*boil the oranges the night before (or at least 4 hours before you want to make the cake) so that they will have time to cool down in the fridge before use.
Ingredients
FOR THE CAKE BATTER:
2 Cara Cara Oranges (or other sweet orange variety)
5 large Eggs
1 cup Honey
2 teaspoons Rose Water
2½ cups Almond Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
¼ teaspoon salt
FOR THE CANDIED ORANGE RUFFLES:
4-5 Oranges (I used a mix of Cara Cara and Blood Orange)
2 cups Super-fine sugar
1 cup Water
1½ teaspoons Rose Water
Instructions
TO MAKE THE CAKE:
Place the 2 oranges in a saucepan and fill to the top with water. Cover with a lid and place over high heat. Bring just to a boil and reduce the heat to medium. Let the oranges simmer, covered, for 1 hour. Remove the oranges from the water and refrigerate overnight or for at least 4 hours.
Preheat the oven to 335 degrees. Grease and flour (use a gf blend, or almond flour) an 8" round baking pan. You can also line the bottom of the pan with parchment, if desired.
When the orange are completely cool, use a very sharp knife to cut the peel off - only peel of the colorful portion, not the white pith. Place the peel from both oranges in a blender. Peel the remaining pith off of the oranges and discard. Place the peeled oranges in the blender as well. Add the eggs, honey, and rose water to the blender. Blend everything together on high speed until very smooth. Add the almond flour, baking powder, and salt to the blender and process again until just combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes. Remove when the center is firm to the touch and does not jiggle. Let cake cool for 15 minutes, then invert onto a plate or serving dish. Let cool completely while you make the candied orange ruffles.
FOR THE CANDIED ORANGE RUFFLES:
Slice the oranges very thinly using a mandolin or very sharp knife.
Place the sugar and water in a large saute pan and stir together until dissolved. Bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, add the oranges to the mixture (it's ok if they overlap) and reduce the heat to medium. Let the oranges simmer for 35-40 minutes. Remove the orange slices one by one, letting the excess syrup drip back into the pan, and lay them on sheets of parchment paper. Once all of the oranges have been removed, stir the rose water into the syrup that remains in the pan.
Coat the top and sides of the cake in the syrup using a basting brush.
Let the orange slices sit for about 45 minutes. Once they have firmed up a bit, cover the top of the cake in ruffles by taking an orange slice one at a time, folding in half, then folding in half again, placing the pointed side on top of the cake so that the ruffled rinds are facing up. You should have a lot of orange slices, so pack the ruffles tightly for the most dramatic look.
Serve slices of cake more easily by cutting the rufflesacross the top with oil coated scissors first before running through with a knife.
Recipe by The Kitchen McCabe at https://www.thekitchenmccabe.com/2019/01/27/whole-orange-almond-cake-candied-citrus-ruffles/