resemble thick puree. Add in the remaining ingredients and blitz for 20 seconds. Use a spatula and scrape the sides of the bowl and blend further for a further 10 seconds. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until skewer comes out clean when inserted in the middle of the cake. Leave cake in tin to cool for completely before serving.
Serving suggestions – Serve cake with fresh cream or vanilla ice cream.
Leftovers – Allow the cake to cool completely at room temperature, then transfer into a sealed container and store in the fridge for up to 5 days. The cake also freezes well for up to 3 months.
I’ve used a third-party application to calculate the calories and nutritional information, so please use this as an approximate guide only.
Cooking measurements are in Australian standard spoon and cup measurements. For specific details and conversions, visit our Australian Cooking Measurements page.
I would love your feedback and support if you made this recipe. To do this, please rate this recipe and provide a comment by scrolling down this page or by clicking that green circle on the bottom left. An email address is required (for spam), but it won’t be published. I would also love to see your dish, so don’t forget to tag me on my Instagram account ‘3catsfoodie’
Cheers – Cat T
Whole Orange and Coconut Cake
Ingredients
- 2 small whole oranges (approx. 150gm/5.3oz) (NOTE 1)
- 6 large eggs
- 1¼ cups caster sugar (NOTE 2)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1¼ tsp baking powder
- 2 cups almond meal (NOTE 3)
- ¾ cup unsweetened desiccated coconut (NOTE 4)
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
- Fill a medium saucepan 3/4 full with water and add in the oranges. Place the saucepan over high heat and bring the water to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium then cover and boil the oranges for an hour. Check occasionally to make sure there's enough water to cover the oranges during the boiling process. Meanwhile, in the last 15 minutes of the boiling the oranges, preheat the oven to 160°C (320°F) or 140°C (284°F) Line and grease the sides and base of a 24cm (9.5in) spring form tin with baking/parchment paper.
- Drain the hot water from the oranges and rinse them with cold water. The oranges will be quite soft and may slightly split, but this is okay and won't impact the overall cake. Once the oranges are cool enough to handle, chop them roughly and remove any seeds.
- Place the chopped orange in a blender or food processor, and blitz until the oranges resemble thick puree. Add in the remaining ingredients and blitz for 20 seconds. Use a spatula and scrape the sides of the bowl and blend further for a further 10 seconds. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until skewer comes out clean when inserted in the middle of the cake. Leave cake in tin to cool for completely before serving.
