from my orchid kitchen

• Eggs - they are the main ingredient of this cake, in which the whipped egg whites allow air to be incorporated into the cake and give it volume and the soft texture that is expected from this type of sponge cake.
• Flour - some use self-raising flour in sponge cake recipes, but this one is of traditional origin and uses only fine wheat flour without baking powder.  
• Sugar - in addition to sweetening, the presence of sugar combined with egg whites also creates the slightly moist texture that this type of cake should have.

How to make

• You should start by covering the form to be used (in this case I used a 22cm tube cake pan). So that the sponge cake doesn't flatten when cooling, we are not going to grease the sides of the pan but only the bottom by covering it with parchment paper (cut the paper with the diameter of the bottom of the pan and then cut it in the middle another circle with the diameter of the tube). Reserve.
• 2 large bowls are needed, one to beat the egg whites and the other to beat the remaining ingredients of the cake.
• Break the eggs, separating the whites from the yolks.
• Sugar is added to the yolks and beat well until it doubles in volume and presents a pale yellow colour.
• With the help of a spoon or spatula, the flour is gradually added by mixing without beating.
• In the bowl where the egg whites are, add a pinch of salt and whip well until stiff.
• Again with the help of a spoon or spatula, whites are blended in the mixture of egg yolks, sugar, and flour, but carefully and without beating so that they don't lose the air bubbles created when whipping the whites.
• Pour into the pan and place it in the oven at 180ºC for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan.
• To unmold, a knife is passed through the sides of the pan and tube to loosen and then placed on a serving plate.

Pão-de-ló recipe

1. Line the bottom of a tube cake pan about 22cm in diameter with butter and then with parchment paper. 
2. Separate the yolks from the whites, placing each in large bowls. 
3. In the bowl of the egg yolks add the sugar. 
4. Beat the egg yolks very well with the sugar until you get a fluffy whitish cream. 
5. Gradually wrap the flour, but without beating too much. 
6. Beat the egg whites firmly with a pinch of salt. 
7. Wrap the egg whites carefully in the previous preparation. 
8. Pour into the pan and place in the oven at 180ºC for 25 to 30 minutes.
9. Remove from the oven and let it cool in the pan. Unmold, passing a knife around the pan and tube and then inverting it onto a plate.

The ingredients

• Almond - since it doesn't use flour, it's the almond that will be the base of this cake; almond flour can be used instead of grinding whole almonds, but since a significant amount of this is used, it probably pays off (in monetary terms) to buy unprocessed almonds.
• Carrot - along with the almond, it's the main ingredient for this cake, and in addition to some sweetness and flavor, it also provides moisture to it.
• Sugar - 2 types of sugar are used in this recipe - white and brown; however, you can choose to only use one of these, or instead use coconut sugar (a total of at least 150gr, because coconut sugar has less sweetening power compared to ordinary sugar).
• Eggs - will bind all the other ingredients.
• Baking powder - it will create air in the cake dough creating a soft texture characteristic of other cakes made with flour.
• Cinnamon, Vanilla and Nutmeg - along with orange zest, these are the elements that will give flavor to the cake; originally more cinnamon was used, which I reduced to make the other flavors stand out.
• Orange - in the original recipe the use of lemon zest was the one proposed, but I replaced it with orange, which is generally the most used in carrot cakes.

How to make

• In a food processor, grind the almonds along with the brown sugar until a fine granulate is obtained, or if you choose to use almonds already in flour, just mix this with the brown sugar. Avoid grinding too much so that it doesn't turn into a moist paste, which means that the almond has started to release its natural fat.
• The following are added to the almond mix: cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and baking powder, and then set aside.
• Next, grate the carrot finely, using a mandolin or food processor, and fill two measures of 250ml (equivalent to about 2 cups) and reserve.
• In the bowl where the cake is to be prepared, start by beating the eggs with the remaining sugar until a smooth and homogeneous cream is obtained.
• Vanilla and orange zest are then added.
• To this cream add the almond, sugar and spices mix, stirring well.
• Then, the grated carrot is well wrapped in the previous batter.
• After having greased and coated with parchment paper a small pan (this had 16cm diameter), pour the batter in there, smoothing the surface, and take it to the oven at 180ºC between 50 to 60 minutes.

Carrot almond cake (gluten free) recipe

1. In a food processor, grind the almonds with brown sugar to obtain a homogeneous granulate.
2. Place this mixture in a large bowl, and add the spices (cinnamon and nutmeg), the baking powder and a pinch of salt.
3. With a manual or electric grater, finely grate the carrots until you get 2 cups of grated carrots.
4. With the help of a mixer, beat the eggs with the sugar, until obtaining a fluffy cream.
5. Add the orange zest and the liquid vanilla.
6. Slowly wrap the egg cream in the almond mixture, and finally add the grated carrot.
7. Grease a form (I used one with 16cm in diameter) and line it with parchment paper.
8. Pour the batter and bake at 180ºC between 50 minutes to 1 hour.