Cornmeal Almond Cake with Orange Syrup

The original recipe that this comes from was written in metric weights. It is interesting that 190 grams of corn meal is 1 cup, and the same weight of almond meal is 2 cups (loosely packed). There is not an error in the measurements - this is just how it worked out! This recipe has been modified and tested for the gluten free community by Gf-Zing!

1 1/3 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
grated zest and juice from a navel orange
1 cup extra light olive oil
1 cup corn meal (or 190 grams)
2 cups almond meal (or 190 grams)
1 1/2 teaspoons gluten free baking powder

Beat the eggs with the sugar and salt, using an electric mixer, for 3 minutes, until light in color and fluffy. Beat in the zest and orange juice, and then the extra light olive oil. This creates a sort of mayonnaise-like substance, with the eggs acting as an emulsifier.

Mix the corn meal, almond meal and baking powder together and fold into the egg mixture. The batter will look like corn meal mush.

Grease a 9-inch spring-form pan, line it (bottom and sides) with wax paper, then grease the wax paper. Pour the batter in to the lined pan and bake at 350 for 1 hour and five minutes. The cake will be dark brown on the top. Remove it from the oven.

Syrup:

Make a syrup of 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water, 6 tablespoons fresh orange juice (1 orange). Simmer this syrup for 8 minutes. Skim off any foam. Add 2 Tablespoons of gluten free orange liqueur, if desired. Poke holes all over the top of the cake with a skewer, then pour the hot syrup over the cake, while the cake is still in the pan. The cake will soak up the syrup almost immediately.

As soon as possible after pouring the syrup on the cake, remove the sides of the cake pan and transfer the cake to a plate. Use the wax paper to help you in moving the cake, and make sure to remove the metal bottom of the pan too. If you leave the syrupy cake in contact with the pan for much time at all, the acidic syrup will interact with the metal pan and cause the cake to have a metallic flavor.

Chill the cake completely before serving. When completely finished, the cake will be about 1 1/2 inches tall and will serve 12.

Use all gluten-free ingredients!

© Gf-Zing! | Alice DeLuca