Equal Parts

It’s a charming idea to sit down to a slice of pound cake topped with jam and whipped cream daily at 3:30pm. I always imagine this scenario at an antique whitewashed kitchen table in the breakfast nook of an old farmhouse overlooking rolling hills and roaming horses somewhere in Vermont. It’s just too perfect. Some people can eat a slice of cake every day and not show it on their hips, waist, arms, face, big toe — and those people are incredibly lucky. But for me the concept of an “everyday cake” is entirely too optimistic, and as such I’ve baked very few cakes in my life.

I have a favorite apple cake that I enjoy making once a fall, and I have a bundt cake pan that I mostly use to make Zingerman’s incredible Sour Cream Coffee Cakes to give as gifts. It was just last year when I made my first birthday cake ever, a vanilla cake with brown butter icing and a lot of sprinkles for my sister. And I made my second earlier this month for my own birthday, a classic yellow cake with chocolate frosting. (Jeff did the decorating as we’ve learned that his care and attention to detail are perfectly suited for this task. It was gorgeous.)

Enter Claudia Roden’s Orange Almond Cake. This is a very special cake. The recipe calls for two whole oranges to be boiled in water for two hours, then puréed — peels included — into a pulp. This, along with eggs, is the entirety of the wet ingredients. As for the dry ingredients, ground almonds are mixed with sugar and baking powder. That’s it! When all are combined you’re left with a very wet dough, which — almost unbelievably — bakes into a cake after an hour in a warm oven. Serve it warm to enjoy the contrast of crisp, brown corners against a soft, pudding-like center. Or, it’s also excellent cold, surprisingly refreshing. It also happens to be vegan and (edit from the future: It is so not! There are 6 eggs! #typo) gluten free, which are not requirements of my everyday general eating, but perhaps of my everyday cake eating. Though if you do happen to have a slice on the weekend, I encourage you to add a dollop of fresh whipped cream.

ORANGE ALMOND CAKE via Claudia Roden via Food52 Genius Recipes

Boil 2 whole large oranges in a pot on the stove for 2 hours. Allow to cool. Cut open and take out any seeds. Purée in a food processor until smooth. Preheat oven to 400. Combine 2 cups plus 2 tbsp ground almonds (I always grind whole almonds in a food processor), 1 cup plus 1 tbsp sugar, and 1 tsp baking powder in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the orange purée and 6 eggs. Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Pour the batter into a 9” springform pan. Bake for approximately one hour, until the cake is starting to turn a dark brown, a toothpick inserted comes out clean, and it smells like a Christmas wreath in your kitchen.