I've decided to head back and redo some of the older recipes here at Souvlaki For The Soul.
There will be no extreme makeovers. Just a little change in ingredients here and there.
Take my "intense" orange and almond cake for example.
It's one of my favourites here on the blog. As a lover of citrus how can it not be?
The original recipe is wonderful yet it contains a whopping 250 grams of sugar!
Now, I'm not here to preach about the evils of certain foods. Why would I?
I've always maintained the mantra of "everything in moderation".
But I was curious about what would happen if I swapped the sugar with some honey.
This orange and almond cake still turned out moist, yet it was a little less sweet.
Thanks to some amazing navel oranges that were almost bordering on being blood oranges, they added a little natural sweetness too.
The other thing I did was to swap the icing sugar on top with a "crumble". It's not really a crumble. I've bleneded a few dates, some raw coconut and pistachios for a nice contrasting crunch.
It was served it up with some very beautiful, thick Greek yoghurt for that much needed afternoon treat!
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Enjoy folks and have a great weekend. See you next week with some more recipes.
ORANGE AND ALMOND CAKE RECIPE
Serves 8
Ingredients:
- 2 large oranges
- 5 eggs
- 125 ml honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
- 250 grams blanched almond flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
For the crumble:
- 2 dates
- ¼ cup raw shredded coconut
- ¼ cup raw shelled pistachios
Instructions:
- Start off by boiling the oranges. Place them in a saucepan and use enoough water to just cover them. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 2 hours. (Turn them occasionally and top up the water if it's getting too low). Once the oranges are cooked, drain them and allow to cool completely. Once cooled chop them into even rough chunks (skin and all!) and remove any seeds that may be present.
- Preheat your oven to 190 deg C and grease and line a 20cm springform pan.
- Place the cooked, chopped orange segments along with the eggs, honey and vanilla in a food processor and blend for a minute until well combined. Add the almond flour and baking powder and blend until you have a smooth batter.
- Pour the cake batter into the springform tin and cook for approx 50 mins to 1 hour. Insert a skewer to see if the centre part of the cake is completely cooked.
- Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 mins before releasing it and allow to cool on a cake rack completely before topping it with the crumble.
- To make the cruble combine the dates, coconut and pistachios in a food processor and blend until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Sprinkle the crumble over the cake and serve with thick Greek yoghurt.
Rosa says
Very tempting! A perfect afternoon tea cake.
Cheers,
Rosa
Wanderlust and Bake says
What a beautiful looking cake! Have a couple of friends birthday's coming up - this will be perfect to celebrate them with.
john | heneedsfood says
Orange and almond cakes are one of my fav's. I've never used almond flour before so I'm guessing the texture is much finer that when you use ground almonds.
Banana Wonder says
I love ALL your cakes but love the re-do on this one. I love less sugary cakes because it doesn't distract from the flavorings (like orange and almond, beautiful flavors!). On my list to make Peter. Thanks!
bellini says
I just know I would love this cake with its citrus notes, pistachios and coconut.
Jennifer @ Delicious Everyday says
Love your updates to this recipe Peter! Especially the crumble topping. Also it seems we have the same taste in plates. 🙂 I have the exact same ones.
Maureen says
What a makeover - it sounds really good, Peter. I'm not a big cake person but this one is perfect for an afternoon treat.
Natasha says
This looks and sounds delicious! I am all for making over recipes, and this looks like a success!
Helen (grabyourfork) says
Wow that's a huge reduction in sugar, and the crumble topping would give such a lovely contrasting texture too!
Jasmine Ann Gardiner says
delicious! I love updating and playing with old recipes to create something new! I've been playing alot with sugar for honey too, love the flavour it gives to recipes and that lower sugar hit makes it seem less naughty. Although, I agree all in moderation. Gorgeous.
Sara (Belly Rumbles) says
I agree all things in moderation, but I do love how you swapped the sugar out with honey. Thick Greek yoghurt on the side, oh yes please, that just makes it even more healthier.
Sarah Ayoub says
Orange and almond cake is a recent fave now that I am a little bit older and can't really stomach the super-sweet cakes anymore. (I had a Krispy Kreme Kroughnut the other day and nearly died from on-the-spot diabetes). I have bookmarked this recipe to try it out.
Simone van den Berg says
Interesting.... I made an orange almond cake this weekend too with two oranges but I found the lingering taste to be very bitter. It was better when the cake was cooled but still too moist and slightly bitter. Now I'm curious to try your recipe too! I ended up remaking it with just the zest and some juice instead....