Flourless Orange Cauliflower Cake

I know...I know...this sounds totally insane (and maybe even a little bit gross?), but trust me on this! Everyone who has ever tasted this cake can not believe how good it is. And no, you definitely can not taste the cauliflower in it. I promise that all you'll taste is oranges, almonds, and sweet cake goodness.

This flourless orange cauliflower cake was one of the recipes I featured on a TV cooking segment about cauliflower recipes that I did on PIX11 Morning News here in NYC earlier this month. On the show, I covered everything from Cauliflower Fried Rice and Cauliflower Buffalo Wings, to this sweet cake.

Needless to say, the cake was the hit.

Here's the genius thing about this cake; the pureed cauliflower adds moisture and body that replaces the need for adding additional dairy or fat. There's no flour in the cake; just ground almonds (you can swap in any nut you'd like) and a touch of cornstarch. Fresh orange zest and a bit of vanilla extract make for a fragrant cake that's perfect at any time of day. Enjoy a slice with coffee in the morning or serve after dinner for a simple but impressive weekend dessert.

The recipe below uses sugar, but you can easily use a cup-for-cup style sugar substitute like Swerve to make it low carb. I think you're going to be amazed by how good this one is.

Easy flourless cakes recipes are one of my specialties. Here are a few other favorites you might enjoy:

• Flourless Fennel Almond Cake
• Flourless Chocolate Orange Cake 
• Flourless Pistachio Oatmeal Muffins
• Flourless Cashew Oatmeal Cake
• Flourless Chocolate Orange Almond Cake
• Flourless Chocolate Hazelnut Torte 

Flourless Orange Cauliflower Cake
Serves 10

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups cooked and pureed cauliflower (from about 1/2 small cauliflower)
6 large eggs
1 cup granulated white sugar or equivalent substitute
zest of 1 whole navel orange (only the zest)
2 1/2 cups of ground almond meal
1 tablespoon cornstarch (or use tapioca starch for a paleo option)
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 heaping teaspoon baking powder

Powdered sugar, for garnish

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and line a springform baking pan (this is a sticky cake; you NEED a springform pan).

Combine the pureed cauliflower, eggs, sugar, orange zest, almond meal, cornstarch, extracts, salt, and baking powder into the fennel and egg mixture and stir well until evenly combined.  Pour into the prepared baking pan and bake 50 minutes to 1 hour or until set. Let cool in pan 20 minutes before removing sides and letting cool completely.

Sprinkle cake with powdered sugar and additional orange zest as a garnish, if desired. Serve cake at room temperature.