Paleo Mandarine & Almond Cake
A dairy-free, gluten-free, grain-free, oil-free cake kept so moist because of the mandarins.
A diet to improve gut health doesn’t need to exclude delicious treats, but it does pack some nutrients into your body that assist with the healing, so that not only is your body being given foods that won’t affect you, but they heal you.
Lowering inflammation and cholesterol, almonds provide an excellent source of minerals and antioxidants, improving blood vessel function and easing muscles and joints.
The other ingredients bring impressive vitamins, protein, and healing compounds to protect and repair cells and promote good all-around health.
You can really enjoy this cake in more ways than one!
Ingredients
- 5 mandarins (about 350g or 12.5 ounces) or 2 medium oranges – try to use organic ones so the skin hasn’t been sprayed with chemicals
- 2 cups or 200g of ground almonds
- 1/2 cup or 50g of flaked almonds to decorate
- 4 eggs
- 3/4 cup or 120g of honey
- 1 tbsp of arrowroot powder (optional)
- 1 tsp of bicarbonate of soda
- 1/2 tsp of sea salt
Directions
Preheat your oven to 350 F / 175 C (fan oven) and bring a pan of water (enough to cover the mandarins) to the boil.
Boil the mandarines whole, with the peel on, for about an hour.
Place them in a good food processor and blend until you have a smooth texture.
Beat your eggs with salt. Add ground almonds, honey, arrowroot powder, and bicarbonate of soda. Add the mandarine purée (make sure it has cooled down so you don’t cook the eggs).
Pour the mixture into a round cake tin greased with coconut oil and lined with baking paper.
Sprinkle with flaked almonds to decorate.
Bake at 350 F / 175 C for 40 minutes. The cooking time can vary depending on the oven. To make sure it is cooked through, insert a toothpick, and see if it comes out clean. If not, it needs cooking longer.
*You can also make a muffin version of it
**if you are allergic to nuts or prefer not to use almond flour (ground almonds) for any other reason, you can replace it with quinoa flour. 200g or 2 cups of almond flour can be replaced with 120g or 2 cups of quinoa flour, and if you don’t like the taste of quinoa flour, you can either toast it or add a little cinnamon (however, the taste tends to be good after baking).
Storage Tips
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also freeze the individual servings. Place them on a baking sheet, then when fully frozen, remove and place them in the container/bag for up to 3 months.
