Flourless Blood Orange Cake with Dates & Pomegranate Honey
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: Jewish, Middle Eastern, Holiday
Yield: One 9-inch cake
Ingredients
  • For Cake
  • 227 grams ( ½ lb) pitted dates
  • Water
  • 548 grams (4 medium or 5 small) blood oranges
  • 6 large eggs
  • 260 grams (2 ⅓ cups) finely ground almonds or almond meal*
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger (or ¼ tsp ground ginger)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract or paste, or seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean
  • ½ tsp ground cardamom
  • For Garnish
  • 2 medium or 3 small blood oranges
  • 120 ml (½ cup) pomegranate juice
  • 60 ml (¼ cup) honey
  • Pinch salt
Procedure
  1. Add dates to bowl of food processor or pitcher of high-powered blender.
  2. Scrub the oranges thoroughly - preferably with the soft bristles of a vegetable brush if you have one - and set aside.
  3. Fill a medium saucepan with water about two thirds of the way and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer, measure out 130ml (½ cup + 2 teaspoons) of the hot water, and pour it over the dates. (They won’t be submerged or drenched, it’s just enough water to soften them.) Let dates soak for about 10 minutes, then process into a chunky paste and leave it in the processor or blender.
  4. Add the whole oranges to the saucepan, cover with a lid, and cook for 90 minutes. Remove the oranges from the water with tongs or a slotted spoon and set aside until cool enough to handle.
  5. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan (I use coconut oil), and line the pan with a parchment circle.
  6. When oranges are cool enough to handle, cut into eighths. Remove and discard any large seeds, and add the oranges - peel and all - to the date paste. Puree until smooth. (Note: you can boil and puree the oranges in advance, and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for several months.)
  7. Crack the eggs into a medium bowl and whisk briefly to break down. Add eggs to orange-date puree and pulse briefly to mix in. Add all remaining ingredients and process until batter is uniform. It will be very thick.
  8. Scrape batter into prepared pan and bake for 50-60 minutes (check at 50), rotating halfway through, until sides pull away from pan and a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.
  9. Set pan on a rack and allow cake to cool completely before turning out.
  10. While cake is cooling, prepare garnish: Slice off tops and bottoms of oranges so ends are flat. Stand oranges upright on a cutting board, and use a sharp paring knife to trim off all peel and white pith, working your way down and around the fruit. Cut oranges into thin slices (⅛ to ¼ inch thick) and set aside.
  11. Whisk together pomegranate juice, honey, and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat, and bring to simmer. Cook liquid until reduced by two thirds (you should end up with 60ml or ¼ cup). Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes until thickened and syrupy.
  12. Use a pastry brush to dab some of the syrup over the surface of the cake, just to coat evenly. Reserve remaining syrup to serve with cake.
  13. Arrange orange slices in a decorative pattern over top, cut cake into wedges, and serve.
Notes
*I recommend Bob's Red Mill Extra Fine Blanched Almond Meal or Super Fine Natural Almond Flour. If you want to substitute a coarser meal for more texture, you're better off measuring by weight.
Recipe by Good Health Gourmet at https://goodhealthgourmet.com/flourless-blood-orange-cake-dates-pomegranate-honey/