Orange Upside Down Cake, Eggless Cake, Healthy Cake

Total Time: 60 minutes

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CAKE

• 120g or 1 cup whole-wheat flour
• 60g or 1/2 cup buckwheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 6-8 cardamom pods, crushed
• 2 tsp vanilla essence
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp preserved/ candied orange peel, chopped (See Notes)
• 170g or 1 cup palm sugar
• 100g or ½ cup yogurt, or whisked dahi
• 250g water (optional)
• 60g or ¼ cup vegetable oil
• ½ tsp Salt

FOR THE FRUIT BASE

• 1 blood orange
• 1 kinnow orange (you can substitute with any citrus fruit)
• 1.5 tbsp palm sugar
• ¼ cup water

INSTRUCTIONS

First, pre-heat the oven at 180°C.Line an 8-inch cake pan, preferably springform with parchment paper and grease with little oil.

Meanwhile, slice the orange and grapefruit into ½ inch thick circles. Then, with a sharp paring knife, cut out the skins off the slices, taking care to keep intact the white edges surrounding the rind. This will help keep the slices from disintegrating as the cake bakes. Set aside.

Next, in a bowl sieve together all the dry ingredients, i.e. flours, salt and baking powder. Mix well with a spatula.

Now, beat palm sugar, oil and yogurt until fluffy in another bowl. Next, add vanilla essence, lime juice, crushed cardamom, chopped candied orange peel and water. Thereupon whisk everything together to form a uniform mixture.

Next, add the dry ingredients to the bowl with wet ingredients in two parts, while whisking together into a smooth batter.

Heat ¼ cup water and dissolve 1 tbsp sugar in the same. Add half the sugar water into the base of the parchment-lined pan, and arrange the fruit slices neatly in circles. Fill any gaps between the circles with smaller fruit slices. Now, add the remaining sugar water on top of the fruit.

Finally, pour the batter into the pan over the fruits. Next, tap on a surface a few times for any trapped air to be released.

Bake at 180°C for about 30-40minutes, until it has risen firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool completely. Next, run a knife along the rim of the pans, release the springform. Thereupon, flip the cake on a plate and remove the pan base. You will be able to see the beautiful caramelized fruit pattern on the top now.

Lastly, devour!

NOTES

• For candied orange peel, add slice clean peels of 3 oranges in a clean, dry glass jar along with 3 tbsp palm sugar or brown sugar and 1 tbsp sugar syrup. Shake well and place on a sunny window ledge. The sugar will consequently melt. Shake occasionally to distribute sugar evenly. I keep adding orange peel and sugar as I go. The candied orange peel can be used to flavor a variety of recipes.
• Additionally, you can fold aluminum foil into strips (same height as that of the cake pan) and wrap along the circumference of the cake pan, just before setting it inside the oven for baking. Indeed, this will prevent the sides of the cake from looking burnt and keep it moist.
• This cake can be refrigerated for 2 days. It freezes beautifully for about a month if kept in a vacuum-sealed food-grade polythene bag. For usage, thaw at room temperature and heat in the microwave for 1 minute.