These dairy-free orange cakes are a refreshing and lovely finish to a meal. They are fanciful yet easy to make and can be made and frozen in advance—a perfect dinner party dessert.

At Miraval Berkshires, they are baked in semi-sphere silicone molds. We adapted this recipe to make them in a standard muffin pan, but you can purchase silicone molds for a more sophisticated presentation. This is one of our most guest-requested desserts—even when it’s not on the menu. When you make it, the whole kitchen smells like vanilla & oranges.

INGREDIENTS

Cold-pressed avocado oil cooking spray

Cake Batter

• 1 organic orange
• 1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 cup vegan butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup organic cane sugar
• 2 medium eggs, at room temperature

Soaking Syrup

• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice

Coconut Chantilly

• 1 can (guar free) coconut cream or coconut whipping cream, chilled overnight
• 3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
• 3 oranges, cut supreme for garnish (See Note)

DIRECTIONS

Arrange a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350ºF. Lightly coat a standard 12-cup muffin pan with cold-pressed avocado oil cooking spray. Set aside.

To make the cake, thoroughly wash and dry the orange, and then trim off the stem end. Using the whole orange, including the peel, cut the orange into 8 chunks. Purée in a mini-chop or food processor until as smooth as possible.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a medium bowl using a handheld mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing on medium speed, scraping the sides of the bowl after each addition. Add the puréed orange and mix well. Add half of the flour mixture and beat on low speed just until the flour disappears. Mix in the rest of the flour, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl once.

Divide the batter among the muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full. Bake until the cakes are puffed and golden, and a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack. Cool for 10 minutes and then unmold the cakes while still warm and set them, bottom-side up, on the wire rack.

Meanwhile, make the soaking syrup. In a small bowl, stir together the confectioners’ sugar and orange juice until all the sugar is dissolved. Place a sheet pan under the wire rack that is holding the cakes. Dividing evenly, spoon some of the syrup over each cake, allowing it to run down the sides. Set aside until ready to serve. (At this point, the cakes can be frozen for up to 3 weeks. Thaw before serving.)

To make the Coconut Chantilly, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment, or in a medium bowl using a handheld mixer, combine the well-chilled coconut cream, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla bean paste. Whip on high until thickened. Cover and chill until ready to use.

To assemble the dessert, place one cake on a dessert plate, spoon a dollop of Coconut Chantilly on the side and garnish with a few orange segments. Serve immediately.

Note: To supreme an orange, cut a slice from the top and bottom of each orange to reveal the flesh. Stand an orange upright and slice away the peel from the sides in wide strips, cutting downward, following the contour of the orange, and removing all the white pith. Use a paring knife to slice along the inside of the membranes to remove the fruit as wedges. Reserve for garnish.