The Jewish holiday Sukkot, also called the Festival of Booths, is being celebrated now until this Sunday at sundown. You can read more about the day in our earlier post on Tishrei, the month in the Jewish calendar in which Sukkot happens.
An important element of this holiday is the Citron or Etrog, a large lemon with craggy skin and a powerful scent. Along with the palm, willow and myrtle leaves, it makes up one of the four species used in the Sukkot festival rituals. It isn’t edible raw but its peel is often cooked with a lot of sugar to make a delicious and fragrant preserve. In Roman times, the symbol of the citron was used as a Jewish symbol in synagogue architectural motifs and on Jewish tombstones.
We’ve taken the Citron as our inspiration in this recipe for Mediterranean Orange Cake, which is both dairy and gluten free! Practice your Hebrew while reading the list of ingredients.
Mediterranean Orange Cake (gluten/dairy free)
2 oranges תפוזים
6 Eggs ביצים
1 1/4 cup sugar סוכר
2 Tbs Orange blossom water מים פריחת הדרים
1 tsp baking powder אבקת אפייה
1 1/2 cups blanched almonds coarsely ground שקדים טחונים
- Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
- Wash the oranges and boil them whole for about an hour, until soft.
- Beat the eggs with the sugar, add the orange blossom water, baking powder and almonds and mix well.
- Cut open the oranges, remove any pits and puree in a food processor.
- Mix the orange mixture into the batter.
- Pour into an oiled 9 inch cake pan or spring form cake pan.
- Bake for an hour, let cool and remove from pan.
- Serve with a shake of powdered sugar and fresh berries or fruit salad.
