My mother is half Sicilian, and many of the family recipes I grew up eating had a heavy Sicilian influence. Sicily is known for their citrus, and this traditional orange cake is such a perfect representation of the food Sicilians make— simple, fresh ingredients that imprint your memory with comfort and palpable joy. This cake was supposedly created by Benedictine monks in Catania, which makes me love it even more.

You all know I enjoy the challenge of taking traditional recipes and making them into something I can tolerate with my dietary needs. I absolutely love the book The Sicily Cookbook by Cettina Vincenzino, and adapted her recipe with an AIP cake recipe I’ve been using for years. The result is definitely good enough to eat! We love sharing this desert with friends and family around Easter, but it is truly refreshing and delicious any time of year.

PAN INGREDIENTS

1 orange (organic if possible)

2 1/3 cups coconut flour

1 cup arrowroot starch

1 cup palm shortening

2 cans sweet potato puree

1 cup maple syrup (or raw honey)

3 tbsp grass fed gelatin

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp himalayan salt (or fine sea salt)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

GLAZE INGREDIENTS

zest of 1 organic orange, and its juice

1/3 cup powdered monk fruit (or add more until it resembles a thick glaze) and a little more to dust on the pan before glazing

RECIPE

1. Wash 1 orange in hot water (you can even use a tiny drop of castile soap to remove any grime, just rinse well) and dry it. Chop the whole orange into 2 inch chunks, and remove any seeds but keep the peel on. Add the pieces to a food processor and puree until smooth.

2. Add in the rest of the wet ingredients (sweet potato puree, palm shortening, maple syrup, and extracts) to the food processor and blend until they are incorporated.

3. In a large bowl, add the dry ingredients and whisk. Now, using a spatula, fold in the wet ingredients. Because this contains gelatin as the “egg” substitute, do not let the mixture sit out long before baking. It should go into the over right away so the gelatin does not harden before baking.

4. Prepare your baking dish by greasing it with a thin layer of palm shortening. I really like this bundt pan, but you can also distribute the batter in 2 loaf pans, a cake pan, or even a cupcake tray with parchment lined papers. I like to bang the pan on the counter a few times to let out any air bubbles, and then prick the batter with a fork a few times before baking, just to let some steam out.

5. Bake on 350 in a convection oven or 375 in an electric oven for 30-45 minutes (this all depends on your oven). What you’re looking for is the cake to pull away slightly from the edges of the pan and not jiggle when you shake it. Cracks are normal on the bottom of the cake, and it will look even when it comes out, I promise!

6. Remove the cake from the pan while it is still warm and let it cool for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

7. Begin to prepare the glaze when the cake is cooled. Zest the remaining orange, then add its juice to a pouring cup if you have one, though a bowl works fine. Then begin slowly adding in the powdered monk fruit with a whisk until it resembles a thick glaze that will pour easily onto the cake.

8. Dust the cake with powdered monk fruit from a sieve, then pour the glaze on top. Finish with the zest to make it look and taste extra fresh.