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May 13, 2018 By Julia Pinney Leave a Comment

Tunisian Orange Cake

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Why not dive into a little bit of North African flavours with this gluten free almond and orange cake. This Tunisian Orange Cake is not only fabulous, it’s gluten free and a whole lot easier than it looks. Surprise your family or friends with this special cake sometime soon!

Close up of a Tunisian Orange Cake.
Tunisian Orange Cake

If you are familiar with Middle Eastern or Moroccan and North African desserts you will be well aware they are quite different to the type us North American’s are used to making.  Generally much denser and quite often sticky and generally very moist.  Not to mention, full of flavour and delicious! This cake, much like the Citrus and Pistachio Cake is a complete treat!

What Makes This Tunisian Orange Cake Great

  • Fantastic flavour – this cake is bursting with a wonderful citrus flavour
  • Gluten free – this cake doens’t use any flour which makes it naturally gluten free. Instead almond meal is used to create the cake.
  • Moist texture – because of the oil, ground almonds and a syrup poured over the top, this is a super moist cake.
  • Easy to make – despite the appearance of this cake, it comes together quite quickly and is easy to make.
  • Keeps moist for days – because of the ingredients in this cake, it stays moister for long than most other cakes that would be make with butter and flour.
Tunisian Orange and Almond Cake on a tray.
Tunisian Orange Cake

Ingredients to Make This Tunisian Orange And Almond Cake

  • For the cake:
    • 1 1/2 cups almond meal
    • 1 1/2 Teaspoons baking powder
    • 4 Eggs
    • Zest of 1 orange
    • Zest of 1 lemon
    • 3/4 Cup caster sugar
    • 1 1/2 Teaspoons cinnamon
    • 3/4 Cup sunflower oil
  • For the syrup:
    • Juice of 1/2 orange
    • Juice of 1/2 lemon
    • 2 Tablespoons sugar
  • For the glaze and decorating:
    • 1 Cup powdered sugar
    • 3-4 Tablespoons orange juice fresh
    • Zest of one orange
    • 1/4 Cup pistachios roughly chopped

REMEMBER, The full recipe and instructions is always found at the end of the post in the recipe card.

Slice of Orange Almond Cake on a plate.
Tunisian Orange Cake

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven – Grease and flour a 7 inch spring form pan. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
  2. Combine dry ingredients – In a medium bowl combine the almonds, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon.
  3. Make the egg mixture and finish batter – In a large whisking bowl, whisk together the eggs and oil until foamy. About 2 minutes. Stir in the zest of the orange and lemon. Stir the dry ingredients into the whisked eggs.
  4. Bake the cake – bake in a preheated oven for about 1 hour 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
  5. Leave to cool – remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cook.
  6. Make the syrup – in a small saucepan set over medium heat. Add the juice and sugar bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium low and let cook and reduce for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and leave to cool.
  7. Make the glaze – In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar with the orange juice and whisk until it’s smooth.
  8. Glaze and decorate cake – Remove the sides from the cake and transfer to a serving plate. Pour the syrup over the cooled cake. Drizzle over the glaze. Top with pistachios and orange zest. Ready to serve.
Tunisian Orange Cake on a silver tray.
Tunisian Orange Cake

Recipe Tips and Notes

  • I used a spring form pan for this recipe but you could use a tin the removable sides without the spring if that is all you have.  You need to use a tin with high sides because as you can see it rises quite high.  So don’t use just a regular cake tin because I think you will be disappointed. 
  • Can use almond flour – I used almond meal in this recipe, but almond flour will work just as well.
A Tunisian Orange Cake cut.
Tunisian Orange Cake

What Flavours go Great With This Cake

  • Coffee – of course, you know it will go great with a cup of coffee.
  • Vanilla Ice cream – serve ice cream on the side
  • Fresh whipped cream – whipped cream is always a great choice
  • Mascarpone cheese – it would be great served with whipped mascarpone cheese
  • Caramel – you can even top it with Homemade Caramel Sauce.
A beautiful decorated Tunisian Orange Cake.
Tunisian Orange Cake

Tunisian Orange Cake with napkins and a cup of coffee.
Tunisian Orange Cake

Like what you see today? Don’t forget you can follow on Facebook for daily inspiration or over on Instagram where I sometimes do daily cooking videos for fun! I’m also on Pinterest which is a great place that you can save and share your favourite recipes. As well, if you haven’t yet, Subscribe to the newsletter. You’ll be notified whenever there’s a new recipe! You can do that at the top of the page.

a slice of orange and almond cake on a plate.
Tunisian Orange Cake

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the difference between Almond Meal and Almond Flour?

Almond meal is made from raw almonds and almond flour is made from peeled almonds. Almond meal is a little coarser in texture.

Can I add pistachios to the cake?

Although pistachios were only used to top this cake, yes you can add them to the batter as well. If doing so, make sure to roughly chop them. As well, toss them in a little almond flour or almond meal before adding them to the batter. This will help prevent them from sinking to the bottom.

close upf of the dried cranberry loaf cake
Dried Cranberry Loaf Cake
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Orange Pecan Strusel Muffins
Orange & Blueberry Muffins

A beautiful decorated Tunisian Orange Cake.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Tunisian Orange Cake

Why not dive into a little bit of North African flavours with this gluten free almond Tunisian Orange Cake!
Prep Time15 mins
Cook Time1 hr 15 mins
Total Time1 hr 30 mins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Middle Eastern, Moroccan
Keyword: cake, Gluten Free
Servings: 8 Servings
Calories: 441kcal
Author: Julia Pinney

Ingredients

For the cake:

  • 1 1/2 Cups ground almonds
  • 1 1/2 Teaspoons baking powder
  • 4 Eggs
  • Zest of 1 orange
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • 3/4 Cup caster sugar
  • 1 1/2 Teaspoons cinnamon
  • 3/4 Cup sunflower oil

For the syrup:

  • Juice of 1/2 orange
  • Juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 2 Tablespoons sugar

For the glaze and decorating:

  • 1 Cup powdered sugar
  • 3-4 Tablespoons orange juice fresh
  • Zest of one orange
  • 1/4 Cup pistachios roughly chopped
US Customary – Metric

Instructions

  • Grease and flour a 7 inch spring form pan. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
  • In a medium bowl combine the almonds, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon.
  • In a large whisking bowl, whisk together the eggs and oil until foamy. About 2 minutes. Stir in the zest of the orange and lemon. Stir the dry ingredients into the whisked eggs.
  • Bake in a preheated oven for about 1 hour 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
  • Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cook.
  • Make the syrup in a small saucepan set over medium heat. Add the juice and sugar bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium low and let cook and reduce for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and leave to cool.
  • In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar with the orange juice and whisk until it’s smooth.
  • Remove the sides from the cake and transfer to a serving plate. Pour the syrup over the cooled cake. Drizzle over the glaze. Top with pistachios and orange zest. Ready to serve.
Nutrition Facts
Tunisian Orange Cake
Amount Per Serving (1 slice)
Calories 441 Calories from Fat 315
% Daily Value*
Fat 35g54%
Saturated Fat 4g25%
Cholesterol 82mg27%
Sodium 111mg5%
Potassium 83mg2%
Carbohydrates 44g15%
Fiber 3g13%
Sugar 23g26%
Protein 8g16%
Vitamin A 148IU3%
Vitamin C 3mg4%
Calcium 108mg11%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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Filed Under: Recipes, Sweets Tagged With: gluten free, Middle Eastern, Moroccan, Tunisian Cake

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