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What a wonderful cake! My daughter couldnโt stop eating another slice. It came out just like your photo, and tastes like a fresh orange pound cake. Iโm in love! ~ Lilly

My flourless tangerine cake is made without any flour or oil ~ yet it’s fluffy, moist, and fabulous!
This is one of those times you just have to take my word for it, and give this unique flourless tangerine cake a try. The minute you spot great tangerines, put this easy recipe on your to-do list, you won’t regret it.
This gluten free cake is made with whole tangerines, peel and all!
Cakes made with whole citrus fruits have always fascinated me. The concept comes from the sunny island of Sicily, where citrus trees grow like weeds. The fruit is boiled, de-seeded, and processed into a brilliant orange puree. The puree is blended with eggs, sugar, and almond flour, poured into a tart pan, and baked into the moistest, most delicate, tangerine cake you’ve ever tasted. This is an experience not to be missed.
what you’ll need for flourless tangerine cake
- fresh juicy tangerines
- the better your fruit, the tastier your cake will be.
- eggs
- white sugar
- almond meal or almond flour
- baking powder
- Amaretto, optional
- confectioner’s sugar for dusting
I use a high speed blender to make a tangerine puree
It’s hard to believe that the boiled tangerines, above, will magically morph into such a delightfully fluffy cake with so few ingredients and such minimal effort. It blows my mind every time. I used my Vitamix, which does an amazing job blitzing the tangerines into a silky puree, but any good food processor will work.
The right pan for this recipe
I bake my flourless tangerine cake in a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom so I can lift it out for serving and cutting. (You can also use a cheesecake pan.) The cake bakes up moist and dense, but with a light, almost sponge cake texture. I know it sounds strange, but it really is light and dense at the same time.
This tangerine cake is moist enough to make ahead
The cake slices like a dream, and will stay most for several days at room temperature. If you’d like to make it a day ahead, dust with powdered sugar just before serving.
decorating the cake with a lace effect
To get the pretty lace effect lay a doily or piece of lace on top of the cooled cake and then sift powdered sugar over all. Carefully life off the lace and voila! Don’t be afraid to try, you can always cover up with a solid layer of powered sugar if necessary.
See my post on How to Decorate a Cake with Lace for detailed instructions on how to achieve this pretty and surprisingly easy look. The technique is so versatile and can be used for all kinds of special occasion desserts from the winter holidays, to Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Easter, etc.
Sometimes the message of a post can get drowned out by all the text and photos…so I’ll just put it here in plain black and white~
Try this, it’s sensational.
After making this cake in 2012 I went on to make a FLOURLESS WHOLE MEYER LEMON CAKE in 2013 which is wonderful, too. I’m already experimenting with pink grapefruit and blood oranges ~ I’ll keep you posted ๐
Tips for making flourless tangerine cake
- use good, sweet, seasonal tangerines…your cake will be as good as your fruit, so choose the best!
- Since you will be using the whole fruit, I recommend organic tangerines, if possible.
- Weigh the puree so that you get the proper amount in your cake. It should be 11 1/2 ounces.
- You can experiment with flavoring this cake. I added Amaretto on a whim, and you could use other spirits like Grand Marnier. You could also leave out the alcohol and use some vanilla or almond extract.
Flourless Tangerine Cake
Video
Equipment
- 9 inch spring form pan or tart pan with removeable bottom
Ingredients
- 1 pound tangerines to make 11 1/2 ounces of puree, approximately 5-6, but weigh them
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup white sugar
- 3 cups almond meal or almond flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 Tbsp Amaretto, optional
- confectioner’s sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Set oven to 350F Butter a 9 inch spring form pan
- Step one is the only time consuming part of this cake. Wash your tangerines and put them in a saucepan covered with cold water. (They’ll float, but don’t worry about that) Bring to a boil, and boil for a full 15 minutes. The boiling removes the bitterness in the citrus skin.
- Drain and let the tangerines cool for a bit. Slice them in half, and then in half again. Remove any seeds and discard, but do this on a plate so you don’t lose any juice or pulp. Put it all in a food processor and process until completely smooth. You may have to stop and scrape down the sides a few times. My finished puree weighed 11 1/2 oz, (about a cup) and I highly recommend weighing the puree and only using the 11 1/2 ounces. Too much puree will throw off the balance of ingredients in this cake.
- Set aside, or refrigerate until the next day if you want to do this ahead.
