Desserts

Whole Orange Cake

A good mid-winter dessert – quick to prepare.  It is incredibly moist, with the welcome, bright flavor of oranges that improve over time.

Some whole orange cakes require boiling the fruit first – not here. Instead, the whole fruit is quartered, seeds removed and the pieces – skin, pith and flesh –  thrown into a food processor or blender to make a pulpy slush dotted with tiny flecks of orange peel.

The result is a not too sweet crumb with a hint of bitterness. The final touch is a glaze made from a mix of confectioners’ sugar and orange juice. The light hit of citrus and the added sugar balances out the flavors of the cake.

This recipe, which I respectfully followed, is from Food52, Genius Desserts

Recipe notes:

The butter needs to be room temperature which means if you press it with your finger, it leaves an imprint. Butter can take a couple of hours to come to room temperature straight out of the fridge. To speed things up, cut it into small pieces or grate it using a box grater.

Bundt pans are deep sided cake pans with a hole in the center. Besides giving the cake its distinct look, the hole ensures that the deep cake bakes evenly. Bundt pans have smooth, ridged or fluted sides.

These pans make impressive cakes but because of their intricate designs, are notorious for sticking – even those made with non-stick materials. Here are a couple of tricks to get your cake to fall cleanly out of the pan.

1.Buy a quality, metal, non-stick pan with a simple, classic shape. (Never, ever use a silicone Bundt pan). The more elaborate the design the trickier it is to turn out of the pan.

2.Grease the pan with melted butter or shortening and apply it with a pastry brush to get it into all the curves and crevices.

3.After it has been greased, lightly dust the pan with flour, almond flour or if baking a chocolate cake, cocoa powder. (Add about 2 tablespoons of flour to the pan and shake it back and forth to evenly coat the greased surfaces. Hold the pan over the sink and rapped it a couple of times to shake out any excess flour.)

4.Once the cake is out of the oven, let it rest 5 minutes right side up on a cooling rack, then invert it onto the cooling rack and let it rest 5 minutes upside down before removing the pan.

5.Take care of your pan. Washing it in the dishwasher, abrasive sponges and metal utensils will damage the non-stick coating. To clean your pan, soak if necessary then gently hand wash and dry it completely.

If you don’t have a bundt pan and don’t want to invest in one, bake this cake in two 9-inch (23 cm) loaf pans instead.  This will reduce the cooking time, so start checking after 45 minutes. They might not look as pretty, but you will have two cakes!

 

 

Whole Orange Cake

Whole Orange Cake

Ingredients

  • Serves 12
  • CAKE:
  • 1 cup (225 g) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 ¼ cup (250g) sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 oranges, preferably organic (about 1 lb/450g), unpeeled but ends trimmed, then cut into quarters and seeds removed
  • 2 ½ cups (315g) all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • GLAZE:
  • 1 ½ cups (185 g) confectioners’ sugar plus more if needed
  • 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed orange juice

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 325°F (165°C), with the rack in the center. Prepare the Bundt pan as described above.
  2. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
  3. Using a hand held mixer in a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until incorporated after each addition.
  4. In a food processor or blender, pulse the orange segments until the pulp is smooth, but not completely puréed. Spoon out 1½ cups (355 mls) of the orange pulp and add this to the batter, then mix until blended. Add the flour mixture and beat until smooth. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
  5. Bake in the oven until for 55 minutes or until the cake is risen, evenly golden and firm to the touch. When done, a toothpick inserted in the middle should come out clean with a few crumbs clinging to it.
  6. Let the pan cook in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes, right side up, then invert it onto the rack and let it sit for 5 minutes before lifting off the pan. Let it cool completely.
  7. To make the glaze, once the cake has cooled, in a small bowl whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and the orange juice. If the glaze needs to be thicker add a bit more sugar or thinner, add a bit more juice. Place the cake on a serving plate and spoon the glaze over the top of the cake, letting it run down the sides. Let the glaze set, about 30 minutes, before serving.
  8. The cake can be covered and stored at room temperature.
https://www.charlottepuckette.com/recipes/desserts/whole-orange-cake/

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