Clifton House Tunisian Orange and Almond Flour Cake

Welcome to The Storied Recipe Podcast, a podcast about food, culture, and love. 

This recipe for Clifton House Tunisian Orange and Almond Flour Cake came from my podcast guest, Ruth Macintyre. Learn more about Ruth's legacy in this post.

A note before we get into the recipe. Though the title labels this cake as Tunisian, the recipe actually comes from Ruth's father, who owned a world-renowned hotel in the North of Scotland.

It is not a traditional recipe from Tunisia. When I first wrote this blog post, I sent out a request to hear about Tunisian cuisine and culture. Lo and behold, Elyes Taleb responded and now we have an authentic Tunisian recipe paired with his episode, Tunisia, Couscous, and the Oula Ceremony. 

The cake is perfection. It's both dense and moist with tremendous flavor right out of the pan. Once brushed with syrup, the cake has those extra citrusy edges just exploding with flavor. I don't love super sweet things, so I really enjoyed Ruth's topping suggestions of plain yogurt or unsweetened whipped cream.

P.S. Check out this Vasilopita, a Greek New Year cake recipe if you are looking for more inspiration to make another type of citrus, almond cake!

Ruth's Memories of Her Dad's Clifton House Cake

[This is] one of the very popular desserts from my father’s hotel [The Clifton House in North Scotland] and one that years later, when he had had a stroke, he was able to recreate without too much trouble. It is great as well as it bakes from a cold oven. When reading my dad’s recipes, he wasn’t always so precise, especially with alcohol! In this recipe, I have translated ‘a good slug’ to 1½ tablespoons!

-Ruth

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Breadcrumbs - You can buy bread crumbs at your local grocery store or you can make stale white breadcrumbs by simply emulsifying stale (or fresh) bread in your food processor. If you are looking to make a gluten-free version, simply take gluten-free bread of your choice and emulsify it in the food processor.
• Ground almonds - you have a couple of options here, you can get whole almonds and grind them in your food processor to make almond meal, or buy almond flour from the store. Both options give you the same ingredient. 
• Baking powder
• Sunflower oil - or any neutral-flavored oil of your choice
• Caster sugar
• Large eggs
• Lemon zest
• Orange zest

Citrus Syrup

• Lemon juice
• Fresh oranges - can substituted with store-bought orange juice
• Lemon
• Caster sugar
• Whole cloves
• Cinnamon stick
• Cointreau or Grand Marnier

Optional Toppings

• Plain Greek Yoghurt, Chantilly Cream, or Crème Fraîche

Instructions

• Prepare your cake tin.
• Combine breadcrumbs, ground almonds, and baking powder into a large bowl.
• In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, and citrus zests, then whisk in the vegetable oil.
• Combine the egg mixture with the dry ingredients together, pour into the prepared tin, and set on a baking tray.
• Pop the cake into the cold oven, heat to 320ºF / 160ºC, and set a timer for 45-60 minutes.
• While the cake is baking, make the citrus syrup. In a small pan, add the sieved fruit juices, sugar, and cinnamon and bring to a boil, simmer then cool. When the syrup is slightly warm add the Cointreau or Grand Marnier.
• When the cake is finished baking, allow it to rest in the tin, then gently place the cooled cake from the tin before transferring it to a serving plate.
• Prick small holes in the top of the cake, and slowly distribute the syrup on the top of the cake.
• Topping Options: It is delicious with plain thick Greek yogurt, a mix of Greek yogurt and Chantilly, or a dollop of creme fraiche.

Baking With a Cold Oven

There is no need to preheat your oven with this recipe. This is a new method to me, but as Ruth says, "I guess for most cakes we want the oven to be on so that the gases are immediately released to help the cake rise. This cake has a tiny amount of raising agent... [so] this cake is not going to rise much, and maybe it is a time saver! I think the [most time-consuming] element of this dish is lining the tin with parchment paper!"

Popular Homemade Pan Release Method

To elevate the presentation of my Tunisian cake, I opted to bake it in a bundt pan, though this is entirely optional. If you’d like to replicate this look, here are some tips to prevent the delicate edges from sticking to the pan.

Doing a quick search on Google for the best method of getting cakes to release from the pan, you will surely come across "Cake Goop," a homemade pan-release mixture. This recipe comes from Sugar Geek Recipes.

Cake Goop

• 7 oz vegetable shortening or margarine
• 7.5 oz vegetable oil
• 5 oz all-purpose flour

Simply mix these ingredients in a stand mixer until smooth and apply a thin layer to your cake pan before adding the batter. Store the mixture in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for a longer shelf life.

