BY ANITA SCHECTER
I love winter citrus and have been finding myself completely obsessed with blood oranges. They're so normal and unassuming on the outside. But when you cut them open you see their beautiful ruby red color. As with all citrus, so much of the flavor, not to mention the aroma, is in the rind so I always zest the fruit before eating or squeezing out the juice. Consequently, my kitchen smells like a citrus orchard these days. Considering the freezing weather and short daylight hours, that's not a bad smell at all.
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Clearly I couldn't let blood orange season pass without a baked treat (what January diet??) and I made the most of them by including the zest and juice in the batter and the glaze. The fragrant cardamom compliments the orange perfectly and I tied the whole thing together with a bit of honey in the glaze.
I've experimented a lot with these quick loaf pan style cakes. Most recipes call for a stick of butter but I've found that the extra couple of tablespoons really help the texture. I knew I had a winner when I tasted the batter because I pretty much wanted to just eat it with a spoon. Happily the baked cake is as good!
What You'll Need
Cake:
2 Eggs
1 Cup sugar
10 Tablespoons (1 stick plus 2 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 Teaspoon vanilla
1/2 Cup sour cream
Zest of 2 blood oranges
1/4 Cup blood orange juice
2 Cups all purpose flour
2 Teaspoons baking powder
1/2 Teaspoon baking soda
1 Teaspoon cardamom
1/2 Teaspoon salt
Glaze:
1/2 Cup powdered confectioner's sugar
1 Tablespoon honey
1 Tablespoon blood orange juice
1/4 Teaspoon cardamom
Pinch of sea salt
How to Make It
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- Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Add the eggs and sugar to a large bowl and cream together using either a stand or hand mixer. Beat in the butter, vanilla, sour cream, blood orange zest and juice.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom and salt. Add the dry ingredients into the wet and mix until combined.
- Butter and flour an 8" loaf pan (or butter and line with parchment paper).
- Pour in the batter and bake for 40 - 45 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan before removing.
- Make the glaze by adding the powdered sugar, honey, blood orange juice, cardamom and salt to a small bowl and whisking together until smooth. Drizzle over the cake before serving.
Courtesy: The Spruce
