Beautiful winter oranges lend their distinct sweet and tart flavor to this dense upside-down cake flavored with ginger root and cardamom. This cake is vegan and gluten free and can be made with any variety of orange that you like!
Every year since I’ve had this blog, I’ve made myself a birthday cake/dessert and posted it here on the blog. This year, I was in a training all weekend for my birthday and I wasn’t really feeling inspired to create something for myself. I didn’t want to force something just because, so I left it alone. I gave myself some space and didn’t make myself feel guilty for it. I let it be.
This past weekend as I was staring at a giant bowl of oranges our neighbor gifted us from his trees, the idea for this cake popped into my head. Something humble and simple. Something with cardamom (always). And something not masquerading as “healthy” with full fat cultured vegan butter, oat milk, and raw cane sugar. And thus this cake was born (or rather baked).
The cake is close-textured, almost pudding like and fudgy (if that’s at all possible without chocolate). The dense cake makes for a lovely contrast to the bright, juicy orange slices on top. And, to finish it off, each slice is topped with a dollop of plain yogurt. Even though it wasn’t meant to be a birthday cake, I feel like this is a pretty fitting and humble cake to celebrate my 33rd year.
Orange Upside-Down Cake
- Total Time: 60-65 minutes
- Yield: 1 cake 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Beautiful winter oranges lend their distinct sweet and tart flavor to this dense upside-down cake flavored with ginger root and cardamom. This cake is vegan and gluten free and can be made with any variety of orange that you like!
Ingredients
- 3 oranges
- 2 tbsp vegan butter
- 2 tbsp raw cane sugar
- 8oz (227g) white spelt flour
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- zest of 1 orange
- 1-inch piece of ginger root, grated or very finely minced
- 4 oz (113g) melted and cooled vegan butter
- 4 oz (113g) unsweetened applesauce
- 8 oz (227g) oat milk
- 4 oz (113g) raw cane sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- plain unsweetened yogurt to serve (optional)
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Zest one of the oranges then place the zest in a small bowl and set it aside for now. Cut the peel and pith off of each orange, then slice each orange into rounds that are about 1/4 of an inch thick. Put the 2 tbsp of butter into a spring-form pan then place the pan in the oven while it is pre-heating. You are doing this to melt the butter in the pan, so check on the pan after 2-3 minutes and remove it once the butter is completely melted. Swirl the pan around so that you cover the entire bottom of it evenly with the melted butter. Sprinkle the 2 tablespoons of raw cane sugar evenly over the bottom of the pan. Next, arrange the orange slices in the bottom of the pan, making sure not to overlap them. You can create any design you like. Set the pan aside for now.
Whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and cardamom until combined. Mix in the orange zest and grated ginger root until it is evenly distributed in the flour mixture. In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted butter, applesauce, oat milk, raw cane sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. Mix just until you have a smooth batter. Pour the batter into your pan over the oranges. Carefully tap the pan on the counter a few times to help remove air bubbles. Bake the cake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a tester inserted into the middle comes out mostly clean.
Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then carefully remove the outer ring and invert it onto a cooling rack. Moving slowly and delicately, lift the bottom of the pan off the oranges/top of the cake. If any oranges stick to the bottom of the pan, remove them and arrange them back on top of the cake. Let the cake cool completely before serving. I highly recommend topping each slice of cake with a dollop of unsweetened yogurt. Serves 8-10.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45-50 minutes
- Category: dessert
