Orange, Coconut and Almond Chiffon Cake - Gluten & Dairy Free

My husband told me to "Eat the Frog" today. This saying implies that you tackle your worst jobs first in the morning which leaves you free for the rest of the day to do the other tasks you so enjoy . 

Oh my goodness that sounded positively boring so I decided to ignore him and do what I was super excited to do.....that is to share my chiffon cake with you. The GREAT news is, it is gluten and dairy free (YAY). 

Orange, Coconut and Almond Cake

When making this cake, I do advise using a chiffon tin but I have made cupcakes out of this recipe which can work really well. 

OPTION: You are also able to use a small cake tin (8-10 inch) instead of the chiffon tin but try not to fill the tin up too make with the mixture. It may be best to use 2 cake tins (the same size) and fill half the mixture in each. Remember baking time will also reduce due to the smaller amounts in the tin.

I have decided to add a variation onto the recipe with a diabetic option (placed opposite the original recipe with the relevant changes).  The diabetic option is also suitable for  GRAIN FREE / PALEO / GLUTEN FREE / DAIRY FREE/ DIABETIC FRIENDLY individuals (SUPER AWESOME if you ask me).

When I make something diabetic or paleo friendly, I find my clients then think they can EAT MORE. NOOOoooooo, you cannot eat more even with this cake. Portion control is always advised with any food item:) 

Here is this delicious recipe:

ORIGINAL RECIPE                             DIABETIC/PALEO RECIPE
7 Jumbo Eggs, separated                    7 Jumbo Eggs, separated
1/2 tsp Cream of Tartar                       1/2 tsp Cream of Tartar
2/3 Cup Almond Flour                          2/3 Cup Almond Flour
2/3 Cup Desiccated Coconut               2/3 Cup Desiccated Coconut
1 1/2 Cups Caster Sugar                     2/3 Cup Xylitol & 1/2 tsp Liquid Stevia
3 tsp Baking Powder (Gluten Free)     3 tsp Baking Powder (GF)
1 tsp Salt                                              2/3 tsp Salt
1/2 Cup Oil                                          1/2 Cup Oil
2 level tsp Orange Zest                        2 level tsp Orange Zest
3/4 Cup Pure Orange Juice                 3/4 Cup Orange Juice

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 160 Degrees Celsius. Chiffon cakes do not require greasing but when I bake this cake, I sometimes find it can stick. To prevent the cake from sticking to the tin, I lightly grease the tin with coconut oil.
2. Sift together the almond flour, caster sugar (or Diabetic version: xylitol), baking powder and salt.
3. Add the desiccated coconut to the dry mixture above.
4. Lightly whisk the egg yolks, oil, orange zest and orange juice together.
5. Pour the egg whites into a large glass or stainless steel bowl (make sure no egg yolks have managed to get into the egg white otherwise they will not expand). Beat the egg whites until light and fluffy and add in the cream of tartar. Continue to beat until the egg whites are stiff.
6. Stir the oil mixture into the almond flour mixture, making sure it is well mixed. For the Diabetic version: If using liquid stevia, add to the oil mixture.
7. Fold the egg whites into the the almond-oil mixture.
8. Pour into chiffon tin and bake for 50 minutes or until set.
9. Ideally, when the chiffon cake has baked you are suppose to turn it upside down to cool down. However with this cake, I find the best thing to do is leave it in its tin for 20 minutes, then I turn it upside down on a cooling rack. You may have to loosen the sides and base by using a knife or pallet knife to allow the cake to ease out.

OPTION: if using cup cake holders bake for 20-25 minutes.

OPTION: I am not a big fan of icing for my cakes but you can use your own recipe to ice this cake. A coconut cream or ganache will also go well with this style of cake.