The Orange Almond Cake Conundrum
October 12, 2011 6:17 AM Subscribe
My mom is baking a cake for my sister-in-law's baby shower & she has requested an orange-almond cake that she used to get at Asian grocery stores in LA - help???
She hasn't given us many more details than that - An orange-almond cake that is iced and covered with almonds. That seems to rule out most of the recipes I am finding online, which are flourless and not iced. Anyone know what she is looking for? We are nowhere near LA, so can't investigate ourselves.
She hasn't given us many more details than that - An orange-almond cake that is iced and covered with almonds. That seems to rule out most of the recipes I am finding online, which are flourless and not iced. Anyone know what she is looking for? We are nowhere near LA, so can't investigate ourselves.
I found this, this, and this, none of which are flourless. Did she say it wasn't flourless?
posted by bolognius maximus at 6:31 AM on October 12, 2011
posted by bolognius maximus at 6:31 AM on October 12, 2011
If it's an almond cake, it's entirely possible that it's flourless and uses almond flour instead of AP. That's a traditional way to make desserts.
Here are a few recipes that look amazing:
iced orange and almond cake
orange almond cake
Classic Flourless Orange and Almond Cake
posted by Kimberly at 6:35 AM on October 12, 2011
Here are a few recipes that look amazing:
iced orange and almond cake
orange almond cake
Classic Flourless Orange and Almond Cake
posted by Kimberly at 6:35 AM on October 12, 2011
Do you know what kind of Asian grocery store it was? If it was run by Hong Kong Chinese, it may have been a cake influenced by Maxim Bakery and their cake styles - the basic template for one of those cakes is light sponge with fresh fruit filling, is iced with fresh, thinly spread whipped cream, and the classic fresh fruit cake has flaked almonds covering the cream on the sides. There are variations on the filling/flavours, so it's possible almond orange could've been one of them.
This is a close approximation of what I mean - does that look like something that would suit her tastes?
posted by zennish at 5:14 PM on October 12, 2011
This is a close approximation of what I mean - does that look like something that would suit her tastes?
posted by zennish at 5:14 PM on October 12, 2011
Response by poster: Wow, thanks everyone! These all look delicious, so even if they don't match what she wants, the rest of us should be happy!
Zennish- I have no idea. My mom is being very Minnesotan about the whole thing and not wanting to bother her to ask for more details. I might have to give her a call today, though....
posted by munichmaiden at 6:28 AM on October 14, 2011
Zennish- I have no idea. My mom is being very Minnesotan about the whole thing and not wanting to bother her to ask for more details. I might have to give her a call today, though....
posted by munichmaiden at 6:28 AM on October 14, 2011
munichmaiden, the cake that zennish is describing is almost certainly the type of cake your SIL is talking about. Those bakeries are working with an Asian palate, and when it comes to American-style desserts (which are often considered too sweet) there's pretty much one solution: fluffy white sponge made with a batter that's barely been sweetened, sandwiching some whipped icing and fruit (strawberries or in your case, fresh segmented oranges?) and frosted again with the lightly sweetened whipped cream. Then the sides are covered with toasted slivered almonds. To be honest, the cake itself is almost flavorless and more of a vehicle for the fruit. Even the frosting is not really whipped cream but usually some sort of shelf-stable, airy frosting that is mostly bleh, often coffee-flavored. I can't tell you how many of those cakes I ate as a child. Here's a good idea of the typical cake at an Asian bakery in LA, both inside and out.
If I were to recreate this, I'd take a trusty recipe for a light cake (like this chiffon cake) and tweak it a bit. Whip some cream up, divide it, fold in some sweetened orange segments or tangerine slices into one half (go heavy with the fruit) and use that as the filling. Reserve the other half for frosting. I would make all the components and assemble close to the shower to keep everything from melting off or getting soggy. A few hours before the party, stack, frost, garnish. The almonds are a great touch as long as they've still got some texture to them--toasting will help. If that cake recipe is a little too involved, there's another recipe here from the great Tartine cookbook that uses fewer eggs.
Good luck!
posted by therewolf at 1:11 PM on October 14, 2011
If I were to recreate this, I'd take a trusty recipe for a light cake (like this chiffon cake) and tweak it a bit. Whip some cream up, divide it, fold in some sweetened orange segments or tangerine slices into one half (go heavy with the fruit) and use that as the filling. Reserve the other half for frosting. I would make all the components and assemble close to the shower to keep everything from melting off or getting soggy. A few hours before the party, stack, frost, garnish. The almonds are a great touch as long as they've still got some texture to them--toasting will help. If that cake recipe is a little too involved, there's another recipe here from the great Tartine cookbook that uses fewer eggs.
Good luck!
posted by therewolf at 1:11 PM on October 14, 2011
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posted by litnerd at 6:30 AM on October 12, 2011