Upside Down Orange Cake

orange-cake-recipeFruit cakes have been around for ages, and will keep entertaining our taste buds for eons to come! The versatility that these cakes offer make them an attractive baking choice for any occasion. This beautiful and fragrant citrus cake is no exception; carefully crafted with orange slices dipped in thick orange and maple syrup form a base layer topped with cake batter flavored with almond meal and more orange zest. if you are looking for a lovely Orange Cake recipe, then your search ends here! This upside down orange cake can be paired with tea or coffee, or can be converted to a delicious dessert with a drizzle of cream cheese frosting, orange syrup, or even some warm chocolate sauce on the top.

[Recipe & photo courtesy of Patricia from Technicolor Kitchen]

Upside-Down Orange Cake

Ingredients
4 eggs
1 cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup self-raising flour
150g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup almond meal
1 tablespoon lemon zest

Sticky orange topping
1 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup water
2 large oranges, thinly sliced

Method
Preheat the oven to 160ºC/320ºF. To make the sticky orange topping, place the sugar and water in a large non-stick frying pan (I used a regular stainless steel pan) over medium heat and stir until sugar is dissolved. Add the oranges and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the oranges are soft. Remove from heat and set aside.

Place the eggs, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk for 8-10 minutes or until thick, pale and tripled in volume. Sift the flour over the egg mixture and fold through. Add the butter, almond meal and lemon zest and fold through.

Grease and double line the base and sides of a 20cm (8in) round cake pan with non-stick baking paper – make sure you use a deep pan and leave about 1inch (2.5cm) paper hanging out of it to hold the cake batter once it starts rising. Arrange the orange slices on the base and around the sides, reserving the syrup. Pour over the cake batter and bake for 50-60 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer.

Turn the cake onto a wire rack and spoon over some of the reserved syrup. Allow to cool before serving and serve the remaining syrup in a separate bowl.

Related Recipes
Nigella Lawson’s Holiday Spice Cake
Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Lemon Streusel Coffee Cake


Comments

  1. looks very delicious……n yummmy…..:)

  2. Hi there – Almond Meal is actually almond flour. you can buy it at any specialty grocery store, or order online. It is just grounded almonds, so you could even make it at home. Here's some more info:
    http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/products/p/almondmeal.htm

  3. Anonymous says:

    what is almond meal? is it blanched and sliced almonds??

  4. This cake doesn't only look gorgeous but looks delicious as well, really inviting.

  5. This is a good looking cake! I like the citrus addition to the cake!

  6. What a lovely recipe – I just made an upside down pear cake

  7. Never made this combo…..interesting

  8. lovely cake. i can smell the oranges!!