I've been making Claudia Roden's Orange and Almond Cake for years. I think I was initially attracted to it because it's a perfect ending to a Passover meal. I appreciate it now because it's a snap to make and always delicious, it's full of nutrients (for a cake anyway) and...I can eat it. "I can eat it" is an important food category for me these days, as you might imagine.

If you don't like the full on flavor of oranges, this cake isn't for you as it's made with two whole oranges, from juice to peel. Obviously you'd only want to make this with organic oranges as you probably don't want to feed your loved ones the food wax found on the non-organic variety.

I've made this cake for years and always used to grind the almonds myself in my trusty old food processor which made for a rustic, slightly gritty cake. Now that I keep big bags of almond meal in the freezer, I love how much lighter and more delicate this cake can be. (I use the same weight of almond flour as ground almonds in the recipe.) It's an elegant finish to any meal but it's still sturdy enough that you could keep it on the springform base, wrap it in foil, and take it along for a picnic. That's what I plan on doing, if summer ever comes.......

Chocolate Orange Cake

Don't you just have to love a cookbook with an entire chapter dedicated to chocolate cakes? Nigella Lawson's Feast has just such a chapter and it's filed with all kinds of delightful looking possibilities. Since my Fridays have just gotten considerably less complicated, I was able to sit a and plan and then cook a proper Shabbat dinner for the first time in a very long time. We even invited guests, which hasn't happened in I can't tell you how long. Clearly a cake was in order.

I'd long wanted to try the chocolate orange cake in Feast. I can't think of a better combination of flavors and I loved that this recipe included and entire orange, skin and all. The orange is boiled first to soften it then mixed with ground almonds, eggs, cocoa powder, and sugar. I topped it with some strips of candied orange peel and it was quite lovely. Not being super sweet or dripping with icing, the cake wasn't a huge hit with the kids but that's why I was able to enjoy the final piece as my breakfast.

It has a wonderful, slightly nubbly texture and a bright orange flavor above the chocolate. I hope you'll give it a try. Folks from my tribe might even want to keep it in mind for Passover as the recipe can be made kosher-for-Pesach. In that case I would omit the baking powder and soda, separate the eggs, and beat the egg whites until stiff before adding to the batter. That should work in terms of leavening. The recipe is here--Enjoy!