Passover typically brings dessert dilemmas. Along with seder rituals and matzo comes the dreaded no “regular” flour rule. That makes it difficult to bake a cake with body. Until now. This Passover Orange-Scented Loaf Cake actually has taste and cakey texture, along with an enticing aroma.
Plain it is a breakfast or brunch treat. Add fruit and it’s a light dinner dessert. And with chocolate ganache – well, the chocolate and orange combination says it all.
This cake is a take-off on my Easy Citrus Ginger Loaf Cake. But with a moist crumb more reminiscent of my Almond Chocolate Loaf, And since it’s made with almond flour and has no chocolate, some might say it’s a cousin to my Almond Coconut Cake. Whatever its genealogy, this Passover Orange-Scented Cake is a winner.
There are two “secrets” to this cake. OK, maybe secrets is an overstatement. But definitely two things that make it not-your-average Passover cake. The first is in the flavoring; the second has to do with how it rises.
Passover Orange-Scented Loaf Cake “Secrets”
- Taking the orange flavor up a notch. This star of this show is its orange-ness. From the scent and taste, to the flecks of orange rind, it shows off this delectable fruit to its best advantage. But there is also a secret flavoring that enhances the orange flavor in a way that is amazing, yet indescribable (at least by me) – Fiori di Sicilia (flowers of Sicily). I got mine from King Arthur. However, you can make your own if you prefer. You could even play around with my friend Faith’s Fiori di Sicilia-inspired syrup.
- Baking powder – yes, it is kosher for Passover. I was completely amazed to realize that both baking soda and baking powder are kosher for Passover, according to many, including Orthodox Jewish rabbinic authorities. The original prohibition was on breads and sweets that rise by fermentation, as in yeast. So baking powder and baking soda, which leaven with a chemical reaction, not fermentation, are permitted. However, strictly kosher folks would only use “Kosher for Passover” baking powder made without cornstarch. (If you want it and don’t have a nearby grocery that carries this holiday-specific kosher item, you can get it through Amazon.) I don’t follow kosher guidelines during the rest of the year, so for myself, I’ve decided that “regular” baking powder is OK.
Passover Orange-Scented Loaf Cake
A Passover delight that has orange in every bite, filling up all of your senses.
Ingredients
- 4 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 & 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 large pinch salt, preferably fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/4 teaspoon Fiori di Sicilia
- 1 tablespoon grated orange zest From 1-2 oranges
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons matzo cake meal
- 3/4 cup almond flour or meal
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 5 & 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously butter a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.
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In a medium-large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, salt, almond extract, and Fiori di Sicilia for about 1 minute until well combined. Add the grated orange zest and set aside.
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In a smaller bowl, whisk together the matzo cake meal, almond flour or meal, and baking powder.
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In 3 batches, using a strainer or sifter, sift the dry ingredients over the wet ones, whisking to combine each batch before adding the next.
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Whisk in the heavy cream. Then fold in (using a spatula to keep from disturbing the batter too much) the melted butter.
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Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for approximately 70 minutes or until a toothpick or thin skewer comes out clean. Cool for 10-15 minutes in the pan before turning the loaf out on a wire rack to continue cooling.
Recipe Notes
In a pinch, you can substitute 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla for the Fiori di Sicilia, but I'd advise making your own if you don't buy it.
For almond extract tips, see my son Liam's taste test.
To get a good crumb on this cake, you must use matzo cake meal, not matzo meal. (The latter is a coarser ground.) Also, use the finest ground almond meal or flour. In the alternative, if you don't have matzo cake meal, put matzo meal and almond meal or flour in a food processor and process them for about 1 minute.
While I prefer heavy cream, you can use whipping cream in this recipe.
The cake will rise and "crown", but the top will not be as pronounced as either the Citrus Ginger or the Almond Chocolate Loaf Cake
By the way, if you’re an orange lover, as I am, you should really check out my friend Jamie Schler’s delightful cookbook, Orange Appeal. She grew up in orange heaven, a/k/a Florida, and really knows her oranges. Incorporating them into savory dishes (including a Passover-friendly heavenly baked chicken recipe that I posted) as well as sweet, Jamie even provides (not for Passover of course) a yeasted, rosemary orange-scented boule recipe.
Happy Passover, or as we say, chag sameach.
