Shannon’s Citrus Cake

There are a few reasons why I love this cake. It’s very simple to prepare, and you can mix it by hand. It’s super flavorful, and utilizes the whole citrus, skin and all. And I found it in my sisters recipes. Whether or not this recipe is hers or someone else’s I don’t know, it was written in a notepad of hers filled with other recipes. I’ll still think of it as hers. It’s also gluten free! Which is a good plus!
The inside of this cake is moist, which is delicious, but also makes it hard to judge when it’s done. So when in doubt, let it bake, I promise, you won’t over bake it. That being said, the sugar and almond flour in this cake make it a candidate for getting dark quickly so check it around 45- 50 minutes and you’ll most likely need to tent with foil for the last 15-20 minutes of baking so it doesn’t burn.

Recipe by Shannon Ryan

Ingredients:

1 pound of tangerines or mandarins (resulting in 11.6oz of pulp, or 1 cup and 1 tbl)

2 tbl (37g) amaretto

3 cups (324g) of almond flour

1 tsp (4g) baking powder

1 tsp (3g) kosher salt (Diamond brand, if using Morton’s, use 1/2 tsp)

3 large eggs, room temperature

1 cup (198g) of sugar

confectioners sugar for dusting

ok so…Prepare a 9-inch cake pan by spraying with cooking spray (I do not recommend butter, this cake already gets dark quickly, the butter may cause the edges to burn) and lining the bottom with a piece of parchment cut to fit the bottom of the pan. Grease that as well and set aside. 

Place a large pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil. Then add the whole tangerines (or mandarins) and boil for 15 minutes. Drain and let cool, while they’re cooking, preheat the oven to 350F. Once they’re cool enough to handle, cut them into quarters and remove any seeds you see and discard.

Place the citrus, (skin and all) into a blender and purée until smooth. Measure out 1 cup and 1 tbl (11.6oz) of the puréed pulp and place into a small bowl. (You can freeze the rest of the pulp to add to stews or cocktails.) Stir in the amaretto and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar until the mixture is light and fully combined. Then, gently fold in the pulp and amaretto, and then the flour mixture. Make sure to get all the bits from the bottom of the bowl as well, until fully combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and place on the center rack of your oven. Bake for 60-70 minutes, tenting with foil if it’s getting too dark before it’s done baking. The cake should be deep golden in color, pulling away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick poked into the center should come out clean. It should also feel springy to the touch.
Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack to cool for 10 minutes. Slide a knife around the edges of the cake and place a plate upside down on the top. Then flip the cake pan over and give it a little tap on the bottom it should fall out. Remove the parchment and repeat the flipping process with your cooling rack now so that it can finish cooling fully on the cooling rack. To serve dust with confectioners sugar! :)