Tap, tap. Hello, is this thing on?
Hi, it’s me, I’ve been hiding under a rock for the last month. And by hiding under a rock I mean I haven’t had more than 5 minutes of free. What is it with December and events and colds and work and holidays and errands and travel and canning 134 jars of jam. I’ve literally cooked nothing but apple butter and cranberry lime curd. We’ve been ordering in, eating out, at our parents’ houses, or just eating raw carrots for dinner. I joke, but seriously.
This last week I finally got a chance to breathe. And as is tradition, Jason’s entire family joined us for Christmas Eve’s Eve at our house. We drank champagne, Theo ate a jar of Quince and Apple’s preserves off the cheese plate, and we had a feast for dinner. And then for dessert, I tried something a little bit different.
Every year for the holidays my in laws buy us a crate of oranges from Florida. Citrus is always a nice relief in the winter months, where most of what we’re eating is root vegetables and $10 berries. We’re usually able to get through the whole crate in a couple weeks, but to help us along, I decided to make a cake that used up four oranges. Seriously, this cake has four oranges in it.
How do you fit four oranges in a cake, you ask? You boil them for two hours, puree them (peel and pith too), and then mix them in with some almonds, flour, eggs, and sugar. It’s incredibly simple to make and turns out really lovely. The cake is super, super moist, as is apparently the British way, and tastes seriously of oranges. It’s what you’d expect a cake that had four oranges to taste like.
So, if you’re looking for something easy to whip together for a New Year’s Eve party, this may be your answer. Although it cooks for a long time, the hands on time is minimal.
Also guess what. I got a sous vide machine for Christmas so prepare to see an onslaught of vacuum sealed goodies cooked to perfection at super low temperatures here for a while. I’m going to get experimenting!
Hope you all have a wonderful new years, see you in 2017!
- 4 medium oranges
- Butter for greasing pan
- 5 eggs
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ⅔ cup almonds, ground
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- Pinch of kosher salt
- Powdered sugar for dusting
- Wash oranges well. Place oranges inside a large pot and cover with water. Bring water to a boil, lower heat to simmer, and cover. Simmer for 2 hours, turning oranges occasionally if they're floating above the water line.
- Grease a 9 inch springform pan with butter and preheat the oven to 350F.
- When oranges are cooked, transfer them to a cutting board, reserving orange water. Let cool until they're okay to touch, then cut into large pieces and remove any seeds you see.
- Transfer oranges to a food processor and puree until smooth. If mixture is really dry, add a bit of orange water to loosen, although it's unlikely you'll need much. Set aside.
- Using an electric mixer, beat together eggs and sugar until they are light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add in vegetable oil and beat for 30 seconds. Add in orange puree and beat on low until combined.
- In a large bowl, combine baking powder, almonds, flour, and salt. Pour dry ingredients into mixer bowl and stir until combined.
- Pour the batter into your greased springform and bake for 45-75 minutes, until a cake tester comes out mostly clean from the center of the cake. Let cake cool completely.
- Use a knife to run along the edges of the springform, then remove the sides and transfer cake to a cake stand or plate. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
Adapted from The Trifle Bowl and Other Tales.
!!!!!!!!! We had greek orange pie on our honeymoon a couple times and it was our absolute FAVORITE. It’s basically the same recipe but with phyllo instead of flour. You’ve now inspired me to make this…like tomorrow.
writes BethHa! That’s awesome. I’d love to try the greek one too – I’ll do some research ;)
writes VickyHoly beautiful. I’ve never tried orange cake before, but this looks DELISH! Gotta try this recipe!
writes KarlyThis cake looks beautiful; I would love a piece right now. I’m definitely going to give this ago as I love the flavor combination.
writes Supriya KuttyThanks so much!
writes Vicky