Description
This orange-scented upside-down cake does it all, environmentally speaking. It prevents food waste by upcycling the contents of the nearly empty bags of nuts in your freezer that you refuse to throw out; and it’s plant-based — two carbon-saving moves. It also calls not just for all-purpose flour but for a portion of some other flour, too (use whatever’s in your pantry!), since branching out from the world’s most widely grown wheat is good for climate resilience. Inspired by Alex Testere’s mixed seed upside-down cake, this sustain-ified version pairs a cake perfumed with orange zest with a seedy, nutty olive oil caramel. Raw or roasted seeds and nuts like pecans, walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, and poppyseeds are all good places to start, but let what’s on hand be a guide. (Though a word to the wise: If you have fennel seeds, use them! Your kitchen will smell like a holiday in Italy.)
Ingredients
The topping
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp (packed) orange zest, from about 2/3 of a medium orange
- 1 Tbsp orange juice
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- Pinch salt
- 1/3 cup mixed nuts, finely chopped
- 1 Tbsp mixed seeds
The cake
- 3/4 cup plus 2 tbsps sugar
- 1 Tbsp orange zest, from about 1 1/2 oranges
- 1 Tbsp orange juice
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tsp olive oil
- 3/4 cup plus 1 tsp plant milk, unsweetened
- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 30g any other flour (volume amounts vary by flour)
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a 9-inch cake pan with parchment paper, making the paper circle slightly larger than the diameter of the pan so that there’s a small lip (this will keep the caramel from sticking to the pan). Spray the interior of the pan lightly with baking spray.
- Make the topping. In a small saucepan, whisk together all the topping ingredients except the nuts and seeds until smooth. Cook over medium heat, whisking frequently, just until the mixture reaches a simmer, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the nuts and seeds. Spread the nut mixture in a thin, even layer over the bottom of the prepared cake pan.
- Make the cake. In a large bowl, toss the sugar and orange zest together gently with your fingers until the mixture is sandy and fragrant. To the same bowl, add the orange juice, olive oil, and plant milk; whisk until well combined. In another bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, baking powder, and kosher salt. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until the batter is smooth.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 27 to 35 minutes, or until the cake springs back when poked gently in the middle (or a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean).
- Wait 3 minutes or so, then invert the cake onto a cooling rack and gently peel away the parchment paper. Allow to cool to room temperature before transferring to a serving plate and slicing.
Notes
- I’ve tested this cake with a portion of oat flour, einkorn, whole wheat pastry flour, and hazelnut flour. (You could also use exclusively all-purpose flour, in which case you’d use 1 1/2 cups.)
- Cake will keep, tightly wrapped, for up to 5 days.