Almond Cake w/ Orange Flower Water Syrup


Another great cake? yup.

I have a few great cakes that I can bake up without having to run out for ingredients.
No special planning needed.

This is one of those cakes.

So easy, so moist, so delicious, so fragrant.

After the cake is baked, you poke some holes in the top while the cake is still warm and drizzle this lovely orange flower water syrup over the top.

The glaze is light and delicious, sticky and floral.

I added orange zest to the batter, and cut the orange flower water down to 1 tsp, but don't be afraid to use the full amount in the original recipe.

If you read the comments on the Food52 website, many people said their cake sunk in the middle.

I used a 9" loaf pan, and had no sinking at all.

This is the perfect cake in every way.


Almond Cake w/ Orange Flower Water Syrup: (adapted from Food52)

2 eggs
1 cup natural yogurt (I've used Greek yogurt; Stonyfield Vanilla; or plain)
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil (canola or olive oil is fine too)
1 tsp vanilla extract
zest of 1 orange
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup almond meal
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/3 cup of sliced almonds

Syrup:
2 tsp orange flower water (fleur de l'orange)
juice of a large orange
1/2 cup of granulated sugar (I used less)

Preheat oven to 350F.
Butter and flour a 9"x5" loaf pan (I line mine with parchment paper for easy lift out).

Mix eggs w/ yogurt, sugar, oil, vanilla and zest.

Mix in dry ingredients to form a nice batter.
Pour into prepared pan and sprinkle w/ the sliced almonds.

Bake in 350F oven for 40 minutes.

Make the syrup: Combine ingredients in a small saucepan and simmer on low heat for 5 minutes until sugar has dissolved and mixture is becoming thick and syrupy.

When cake is done, let cool 10 minutes and poke 10 holes in the top of the cake w/ a toothpick.
Drizzle the syrup over the top of the cake, letting it pool and drip into the sides of the pan.

Let completely cool before serving.


LOVED.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Beautiful cake but *Va funGOOOL*!

I'm just back from Trader Joe's and FORGOT the corn salsa.

Oh well.

The beautiful almonds on top of your cake reminded me - I did remember to stock up on all my nutty favorites - almonds, pine nuts, pistachios - this morning.

Next time.
Ciao Chow Linda said…
Looks like a great cake recipe Stacey but you're right - a little of orange flower water goes a long way. I'm not smitten with floral notes in baked goods, so I might use extra oj instead. The smell of fresh orange blossoms in nature is so lively though - it's all over Sicily in the Spring and it's called zagara. I have a vial of zagara oil I bought there years ago to give the house that intoxicating scent, but I always forget about it. Thanks for taking me back and for the cake recipe too.
Rose Ann said…
I've never heard of it but what is orange flower water and where would you get it? Also, is there something else you can use as a substitute for it? Thank you.
Bebe said…
I think I last met orange flower water quite a few years ago when I was the queen of the Sunday morning Ramos Fizzes. Yum. (Also used to do a mean Irish Coffee. Where did that girl go?)

There is probably a bottle of it around somewhere. The OFW, that is.

Does this cake need any almond extract, or is the almond meal enough? I have not baked with it yet.
Rachel said…
Fantastic cake!
Made it tonight! So simple....our new favorite!
Thanks Mrs. Snacks.

Rachel
Stacey Snacks said…
Bebe
I love almond extract, but this one doesn't really need it....I'll leave it up to you.

Rose Ann,
You can find orange flower on amazon or any good high end supermarket, but if you don't have it, don't stress.....but it does make a wonderful syrup glaze and a bit floral.

Stacey