Flourless chocolate and orange cake

This cake is delectable, gluten-free and contains crunchy chocolatey surprises. And it’s moist (sorry … it is!). Adapted from a beautiful Belinda Jeffrey recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

200 g good-quality dark chocolate 2 large, ripe oranges 250 g almond meal 150 g (2/3 cup) castor sugar 30 g (1/3 cup) desiccated coconut 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon baking powder6 eggs Serves 10-12

METHOD:

Step 1: Cook oranges in a large pot of boiling water for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until they are tender all the way through. Be sure to check the oranges on occasion and add water when necessary. Once ready, drain off the water and set aside to cool. This can also be done the day before. Step 2: Chop the room-temperature oranges roughly and then place them in a food processor to puree. Step 3: Preheat your oven to 180°C and line a 23 cm round tin with baking paper. Be sure to grease the tin first with oil spray or butter. Step 4: Whisk the almond meal, sugar, coconut and baking powder together in a bowl until well combined. Step 5: In a separate bowl, beat the eggs using an electric mixer until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the almond meal mixture and pureed orange, and gently beat until combined. Step 6: Remove 1/3 of the chocolate from the block and set aside. Use a tenderiser to break up the remaining 2/3 into chunks, as small or big as you would like. Add to the batter and gently fold through. Pour the batter into the pre-prepared tin and bake for a 50 minutes to an hour, or until the top of the cake is firm and a skewer comes out with soggy breadcrumb-like cake bits stuck to it. Step 7: Once the cake has cooled, grate the remaining chocolate over the top and serve to the delight of your guests, or yourself.