Orange and Almond Cake

I ran across this lovely recipe a few weeks ago and was very intrigued. I knew right away that I needed to try it soon, and I'm so glad I did. Today I'm sharing an interesting but simple recipe from Claudia Roden, a well loved food writer and cookbook author, especially known for her writings on Middle Easter food. What initially peaked my interest was the fact that this recipe calls for whole oranges, that you boil for several hours, and then puree directly into the rest of the batter, skin, pith, flesh and all! And besides this strange (at least to me) method, the rest of the recipe is simple, with few ingredients. Sugar, eggs, an almonds. That's basically it. 

The finished cake is dense but incredibly moist, full of texture and flavor. The whole orange imparts just a slight bitterness to the cake that is balanced nicely with just the right amount of sugar. The almonds add richness, as do the eggs which also help with the structure a little. The orange flavor is, not surprisingly, very pronounced (with whole oranges and all!). A small slice of this cake for breakfast, or after dinner for dessert, is refreshing and satisfying. Delicious on its own, or my favorite way with a nice spoonful of plain yogurt on the side for a creamy and smooth contrasting element (I decided to try this out on my own and thought it was amazing!). 

I ended up halving the original recipe, and baking it into a small, 6 inch, cake. Perfect for me and a few friends. Feel free to double the quantities below and bake in a larger pan (I imagine 8 or 9 inches would be good). I highly recommend having some nice and thick plain Greek yogurt (make sure it's plain, the contrast with the sweet cake is ideal) on the side. I'm sure a little whipped cream would also be nice, but just a bit richer/heavier. 

Orange and Almond Cake
Adapted from A New Book of Middle Eastern Food by Claudia Roden
Ingredients

• 1 large orange
• 3 eggs
• 125 grams ground almonds
• 125 grams sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Directions
Wash and boil the orange (unpeeled) in a little water for 1 1/2 - 2 hours, until very soft. Let cool. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a 6 inch cake pan. 

Cut open the cooled orange and remove the seeds. Place orange in a food processor and process until smooth. Add the sugar and process again until well combined. Then add the eggs and process once more. Finally, add the almonds and baking powder and process until everything just comes together. 

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for about 1 hour. If it is still very wet, leave it in the oven for a little longer. Cool in the pan before turning out.

Lavender Orange Scones

This past week I was feeling the itch to bake something special, but wasn't sure what that should be. I took stock of what I had in the fridge and pantry and found a lonely little orange as well as some dried lavender from last spring. With a quick recipe search I found a recipe for chocolate orange scones. Perfect. At first I was going to go with the classic chocolate orange combination, but then decided that since it's spring and I have some beautiful dried lavender that I would try that combination instead. I figured that the sweet and tart orange would pair well with the floral lavender and I was right. These two flavors compliment each other perfectly and make for a light and fragrant scone, perfect for a leiesurely spring breakfast. 

I've used citrus zest and juice in baked goods plenty of times in the past, but I've never put the actual flesh into a muffin or scone or cake so I wasn't quite sure how it would turn out. I should not have worried, these scones baked up perfectly with little pockets of sweetness due to the orange segments mixed throughout. If you have it, I think some chopped white chocolate would also be a wonderful addition to these lovely spring scones. 

Lavender Orange Scones
Adapted from Vanilla and Bean
Ingredients

• 1/2 stick (2 ounces) cold butter
• 1 Orange
• 2-3 tablespoons whole milk, half and half, or heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla Extract
• 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon (70 grams) all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (60 grams) whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup (30 grams) oat flour
• 1 tablespoon (8 grams) cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons (25 grams) brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2-1 teaspoon dried lavender
• Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling, optional

Directions
Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Cut the cold butter into 1/4 inch cubes and place in the refrigerator while prepping the other ingredients.

Zest the orange, peel and chop the flesh into small pieces, taking care to reserve the juices. Place the flesh into a small bowl and add about 1 Tbs of all purpose flour. Stir to coat. Set aside. In a measuring cup mix the orange juice and zest, milk, honey, and vanilla extract. Set aside. 

Add the flours, corn starch, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and lavender into a large mixing bowl. Add the cold butter to the sifted ingredients and use a pastry cutter (or two forks) to cut in the butter into the pastry. The butter should be about pea size, evenly coated, and distributed in the flour.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Gently stir the mixture until the flour is just moistened. The dough will be shaggy and seem dry but avoid the temptation to add additional liquid. Add the chopped orange pieces. Fold in to incorporate, eventually using your hands to press and fold the dough together, just a few times. Squeeze a portion of the dough in your fist. It should loosely hold together. 

Dump the contents out of the bowl onto a flour dusted work surface and press the dough together forming a circle. You may need to work it a little bit with your hands to bring it all together. Work gently, but quickly to keep the dough as cold as possible. Use a bench scraper, or a knife, to cut the circle into 4 to 6 triangles. Transfer the cut scone to the prepared baking sheet. 

Place scones on the parchment lined sheet pan and rest in the fridge or freezer for 20 minutes, while the oven is preheating to 425F. 

