What does BBC stand for?

I'm pretty sure it must be Bitchin' British Cake.  Seriously.

Rachel Manley, charming Brixton blogger and contributor to the brilliant BBC Food website, has completely seduced me with this ah.mazing recipe for Almond & Yogurt Cake with Blood Orange Curd (via Design*Sponge).  


Lately I'm obsessed with "every day cakes"--unassuming cakes with fewer ingredients that surprise you with sumptuous, delicious flavors despite their simplicity.  This almond & yogurt confection takes the cake.  The blood orange adds a hint of glamor and zest that makes it so...spring!  It keeps and travels well, making it basically the perfect picnic cake.


My only issue?  It's not gluten-free!  But with a few tweaks, I managed to make it sans gluten and with a slightly lower Glycemic Index.  Check out my remix below:

Blood Orange Curd* (make a day in advance)

• 2 blood oranges, zest and juice (should end up being about 1/2 C of juice)
• 1/3 cup honey (lately I'm obsessed with creamed)
• 6 tablespoons coconut oil (or butter, cut into cubes)
• 3 eggs, beaten

Place orange zest and juice, sugar and coconut oil/butter into a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Don't let the base of the bowl touch the water.

Stir the mixture until the oil/butter has melted. Slowly whisk eggs into the mixture. Stir constantly but slowly as it cooks, until the curd has thickened.  (DON'T LET IT BOIL.) This should take about 10 minutes. 

Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes; the mixture will thicken slightly.

Strain the curd through a sieve into jars or tuperware and let cool completely.  Store in the fridge.  After a couple of hours, the curd should look like thick custard. Keeps for a couple weeks.

*Delicious alternatives: lemon or lime curd (which you could make using the above recipe), raspberry jam, or fig spread...all scrumptious, complementary, and available in a jar!

Whipped Cream

Mix 1/2 C whipping cream with a splash of vanilla.  Whip till peaks form...but don't overdo it!  We're not making butter.

Almond and Yogurt Cake

• 3/4 cup nonfat Greek yogurt, such as Chobani or Fage
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2/3 cup honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/4 C GF flour, such as Arrowhead or Bob's Red Mill
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp + a pinch of salt
• 3/4 cup ground almonds or almond meal

Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Spray two 8-inch cake pans with PAM.

Mix wet ingredients (whisking in eggs one at a time); in separate bowl mix dry.  Fold almond-and-flour mixture into the wet mix.  Divide batter between the two pans and bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes, or until the cake rises and the top is springy to the touch.  WATCH CAREFULLY!  Honey browns more quickly than and alternative flours can require longer bake times.

Remove cakes from the oven and let cool in pans for five minutes. Turn cakes out on cooling rack and let them finish cooling.

Place one of the cakes onto a serving plate or cake stand and spread with curd or jam, then whipped cream. Top with the other cake, upside down so that you have a nice, flat top.

Dust with powdered sugar and nibble alongside huge swigs of Lady Grey Tea!

Photography by Kristina Gill via Design*Sponge.