September's Entry in the ALL CAPS COOKBOOK (Patreon)

Gluten-Free Orange Almond Cake with Pineapple-Bourbon Glaze

This recipe is mainly from the Great British Bake Off cookbook, with the glaze and toppings being my own twist. 

I just can’t watch GBBO without baking something of my own, monkey see monkey do. And the other night, this was the only cake in the book for which I had all the ingredients. Living on an island, after 8 pm, you have what you have and no more, so gluten-free cake it was.

Reader, I married this cake.

Even my lab partner said it was the best thing I’ve ever baked. It doesn’t even matter if it’s gluten free, it’s an almond cake, and better than any flour cake I’ve ever done. You could drizzle chocolate on top, or cream cheese icing, or replace the orange with pumpkin, or vary it in any number of ways and I’m certain it would be just as astonishingly, gamechangingly awesome. 

WHO’S GOT A BIRTHDAY? ANYBODY? ANYWHERE? I GOTTA MAKE THIS AGAIN.

All measurements are in grams due to the Britishness of this Bake Off, which is for the best really, when it comes to baking. Get thee a kitchen scale, you’ll have less baking mishaps that way.

AWAY WE GO TO CAKE TOWN OMG!

Ingredients:

Cake:

250g butter, softened

Grated zest and juice of one huge orange

225g golden caster sugar (yeah this is not a thing in America so I use 200g of regular sugar and 25g of brown sugar, it worked fine)

4 medium eggs, beaten

250g ground almonds

60g polenta (I used corn meal because lol I don’t have polenta hanging around ain’t nobody got time for that)

2 teaspoons baking powder

Glaze:

3 tblsp sugar

1/2 can crushed pineapple

1/4 cup bourbon, whiskey, cognac, or other brown liquor

Toppings:

Sliced strawberries

Sliced almonds

Toasted coconut

1 springform pan

Parchment paper

Heat oven to 350. Mix butter and zest with an electric blender or KitchenAid until super fluffy. FLUFFY LIKE A FOX. Beat in sugar a bit at a time, then let it blend for 2-3 more minutes until it ACHIEVES HIGH END LUXURY FLUFFINESS. Scrape down sides and add pre-beaten eggs a few tablespoons at a time.

Sift ground almonds, corn meal/polenta, 1 tablespoon of the orange juice, and baking powder into the FLUFFBUTTER THEMEPARK. Fold in gently with a spatula. Pour into parchment-lined springform pan. Bake for 50 min until a fork comes out clean.

While all this AWESOMENESS is happening, make the glaze. Put the rest of the OJ, sugar, pineapple, and booze into a pan, boil it with fire, then put it on the down low to simmer for about 15 min or until it’s still liquidy, not totally candified or caramel. This is basically a chunky simple syrup. Set aside. Throw some shredded coconut in the oven or toaster oven for 5 min or until golden brown. Set aside again. SO MUCH SETTING ASIDE.

When cake is done and cooled slightly, spoon glaze over the top, letting the excess liquid soak into the cake. When the cake is completely cool, arrange strawberry slices attractively around the edges and middle (tip: use more than I did in the picture! Every bite with a strawberry was the BEST BITE), then sprinkle almonds and coconut on top. Display on a BITCHIN' CAKE PAN YOUR BOYFRIEND'S MOM BOUGHT YOU. Serve topped with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, and send me a wedding invitation.