Almond Cake with Orange-Flower Water Syrup

Great tasting, simple cake. It’s even better the day after it’s made. I used a 9” round and it was done in 28 min, which was much faster than I expected. Reviews said 40 min. So, glad I checked early. Perhaps it was because I used Fage Greek yogurt and it’s thick. Thank you to reviewers that said to cut the sugar. I used 3/4 c in the cake. I added a scant tsp almond extract and the zest of one orange. I didn’t have sliced almonds so dusted the top with almond flour. I used maybe half an orange, juiced, and a bit of sugar and just microwaved it briefly, then added a couple drops Wild Orange DoTerra essential oil. I didn’t poke holes in the cake, but just brushed a couple coats on. Really nice! I think it would be lovely with a raspberry sauce.

Agree with the tips to reduce the sugar (and I have a sweet tooth). 3/4 cup sugar for batter and 1/3 cup for the syrup. For the yogurt, I only had 0% greek yogurt so used about 2/3 cup yogurt with 1/3 cup heavy cream. Mixed liquids in sequence (egg, sugar, then dairy, and lastly oil) but no fancy technique and didn't have any sinkage. (used 5 x 10" loaf pan in a Cuisinart toaster oven for 40 min). Juiced satsuma mandarins (what I had on hand) and steeped with a few rinds along with ground cardamon seeds from 2 pods, and a tsp of orange blossom honey to give some complexity. The syrup especially when using high quality citrus with aromatics has a bright floral intensity that compliments the subtle, earthy vanilla cake base surprisingly well. While this is a very forgiving recipe, note that the citrus, aromatics, extracts and/or liqueurs you may use to create the syrup will be the dominant flavor. To maintain a crisp top to the cake, I ended up serving the syrup on the side. But curious as to how long and how well the cake keeps when it's soaked in syrup.

Lovely cake, very easy. I liked the orange flower - it added a floral note that was nice w the citrus. I did take off about 20% of the sugar w good results. It took some 60 min to bake (because I used a Pyrex perhaps?). Thanks for the recipe!

Excellent and easy. Omitted orange flower. As per other reviews: Used slightly about 3/4 cup sugar instead of 1 cup in the cake. Also used 2/3 c almond flour (1/3 whole wheat flour to replace it). Used 1/2 c chopped almonds and 1/2 tsp each vanilla and almond. Looks just like the picture (slightly sunken middle) but moist, sweet, and almondy. Great texture.

This recipe is just to die for, I can’t stop making it! Seriously magical.

i did exactly as the recipe said - no beating of eggs and sugar vigorously or anything and the cake turned out absolutely perfect. the syrup is an excellent addition but i didn't end up waiting long enough for it to soak thru - i should have because it's so heavenly. the cake is very moist nonetheless. so easy to make esp since i always have all the ingredients at hand!
thanks so much for this perfect recipe. made it in 15 min!

is it possible to sub bananas for the eggs in this recipe? chia or flax in place of the eggs?

Followed the recipe exactly. Simply scrumptious. Perfect in every way. Thanks for sharing your recipe.

Enormously irritated that I made this to use up some ground and flaked almonds to clear out space in my cupboard, and it's so good I now have to go and buy more ground and flaked almonds to make it again. Lacking orange blossom water I used some amaretto with the orange juice in the syrup (and only a couple of TBS sugar since amaretto is so sweet) and it worked beautifully, although I'll add the orange zest next time, too.

When I make this cake, I am going to use the Clementine Simple Syrup saved from making Candied Clementine/Orange/Grapefruit/Lemon Peel. Will let you know how that turns out.

Anna Biton, it absolutely would work with rose water. I've made a rose water syrup for a similar almond flour and semolina cake. It's very Mediterranean/Greek. I think Egyptians call it basbousa.

Would it work with rose water instead of orange blossom water?

Has anyone tried to do this gluten free? Curious if you can sub all purpose gluten free flour for regular wheat flour? Maybe I’ll just go for it and see what happens.

Great recipe. Beat the eggs and sugar for 2-3 min. Used half sour cream half buttermilk. Baked in 9" cake pan for 40 min. Made only half the syrup. Regretted it. It needs all of it for a denser texture.

Easy to make. Everyone loved it! I used a 8" square pan and it baked perfectly. I also used zest of one orange in batter, and only the juice in the sugar syrup ... no orange flower water on hand (plus used only 1/4 cup sugar in syrup). Even my sugar-hound 8-yr old thought it was plenty sweet enough).

Super delicious cake! I used sour cream instead of yogurt since that's what I had on hand. The next batch I'll substitute almond flour instead for almond meal. Everyone thought the cake had poppy seeds!! Lol!! The homemade orange blossom syrup was delicious and added the exact special touch to this wonderful cake.

This has been my go-to recipe when I need a cake made in a quick pinch. I like how easy and fast it is. Sometimes I even mix everything in one bowl using only a spoon with very good results. I have made this cake over a half dozen times. Here are my most current adjustments:

I use store bought almond meal and use the zest of the orange in the cake batter. I use almond extract in place of vanilla. I don't use orange blossom water at all. I bake it in. 9" pan or in muffin trays and I have no problems with sinkage.

Haven't tried this yet, but for those who got the sinkage, could it be oven temp? Have any of you tested your oven's accuracy? Also, my gran always separated the eggs and beat the egg whites until they just held soft peaks, then folded them into the already combined wet and dry ingredients. It gives everything a bit of lightness and might also add some structure here.

Once I've actually tried this recipe, I'll see what happens in my not always trusty oven and report back.

Didn't add any sugar to the orange juice as I don't like very sweet cakes.

Just a suggestion prissyboo about the sinkage as I had no problem.