Before baking, moisten the top of the scones with a little milk and sprinkle the raw sugar evenly over the top of each scone. Bake for 10 minutes at 425 degrees, then turn the oven down to 375 degrees, rotate the baking sheet, and bake for an additional 15 minutes until the scones are golden brown and cooked through. Remove from oven and carefully transfer scones to a cooling rack. 

Yields: 4-6 scones

Blueberry Orange Muffins

Blueberry season is still going strong around here, and I am so happy that I have finally jumped on the blueberry bandwagon, they are just so good. It wasn't really until last summer that I truly began to love blueberries, but now there is no doubt that they are one of my favorite fruit. They are so sweet, and juicy, and so much fun to bake with. There is so much you can do with a blueberry. 

Today I'm sharing a classic, the blueberry muffin, but it's a blueberry muffin with a twist. To add some pizzaz and an extra punch of flavor to these muffins, grab an orange and add the zest and juice straight to the batter. Then whip up a nice chunky streusel and sprinkle on top. The sweet citrus notes from the orange and the buttery goodness of the streusel compliment the juicy blueberries and tender muffin. It's the perfect match, and one of the best blueberry muffins I've ever had. 

This is a quick and easy recipe. Combine wet ingredients and dry ingredients and then just mix them together and fold in the blueberries. A quick streusel for the top and you're done. I have made this recipe a couple times now, and it's always good. However, one time I decided to try and cut back a little on the oil, make it a little healthier if I could, so I replaced half of the oil with yogurt. They turned out pretty well, baked up just fine, the texture was pretty normal, but I have to admit, the flavor just wasn't there. Still a nice muffin, but without that wow factor. Fat just tastes good! So if you want to cut back a bit on the oil, go right ahead, but be warned, they won't be quite as good. But still worth making for sure. 

Blueberry Orange Muffins

From

Sarabeth's Bakery: From My Hands to Yours

by Sarabeth Levine 

Ingredients

For the muffins:

• 1 large seedless orange
• ⅔ cup canola oil
• ½ cup plus 1 tbsp whole milk
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 2¼ cups bread flour
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

For the streusel topping:

• 6 tbsp unbleached white flour
• 1 tbsp cane sugar
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• ⅛ tsp ground cinnamon
• 2½ tbsp butter, melted

Directions

Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line muffin tin with muffin liners or brush the insides of the cups with butter.

Grate the zest of the orange and set it aside. Slice the orange in half and juice both sides. You should have about ⅓ cup of juice.

Whisk the oil, milk, orange juice, orange zest, and eggs together in a medium-sized bowl. Whisk the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt together in another bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the liquids and stir with a spoon, just until combined. Carefully fold in the blueberries.

Portion the batter out into the muffin cups, filling almost to the top.

To make the streusel topping, mix the flour, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, butter, and vanilla in a small bowl, using your fingers, until well combined and crumbly.

Sprinkle the muffin tops with the streusel.

Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven to 375F degrees and continue to bake until the tops of the muffins are golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean, about 10-15 minutes more. (If you are using frozen berries, allow for a few extra minutes.)

Cool the muffins in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove the muffins to a baking rack and cool completely.

Cranberry Orange Biscotti

One of my absolute favorite times of the day is coffee time. I try my very best to make sure I get to enjoy a cup of something warm and comforting at least once during the day. This is especially important right now when the temperature is barely making it into the teens, and just looking outside makes me cold. While I have no problem just drinking a lone cup of coffee, sometimes it seems like I just need a little bite of something to go with it. Biscotti are one of the best ways to satisfy this sweet craving. I stumbled across this cranberry orange biscotti recipe earlier this winter and decided that it sounded perfect for the cold, snowy days ahead. I was right, the tartness of the cranberries pairs perfectly with the creamy sweetness of the white chocolate and the bright freshness of the orange. I wouldn't change a thing in this winter treat. 

If you've never made biscotti before, I highly recommend it. It really isn't difficult at all, and they are just so cute when you're finished. It seems like every recipe bakes up a little differently, some spread a lot during the first bake, while some don't spread at all. And after the first bake, before cutting up the individual cookies, it always looks so strange and I wonder how it will turn out. But it always does, and I'm never disappointed. 

Cranberry-Orange Biscotti
From Tutti Dolci
Ingredients
Cookie

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• Zest of 1 orange
• 1 1/2 Tbsp orange juice
• 1 1/2 Tbsp brandy
• 3 large eggs
• 2 3/4 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup dried cranberries

Topping

• 4 ounces white chocolate, chopped
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries, chopped

Directions
Combine sugar, butter, orange zest, orange juice, and brandy in a large bowl, stirring until smooth. Whisk in eggs one at a time. Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt until incorporated; fold in cranberries. Cover dough and chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Using moistened hands, shape dough into 2 (10-by-4-inch) loaves on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 22 minutes or until pale golden. Transfer loaves to a wire rack and cool for 15 minutes.

Using a serrated knife, cut loaves into 1/2-inch slices. Place slices cut side down on baking sheet; bake 9 minutes. Turn slices over and bake for 9 minutes more or until golden. Cool completely on wire racks.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Place chopped chocolate in a double boiler or in a heat-proof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water. Slowly melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally until glossy and smooth. Use a fork to drizzle chocolate over biscotti and top with cranberries; chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to set chocolate. Store at room temperature in an airtight container up to a week.