Recipe: Not-so-naughty orange cake

This gluten-free orange cake is light but satisfying and full of flavour.

It calls for a whole orange (peels and all), ensuring that all the goodness of the fruit is not lost. Most importantly, fibre, which is food for our good gut microbes, stabilises blood sugar levels and keeps us filling fuller for longer. Sweetened naturally by the orange and a sprinkle of stevia, you really can have your cake and eat it too (maybe even for breakfast)!

Not-so-naughty orange cake

Ingredients:

• 1 large orange
• 2.5 cups almond meal or flour
• 4 large eggs (at room temperature)
• 2 tbsps stevia
• 1 tsp baking powder
• Butter to grease tin
• 1 tbsp orange marmalade/apricot jam

Method:

1. Bring a pot of water to the boil, add the orange, and cook on medium/high for 1 hour until the orange becomes tender
2. Remove the orange and let it cool. Slice the orange in half and remove seeds but keep the skin on.
3. Preheat fan oven to 160 degrees Celsius and grease a round 20cm tin with butter. Place baking paper on top of base plate and lock in place with the sides.
4. Add orange to a food processor or blender, along with stevia and blitz to a purée.
5. In a large mixing bowl, add the almond meal, eggs, baking powder, and orange purée. Fold until combined.
6. Pour mixture into prepared cake tin and bake for 50 - 55 minutes until golden.

Once cool, use a brush to coat the cake in orange marmalade or apricot jam and decorate with a dehydrated orange slice or fresh peels.

When you’re passionate about something, you’ll find a way to make it work! Victoria is currently studying a BHSc in Nutritional and Dietetic Medicine part-time at Endeavour, alongside her full-time job in digital marketing. Coming from a background is Psychology (BSc) and Commerce (BCom), her keen interest in nutrition and the gut-brain axis encouraged her to pursue studies and a future in natural health.

Victoria firmly believes that a holistic approach to the body and mind, paired with conventional medical practice, can help people to achieve superior results for their health. She hopes to continue to investigate nutrition-based therapies for gut health and show others how they can use food as medicine. When she’s not working or studying, you can find her whipping up simple and nutritious recipes which she documents on her Instagram account, @nutritionbyvictoria_.