Equipment

This is a beautifully simple cake recipe and requires absolutely no adornment at all if you don't wish to decorate. Ruth's recipe calls for a springform pan, but for making this in bundt pans and, in a way, my pictures are misleading, because they make the cake look fancy when in reality, it is effortlessly elegant if you choose to use a regular cake tin. 

• Bundt pan OR a cake pan of your choice
• Large mixing bowl and a small bowl
• Metal whisk
• Small saucepan
• Cake stand
• Pastry brush

Storage

You can keep any leftover cake in the fridge if you wrap your cake and place it in an airtight container for about 4 days.

More Cake Recipes

Recipe

Clifton House Tunisian Orange and Almond Flour Cake

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• Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
• Yield: 8 1x

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Description

Dense but tender orange and almond flour cake gets an extra boost of flavor from a spiced citrus syrup poured on top after cooking.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 60 g breadcrumbs (*See Note 1)
• 120 grams ground almonds (*See Note 2)
• 1.5 teaspoon baking powder
• 200 grams caster sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 lemon (zested)
• 2 oranges (zested)
• 200 ml sunflower oil (or any neutral oil)

Citrus Syrup

• 1 lemon (juiced)
• 2 oranges (juiced)
• 5 grams caster sugar
• 2 whole cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 1/2 tablespoon Cointreau (or Grand Marnier)
• plain Greek yogurt or chantilly cream (Optional)

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Instructions

Cue Up The Episode!

1. Make sure you listen to Ruth's episode of The Storied Recipe Podcast, A Wedding Feast to Last a Lifetime, while you make her amazing Clifton House Tunisian Orange and Almond Flour Cake.

Make The Recipe

1. Lightly grease and line with parchment paper an 8 inch spring form cake tin or prepare your bundt pan (*See Note 3 for tips on preparing your pans).
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together breadcrumbs, ground almonds and baking powder.
3. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar and citrus zests, then add the vegetable oil and whisk again.
4. Combine the egg mixture into the dry ingredients together making sure they are well combined, and pour into the prepared cake tin and set on a baking tray.
5. Pop the cake into a cold oven, heat to 320ºF / 160ºC, and set a timer for 45 minutes thought it may take up to an hour. Keep a close eye on the cake during the last ¼ hour, and if the top looks like it is turning too brown, place a sheet of aluminum foil over the top.

Make The Citrus Syrup

1. In a small pan, add the sieved fruit juices, sugar, and cinnamon and bring them to boil, then let it simmer for about 7 minutes, then take off the heat and let it cool. When the syrup is slightly warm add the Cointreau or Grand Marnier.
2. When the cake is finished baking, allow it to rest in the tin (about 10 minutes). Gently remove the cooled cake from the tin and transfer it to a serving plate.
3. Prick small holes in the top of the cake with a toothpick, and using a pastry brush, slowly distribute the syrup over the top of the cake, allowing the liquid to be absorbed into the cake before adding more.
4. Optional Toppings: It is delicious with plain thick Greek yogurt, a mixture of Greek yogurt and Chantilly (a blend of whipped cream, vanilla and caster sugar), or a dollop of creme fraiche.

Notes

• Note 1: You can buy bread crumbs at your local grocery store or you can make stale white breadcrumbs by simply emulsifying stale (or fresh) bread in your food processor. If you are looking to make a gluten-free version, simply take gluten-free bread of your choice and emulsify it in the food processor.
• Note 2: you have a couple of options here, you can get whole almonds and ground them in your food processor to make almond meal, or buy almond flour from the store. Both give you the same ingredient. 
• Note 3: "Cake Goop" is a popular method to ensure the batter doesn't stick to the sides of the pan. Simply combine vegetable shortening, vegetable oil, and flour together and light line your pan before pouring the batter in. I found this recipe from Sugar Geek Recipes.
• Make sure you listen to Ruth's episode of The Storied Recipe Podcast, A Wedding Feast to Last a Lifetime, while you make her amazing Clifton House Tunisian Orange and Almond Flour Cake.

• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 1 hour
• Category: Baking, Cake
• Cuisine: British

Nutrition

• Calories: 494
• Sugar: 34
• Sodium: 171
• Fat: 33
• Saturated Fat: 4
• Carbohydrates: 43
• Fiber: 4
• Protein: 8
• Cholesterol: 93