Jamie says
Oh Laura, thank you for mentioning by cookbook! And thank you for sharing a Passover cake starring the Orange!! I need one in my holiday repertoire. It looks so good and so moist – not a given for a Passover loaf cake! This is perfect! Chah Sameach!
Laura says
Jamie, I’m a huge fan of your book, so it’s only natural that I would mention it here. As I grate rind or cut into an orange, I inevitably think of you. And like you, I find that I use them often. Although I’ve posted this recipe as a Passover one, I’m thinking about how I can also make a non-Passover version, because, after all, a good orange cake is always a treat:)!
Gail Wides says
Sounds delicious! Can you freeze it and the almond chocolate loaf?
Laura says
Yes, I freeze both. They are slightly better fresh, but in this house, baking ahead is the 11th commandment.xoxo
Gail Wides says
Also, do you think one could make your almond chocolate loaf with the same combination of matzah cake meal and almond flour?
Laura says
Gail, It would be tricky – not just a similar substitution because the almond chocolate loaf has both baking soda and baking powder. Maybe I’ll experiment with that for next Passover. If you try it before then, let me know what you find. BTW – you need more leavening with almond flour and matzo cake meal than you do with “regular” white flour. In the ginger citrus cake, I upped the baking powder from 1/2 teaspoon to 3/4 in the orange-scented loaf cake.
Lisa says
This is NOT kosher for Passover! It has nothing to do with flour per se (that’s what matzo is made of, after all), but leavening. There is to be no leavened food during Passover, so anything with leavening (ei: baking soda, baking powder, yeast) is not allowed. I don’t know which “many rabbis” you asked, but what you say is simply false.
Laura says
Lisa, thanks for stopping by. Actually, baking soda and powder are allowable, as would be yeast if there was such a thing as kosher for Passover yeast. See my latest post, https://motherwouldknow.com/surprising-ingredients-that-are-kosher-for-passover/. In addition, if you follow the Orthodox rules, see the Chabad website – specifically https://www.chabad.org/holidays/passover/pesach_cdo/aid/1742/jewish/What-Is-Chametz.htm where the author, in a reply to a comment says:
Yehuda Shurpin (author) March 16, 2017
Re: Yeast, Baking Soda and Powder (Sodium bicarbonate)
In order to understand why Sodium bicarbonate (Baking powder, soda) is not Chametz. Let’s clear up a common misconception about yeast. Yeast itself isn’t necessarily chametz either (no that isn’t typo).
On Passover it is forbidden to own or eat Chametz which, as explained in the article is food product made from one of the five grains that came into contact with water and was allowed to ferment and “rise.” No leavening agent is necessary for this to happen. This is because even the air we breathe contains some “yeast” – yeast being a living microorganism which converts some of the flour into the carbon dioxide causing it to rise. Thus, there is a common phrase that Matza is the closest thing to Chametz on Passover, since leaving it for just a bit too long out, can render it Chametz.
Now, besides for Chametz, the Torah also prohibits Se’or. However, while se’or (sourdough) may be yeast, yeast itself isn’t necessarily se’or.
Although it is true that the air we breathe contains yeast, most people don’t sit around waiting for their bread to rise by itself. Instead, they add a leavening agent. what people used to (and some still) do, is leave a piece of dough out, In order that the yeast in the dough multiply to such an extent that that the batter would turn sour and inedible. This ball of concentrated yeast would be added to the next day’s dough to help it rise.This concentrated yeast-ball is called Se’or (i.e. “sourdough” due to its sour taste). And it is that the Torah prohibits on Passover (despite it being inedible, which normally may render something permissible on Passover – a separate discussion)
One can, however, produce yeast using certain plants instead of sourdough. Such yeast, as long as it doesn’t otherwise contain Chametz from the five grains, is not chametz despite the fact that it shares the same characteristics as se’or (sourdough) and therefore one may technically own it on Passover.
In light of the above, it should be self-understood that as long as the baking soda or powder (Sodium bicarbonate) has a reliable Kosher for Passover certification, it is ok to use for Passover.
Eileen Cooper says
Looks amazing. Can milk be substituted for cream?
Laura says
Ellen, I’ve never tried that. If you do use milk, I’d say use whole milk. Maybe with a bit of sour cream or butter if that works for you. Last night I made a loaf with half-and-half instead of heavy cream because that’s what I had. My loaf came out just fine.