What do we have for breakfast?

Does this question sound familiar in your household?  If yes, please scroll down.

In our pre-COVID life, kids were picked up by the school bus while it was still dark outside. Consequently, breakfast consisted mainly of rushed bowls of cereal or homemade oatmeal, drizzled with honey and soaked in milk, or a platter of random fruits devoured with one hand while zipping up their backpacks with the other.

Our breakfast scene has tremendously changed since the pandemic ruled. In many households, mine included, breakfast became a long leisurely meal and a salvaged pleasure that kids in specific indulge in.  

Lately, I’ve noticed that my glistening oozy omelets and homemade croissants are losing their allure and somehow getting old, at least this is what my family thinks.

I faced strong demands to shake up the menu if I am to consider keeping my job as the family’s chef, so I had to succumb.

I resorted to my French cookbooks where the sacred breakfast meal is honored through a galore of mouthwatering treats. While rifling through the recipes of my favorite cakes book, “Le Grand Livre de La Patisserie Facile”,  this Orange-Almond Cake instantly caught my eyes.

There is something that sets it apart from other familiar orange cakes. It calls for orange puree made of whole oranges, flesh, and skin! The zesty taste is powerful, yet surprisingly empty of any trace of bitterness.

Scientifically, almond flour is the cementing agent of this cake and not wheat flour. It is pleasantly nutty and pairs perfectly well with the zesty notes of the whole oranges.

The recipe uses only 75 grams of flour. While this small amount makes this treat a convenient low-carb breakfast, it also serves in absorbing the excess liquid in the orange puree.

To perk up the cake, I strayed slightly away from the original recipe and added a 1/4 cup of chia seeds, a splash of vanilla to tame the impact of 6 eggs, and a dash of cinnamon that can’t go better with oranges.

Given its high nutritional value, I find this cake to be a filling snack and a wonderful treat that goes super well with afternoon tea.

Orange Almond Cake

Recipe adapted from “Le Grand Livre de La Patisserie Facile” 

Serves 6-8 people

INGREDIENTS

• 2 medium navel oranges, seedless
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 6 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 220 grams icing sugar
• 240 grams almond flour
• 75 grams flour
• ¼ cup chia seeds
• ¼ cup slivered almonds, to decorate the cake (optional)

DIRECTIONS 

1. Prepare the orange Puree: Add two medium oranges to a casserole dish. Cover with tap water and bring it to a boil for 40 to 50 minutes, or until the oranges are totally tender. Let it cool slightly. Trim and discard the two ends of the oranges,  place them in the bowl of a food processor, and pulse until they are completely pureed.
2.  Preheat the oven to 180°C or 350°F. Butter a cake mold and line it with parchment paper.
3. Make the wet ingredients: Add the eggs, vanilla, and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Run the mixer at a medium speed first, and then increase the speed to high for 5 to 7 minutes (depends on the strength of your mixer) until the egg-sugar mixture is pale, creamy, and fluffy.
4. Mix the dry ingredients: Mix together the cinnamon powder, almond flour, flour, and chia seeds.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in several batches and mix with a spatula until all the ingredients are incorporated. Avoid using the whisk attachment for mixing the dry ingredients as it might deflate the egg-sugar mixture.
6. Sprinkle some slivered almonds on top of the cake, if you will, to decorate.
7. Bake the cake: Pour the cake batter in the cake mold. Bake in a preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean and crumb-free.
8. Serve it cold or at room temperature for breakfast or as a snack.