Mandarin Almond Cake

I love when a recipe that starts out as a substitute for a guiltier pleasure ends up tasting decadent! We wanted a cake that would taste amazing, but without overloading us with carbohydrates and sugar. We’ve been working really hard at my house to eliminate empty carbs and added sugar. I can tell you, we’ve never felt better! Even so, everyone needs a slice of cake sometimes, right?

My favorite secret to reduced carb baking is almond flour. Almond flour is a great source of Vitamin E and even adds a bit of protein to your recipes.

The combination of nutty almond and mandarin oranges is really heavenly. The last bit of mandarin juice tops things off to create a really moist cake. As great as this cake is for pleasing the low sugar crowd, it really is special enough to serve guests.

Mandarin Almond Cake

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 cups almond flour
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
• ▢ zest of one mandarin orange
• ▢ 3 large eggs room temperature
• ▢ 1 teaspoon pure almond extract
• ▢ 1/3 cup coconut palm sugar or honey
• ▢ 3 tablespoons unsalted butter or coconut oil melted
• ▢ 1/4 cup mandarin orange juice about 1 1/2 mandarin oranges
• ▢ Top with:
• ▢ 1 1/2 tablespoons mandarin orange juice about 1/2 mandarin orange
• ▢ 1 teaspoon coconut palm sugar or honey
• ▢ 1/3 cup sliced almonds toasted

Instructions

• ▢
  Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Butter the sides of a 9 inch round baking pan and line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper.
• ▢
  In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, cardamom, baking powder, baking soda, salt and orange zest. Set aside.
• ▢
  In a small bowl, beat the eggs, then add the almond extract, coconut palm sugar or honey, butter or coconut oil and orange juice. Whisk to combine. Pour the egg mixture over the flour mixture. Using a spoon, stir to combine.
• ▢
  Pour the mixture into your prepared baking pan.
• ▢
  Bake for 28 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
• ▢
  Remove and cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Turn onto a plate and drizzle the top with the orange juice, coconut sugar or honey and the toasted almond slices.
• ▢
  Serve once cooled. Store remaining cake in the refrigerator.

Notes

I use coconut palm sugar in place of granulated sugar in this recipe. You may certainly use honey or pure maple syrup as well. The coconut palm sugar has about the same grams of sugar and calories as regular granulated sugar, but it's thought to be less of a load on your blood sugar levels and contains minerals and nutrients that sugar does not.

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