This Pan corn flour cake is flavored with almond and orange. It's gluten-free and dairy free, plus it's topped with a fragrant cardamom-infused coconut cream frosting.
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Have you tried cooking with PAN corn flour yet? It's a naturally gluten-free maize (corn) flour that's very popular in South America.
I've made this PAN corn flour cake with zesty orange and almond flavors. It's full of great taste and is beautifully moist.
I've topped it with refreshing cardamom-infused coconut cream to compliment the cake's flavours, without overpowering it like traditional frostings can.
what is harina pan corn flour?
This recipe uses PAN corn flour (also known as Harina Pan), a gluten-free flour that's popular in South America.
It's often used in recipes such as arepas, empanadas, bollos and tamales.
In Venezuela and Colombia, it's PAN corn flour that's used for the maize dough, called masarepa.
Masarepa is used to make traditional arepas (griddled pan flour cakes) empanadas (filled dough parcels, similar to Cornish pasties), hallacas (a filled tamale popular at Christmas) and bollos (a breakfast roll).
Pan corn flour is a very versatile flour and can also be used to make brownies, pancakes, porridge and as a gluten-free breadcrumb coating. You can buy Harina PAN from Amazon.
types of corn flour
There seems to be a lot of confusion over the differences in flours made from corn, but PAN corn flour is made from corn that is cooked before it is dried and ground finely.
Whereas, cornmeal and polenta are made from corn that is raw before it is dried and ground into different levels of coarseness.
The resulting differences are in both taste and texture.
Cornflour/cornstarch is a very fine powder that we usually use as a thickener, made from the ground endosperm of corn.
how to use Harina PAN corn flour
Pan corn flour only needs to be mixed with water to form a quick gluten-free dough.
I've used it to make flatbreads and pizza bases with great success.
It isn't strongly flavoured, so it's perfect for mixing with herbs and spices.
A lot of gluten-free pizza bases are made from polenta or cauliflower, but these are often bound with eggs and cheese. PAN flour turns into a thick dough, so makes a vegan, lower-calorie gluten-free pizza base.
I've used it to make this gluten-free and dairy-free PAN flour cake.
It's combined with ground almonds and zesty oranges to make a light cake that's topped with a fragrant cardamom-infused coconut cream frosting.
gluten free baking
A lot of people are turning to gluten-free flours due to coeliac disease and intolerances. So, I've been trying out PAN corn flour, a naturally gluten-free maize flour, popular in South America.
I'm not intolerant myself, but a few years ago my brother-in-law found out he couldn't eat gluten. So, at Christmas, I experimented with gluten-free flours for breads and desserts to ensure he wouldn't miss out on the usual festive treats.
It was eye-opening what a challenge it can be, but I ended up with loads of lovely food.
gluten-free desserts
If you love this pan flour cake, you'll also love these gluten-free bakes!
Blackberry, Banana and Oat Breakfast Popsicles
Disclosure: La Casa De Jack commissioned me to create a recipe using Harina Pan Corn Flour. All opinions are my own.
get the Harina Pan Flour Cake with Orange and Almond
Did you make this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out for you!
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Almond and Orange Pan Corn Flour Cake
Ingredients
For the cake
- ⅔ cup (150ml) vegetable oil
- ½ cup (100g) sugar
- 3 organic free-range eggs
- ½ cup (100g) Harina PAN corn flour
- 2 cups (200g) ground almonds
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder check that it’s gluten-free, if necessary
- Juice of 2 oranges
- Zest of 1 orange
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
For the cardamom coconut cream icing
- 15 oz (400ml) can of coconut milk chilled overnight in the fridge
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350F / 180C. Grease a 9” loose-bottomed or springform pan.
- In a stand mixer, or large bowl, beat the oil and sugar together for a few minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add the remaining cake ingredients and combine well.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and spread out evenly.
- Cook for 40-45 minutes until the surface is lightly brown and the cake comes away slightly from the sides of the tin.
- Allow the cake to cool for 15 minutes in the pan before carefully turning onto a wire rack to cool completely before topping as desired with the icing.
For the cardamom coconut cream icing:
- The chilled tin of coconut milk will have separated the cream from the liquid. Carefully open the chilled tin of coconut milk so as not to mix and spoon only the thick cream into a large bowl. Add the icing sugar and ground cardamom and whip until thick and fluffy. Store in the fridge and use to top the cooled cake just before eating.
Edwin
I made it and believe me it was amazing!