I can remember the very first time I tried a Blood Orange. I was in Rome, Italy at a hotel on a hill with a group from South Georgia College. I peeled my orange and was completely taken aback by the garnet colored flesh. I was assured by the waiter that it was perfectly okay to eat. I took my first bite and it was instant love! A sweet but tangy citrus with a hint of raspberry. It was divine! It wasn't until a few years ago that I stumbled upon the blushing fruit in the produce department at a local chain grocery store. Such a happy day!
My Fiancée is quite the citrus fan and when we see Blood Oranges we scoop them up and enjoy them while they last. I have wondered what I could bake/cook with them and came across this recipe for a Blood Orange Olive Oil cake from the New York Times. I decided to give it a whirl. Even knowing that the worst that could happen is that I could waste these beautiful oranges!
Preheat oven to 350
Start with 3 Blood oranges. Zest 2 oranges and rub the zest in 1 cup of sugar.
Supreme 2 oranges.
To Supreme:
-Cut the top and bottom off the orange so it will sit flat on the cutting board
-With a sharp knife cut the peel off by cutting down with the curve of the orange until all the peel is gone.
-When the orange is peeled cut the segments out from between the skin
Once the 2 oranges have been supremed use your fingers to separate the segments into 1/4" pieces.
Halve the last of the 3 oranges and juice it, you should get about 1/4 cup of liquid. Add enough buttermilk or plain yogurt to make 2/3 cup of liquid.
Mix the liquid mixture together with the sugar
After combined whisk in 3 eggs.
In a separate bowl whisk together: 1 3/4 cups of flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt
Slowly combine the flour combination with the liquid combination.
Using a spatula, slowly add 2/3 cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Once combined, fold in the segments of the orange
Prepare a 9x5 loaf pan
I prefer to use Pam Baking spray, but you can also use butter and flour
Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake in an oven preheated at 350 for 55 minutes or until golden brown. A knife inserted should come out clean when cake is done.
Remove from Oven and let cool for 5 minutes in pan. After the 5 minutes remove from Pan and let cool to room temperature.
Then cut and Enjoy!
The recipe I used can be found
here.
There is also a recipe there for honey orange compote you can serve with the cake!
Have you ever heard of Blood Oranges? If so, what do you like to do with them??
