Marbled Orange Cardamom Almond Cake

Yes, I know I’m posting this a bit later than I promised, but in my defense, I was hoping to have a bit more natural light to photograph this cake recipe! Unfortunately, it’s been impossible, as we have had constant storms all day and night these past two days!

Furthermore, I had recorded a video showing you how to make it, but the audio was not working at the beginning of each section, so after trying (unsuccessfully!) to fix it, I decided not to share it.

For those of you who follow me on Instagram, you know I posted about this delicious cake before, and promised everyone that I would post the recipe this week on the blog, and here it is.

This is a recipe that I have honed for a while, and it has been a favorite in my family for a while now. It combines elements that work as well for Spring and Summer, as they do for Fall and Winter.

The characteristically exotic aroma of cardamom, mixed with the sweet cheerfulness of orange, and the moist bite of almonds, make this cake a real winner! The mouthfeel is addictive, as it melts in your mouth, and yet it is spongy. Also, it lasts very well at room temperature, which makes it a great choice for any celebration.

The cake is fabulous by itself, but who doesn’t love the combination of orange and chocolate? I certainly do, so marbling it was the way to go for me.

There is nothing more delicious than to enjoy a comforting and flavorful slice with a cup of orange Pekoe tea (or English Breakfast, with lemon!) on a dark and rainy morning…but, this cake also stands its own accompanied by whipped cream or vanilla ice-cream.

I have featured the cake in Ralph Lauren’s gorgeous “Mandarin Blue” service, together with vintage, embroidered linens, and my prized House of Prill “Blue Onion” (also known as “blue Danube”) flatware. The flatware is modeled after the popular Meissen design. It is now very difficult to find, and I am lucky that I have a full set of place settings and serving pieces.

I hope you love this cake as much as I do. Please, let me know whether you try it, and how it turns out. Share your pictures with me on Instagram, by tagging me! I’d love to see them!

You can also visit my old cooking blog, “A Key to the Pantry” for more recipes, by clicking here!

Ingredients

4 eggs
1 1/3 cup of sour cream
225 gr. of butter (16 tablespoons)
380 gr. of cake or pastry flour
2 cups of sugar
2/3 cup of almond meal
Zest of 3 oranges
2 tsp. ground cardamom
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp orange flower extract (you can use almond extract or vanilla extract, if you don’t have it)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350F (180C).
Mix the zest with the sugar, and distribute well. Let the zest infuse the sugar while you prepare the rest. I like to let it infuse for a day, but it’s not absolutely necessary.
Add flour, almond meal, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom, and salt (dry ingredients) to the mixer bowl and mix well by hand.
Add the orange-infused sugar.
Add the softened (not melted!) butter to the dry ingredients.
On a separate bowl, whisk the eggs until they are completely liquid and very frothy. Add the sour cream and orange flower extract, and whisk well.
Add half of the egg mixture to the dry ingredients, and mix on low until the batter becomes creamy, and all elements are well incorporated; about 2-3 minutes.
Pour the rest of the egg mixture into the batter, and mix for about 3-4 minutes.

If you want to marble the cake with chocolate, melt ½ cup of bittersweet chocolate and 2 tablespoons of water until blended, glossy, and creamy. Let it cool for a bit and add 1 tsp of Grand Marnier (optional). To marble the batter, pour about half of it on the mold, and add the melted chocolate in the center. Add more batter, the rest of the chocolate, and pour the final layer of batter. Now take a long knife and zig-zag around the mold in up-down motion.

Let the cake bake until tester comes out clean. Start checking at about 1 hour. Mine took 1 hour and 10 minutes. Let it cool completely in the mold before unmolding. Decorate with powdered sugar or chocolate ganache, or even candied oranges. A cream cheese or mascarpone frosting would also work if the cake is not marbled.

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