Orange Almond Cake:

Preheat oven to 350° F / 175° C.

Coat an 8 x 8-inch round cake tin with nonstick spray. Cut a round disc of parchment to size, and place in the bottom of the tin. Apply more nonstick spray on top of the parchment.

In a large bowl, whisk almond flour, cardamom, baking powder, and salt.

In a separate bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, whip eggs and granulated sugar on high speed until pale, fluffy, and voluminous, about 3-4 minutes.

Mix in the orange zest and orange oil.

With a mesh sieve, sift the dry ingredients into the egg mixture. It’s ok if you need to dump the last few tablespoons into the bowl—the primary goal here is to distribute the dry ingredients evenly, rather than to remove lumps or debris.

With a rubber spatula, gently fold the dry mixture into the eggs, stirring until evenly encorporated. (This is important, otherwise the cake will sink in the middle!) Try not to deflate the mixture.

Scrape batter into prepared cake tin.

Baked in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and allow cake to cool completely in the tin.

While cake cools, prepare the soaking syrup.

Soaking Syrup:

In a small saucepan, bring orange juice, orange peel, and cinnamon stick to a boil.

Remove from heat, cover, and allow mixture to infuse for 15 minutes.

Remove orange peel and cinnamon stick.

Bring orange juice back to a low boil.

Add sugar and simmer gently until sugar dissolves.

Remove from heat.

To Serve:

Run a knife around the edges of the cake tin, then turn cake out on a plate. (I leave it upside-down; the bottom will be flatter than the top, so it’s prettier and easier to soak evenly.)

Carefully peel away the parchment and discard.

With a pastry brush, generously apply hot soaking syrup to cooled cake. If desired, you can also pour the syrup over the cake. (Use all of the syrup—it will sink in and make the cake deliciously moist and orange-y!)

Garnish slices with whipped cream, powdered sugar, orange zest, sliced almonds, or candied orange peel.

Serve immediately.

Wrap leftover orange almond cake in foil and store at room temperature for up to two days.