- The rest is a one bowl deal: Beat the eggs and sugar until light and creamy. Fold in the almond meal, orange pulp, baking powder, and Amaretto, if using. Mix until well combined.
- Pour into your prepared tart pan and smooth out evenly.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes, until lightly golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If the cake is browning too fast, cover loosely with a sheet of foil.
- Cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan to finish cooling.
- Dust with confectioner’s sugar. Decorate with some citrus zest if you like.
I’ve made this cake in the past and loved it. I’m currently egg free, has anyone made this with an egg alternative? Egg free tips would be appreciated!!
Flaxseed or Chia eggs?? Just combine 1 tbsp of grounded flaxseed or chia with 2 tbsp of water, leave it for 10 mins and it’s ready ๐
I want to let you know that I made this tonight. My husband and I loved it. The cake was moist and decadent. My husband had his slice with vanilla ice cream. I had my slice with a dollop of creme fraiche with a hint of madagascar vanilla. I obviously won on taking it over the top, but the true win goes to you for creating this recipe.
Awww thanks Mona, you are so sweet!
Hi Sue,
Thank you to share your great recipes. I have to try this one but I really don’t want to use baking powder so please can you give me the way to realize It without using leavening/raising agent.
Hi, it’s me again… please answear !
Whip the eggs and sugar together on high speed until they form peaks (3-5 mins). The eggs act as a leavener. ๐
Alyssa, Thank you very much for your help i really appreciate.
I’m baking this cake as we speak. I used clementines and to my disappointment, after boiling them they ended up horribly bitter. I’ve then added fresh juice to the batter, and it saved it a little bit, but it doesn’t have the great smell you describe. Has this happened to anyone else? I’m still baking it as I need it for tomorrow morning, and I’ve added the extra batter into cupcake molds, to be able to taste it before I serve it. I might make some orange juice syrup if the taste is not strong enough.
I just made the cake exactly like you did, and it is wonderful. I had additional tangerine pulp and made another one in a bunt pan, fantastic.
Not joking, still had tangerine pulp and made the last cake (which is in oven now) with regular flour and is tasted delicious before it went into the oven. I always taste the batter.
Now I know how to judge the fruit, I bought a 3lb bag that is why I had sooooo much tangerine pulp. Glad I found you, thanks again
How fun — that bag went a long way! I’m eager to hear how the cake made with the regular flour turned out~
It came out more like a corn muffin as far as texture. A little dry but still good.
My neighbor’s loved it. Toasting it with honey or jam will make it wonderful.
Thanks again
Joan
Hmmm, that’s interesting, I wonder if your tangerines were less juicy than mine? I’m intrigued by the idea of toasting it!
I made this using two Meyer lemons and enough clementines to get the required amount of puree (can’t recall how many, 3-4?, as it was a few months ago). The cake came out beautifully, and was a hit with guests and my husband, a/k/a Mr. Fussy. It was so much easier than a similar one I made where you had to zest and juice the clementines. I’ll be making it again for Passover, without the baking powder, either with all clementines or if I can get them, with half Meyer lemons. Thanks for a terrific recipe, Sue!
You’re so welcome! I’m glad we could please Mr Fussy ๐
Thank you for the recipe!! Has anyone tried to substitute sugar all-together with applesauce?
I have a 10 inch pan and had to use that, I hope it turns out good, it’s in the oven now! Your recipes are amazing ๐ Just came across your website today!
This is an incredible recipe, thank you!
I’ve never bothered to comment on someone’s food blog before, but you deserve it for this.
I made this 2 x so far, both times as muffins. 350 degrees for 20-25 min. One recipe = about 18 muffins.
Double boiling the fruit is a wonderful thing to know. I had no issues with bitterness.
The first recipe I used 4-5 Cuties tangerines. The second time I used one Cara Cara orange. I reduced the sugar to 3/4 cup, but I think it can go to 1/2 cup, unless the pulp is really not sweet. I did not bother to dust with sugar; my family just inhaled them as-is. With the reduced sugar, these guys are basically just whole fruit and the protein goodness of almonds, but they taste like a special dessert. Again, thanks.
Thanks SO much Sarah – you made my week! I’m so glad to get your feedback and suggestions, I never thought to turn this into muffins, and I think that sounds really good ๐
Double boiler?
Or boil it twice? I’m confused. Help
I have made this cake three times in the last two months! It is phenomenal!
I have not modified or changed a thing in the recipe, it’s perfect just the way it is.
Yay! <3