blood orange Archives

Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake

25|08|2022

It’s probably a good thing that blood oranges aren’t available all year or I would be baking three blood orange cakes every week. They are just the most beautiful citrus fruits to cook/bake and eat, not to metion how beautiful they are to look. This blood orange olive oil cake is light, bright and refreshing.

The cake like any olive oil cake, is light, full of texture from the almonds with a subtle flavour of citrus. Hoever, it is the glaze that makes the cake so special. There is no colour added to it. The bright pink colour comes from the blood orange juice.

It is just about spring here in Austraila and the trees look spectalcular with blossoms adorning every corner of my neighbourhood. They made the perfect decoration fo this cake.
PS : If you’re using fresh flowers on a cake, make sure the stems are either covered or you place a piece of baking paper between the flowers and the cake. Unless of course you are sure that they are suitable for consumption.

If you’re a fan of the beautiful crimson hued blood oranges, don’t forget to try my Blood Orange Cheesecake

Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake
Makes an 8 inch round cake

3 eggs
1 cup (215g) caster sugar
3/4 cup (185ml) extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup (60ml) freshly squeezed orange juice
1 cup (150g) self raising flour
1/2 cup (55g) almond meal
1 tbsp finely grated blood orange zest

Blood Orange Glaze
3 tbsp freshly squeezed blood orange juice
1 cup icing sugar (powdered sugar )

Make the cake : Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and line the base of a round 8 inc (20cm) pan with baking paper.
Using an electric mixer beat the eggs and sugar in a bowl until thick and pale. Add the oil and juice and beat until just combined.
Add the flour, almond meal and zest and use a metal spoon to gently fold until combined. Do not over-mix. Pour mixture into the prepared pan. Bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven. Gently loosen the sides using a blunt knife. Turn onto a wire rack to cool completely before glazing the cake.

Make the glaze : Sift the sugar into a medium bowl. Add the blood orange juice, continuously whisking until smooth and a glossy pink glaze is created. The glaze will set with time so pour it onto the cake (at room temperature) as soon as possible. Allow to set in the fridge for 15-20 minutes. Decorate, slice and enjoy!

Blood Orange Cheesecake

14|08|2022

It’s blood orange season in Australia. The best time of the year since it’s also beginning to look like spring. How bloody amazing are blood oranges! I wish they didn’t have such a short season and I could come up with a hundred recipes. That may be difficult but this one recipe of Blood Orange Cheesecake makes up for everything. It is absolutely DIVINE to taste.

This is a baked cheesecake with a biscuit crust a blood orange infused filling and blood orange jelly on the top made from freshly squeezed oranges. The smooth and creamy filling is balanced out beautifully by the strong citrus notes in the jelly. And for an outcome so amazing, there is barely any effort. All the layers can be made ahead and assembled later. The cheesecake takes a bit of time in the oven (first cooking, then cooling) and you need loads of patience to not slice it already.

Needless to say, if blood oranges are not in season, you could go with regular oranges. The only thing to be mindful of is the sweetness of your oranges. Adjust the sweetness in the jelly as required.

If you love blood oranges, don’t forget to check out my Blood orange Olive Oil Cake

Here is a fabulous Ricotta cheesecake for the cheesecake lovers.

Blood Orange Cheesecake
Makes an 8 inch (20 cm) round cheesecake

Cheesecake
250 g digestive biscuits
150 g butter, melted
500 g cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup castor sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
zest and juice of 1 Blood Orange
whipped cream, to decorate
dehydrated blood orange slices, to decorate

Blood Orange Jelly
Freshly squeezed juice of 4 large Blood Oranges (approx 1 cup), strained
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp castor sugar
2 tbsp water
1 and 1/2 tsp powdered gelatine

Preheat oven to 160 degrees C. Grease the base and sides of a springform pan and line the baking paper. Use a square sheet of baking paper larger than the base of the pan so there is an excess paper sticking out. This helps to move the baked cheesecake easily when done. Place the springform pan on a baking tray so it is easy to move it in and out of the oven.

Process biscuits until they resemble fine crumbs. Add butter . Process until combined. Press mixture over base and side of prepared pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile beat the cream cheese, sour cream and sugar until combined. Add eggs , one at a time, beating until combined. Add vanilla extract, blood orange zest and juice . Beat for 1 minute. Pour mixture into prepared pan, ensuring there is room on the top for the jelly so it does not overflow from the sides.

Bake for 60-70 minutes or until filling is just set (mixture should be slightly wobble in centre). Cool in oven with door slightly ajar. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before adding the jelly layer.

Make the jelly : Place the juice and sugar in a medium saucepan and stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves, then remove from heat.
Combine gelatine and water in small bowl. Microwave for 10-20 seconds or until dissolved, then stir into hot juice mixture. Ensure there are no lumps and mixture is smooth. Strain again if required. Cool to room temperature, then pour gently on the top of the cheescake filling. Refrigerate until set (approx 2 hours). Gently release the sides of the cake pan and tranfer the cheesecake onto a plate or cake stand (it should slide off easily due to the baking paper underneath.

Decorate with whipped cream and dehydrated orange slices. Slice and enjoy!

Blood Orange Polenta Cake

17|08|2017

So many ways of making a citrus cake! Because the citrus flavour is deliciously predominant in a recipe it is used in, it is interesting how you can play around the textures by using different ingredients. I’ve already told you how much I love nuts and oranges together. This time I’ve added in some polenta for a nice bite in the cake. The texture is quite similar to coconut cake and you get a nuttiness without using too much almond meal. Nut meals are expensive so this is a cost effective option.

Blood Oranges just taste sensational with mascarpone cheese so I decided to top the cake with whipped Mascarpone which is pretty easy to make. A drizzle of blood orange syrup bursting with tangy-sweet flavour takes the cake to a new level. And finally, fresh blood oranges gives the cake a pop of colour.

Can you believe it, it’s just 4 months until Christmas? The reality is hitting hard now that my work has gone up by 3 folds. I’m working on Holiday recipes for my clients and it feels festive already!
Stay tuned, I’ll be posting the Baked Ricotta Cake this Saturday. I know many of you are waiting but this one just had to go first as the Blood Orange season will end soon. See you soon!

Blood Orange Polenta Cake
Makes a 7 inch round cake

180 g unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup castor sugar
2 tbsp finely zested blood oranges
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 cup polenta
1 cup self raising flour
100 g almond meal
3/4 cup blood orange juice

Mascarpone Frosting
110 g mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup whipping cream
2 tbsp icing sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Blood Orange Syrup
1 cup fresh blood orange juice
3/4 cup castor sugar

Preheat oven to 170 degrees C. Grease the base and sides of a 7 inch round pan and line the base with baking paper.

Beat the butter, sugar, orange zest and vanilla extract together until smooth and creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Place polenta, flour and almond meal in a bowl. Add the polenta mixture to the butter mixture alternating with the blood orange juice.

Pour into the prepared pan. Smooth the top with the back of a spoon. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven, Set aside for 1o minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled, spread mascarpone frosting, drizzle with orange syrup and top with sliced blood oranges and fresh mint.

To make the Mascarpone frosting : Beat mascarpone cheese,whipping cream, icing sugar and vanilla together in a bowl until smooth and fluffy. Refrigerate until needed.

To make the Blood Orange Syrup : Place the orange juice and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over low heat. Simmer for 5-7 minutes until the syrup thickens. Please note that the syrup will thicken further upon cooling.

Blood Orange Hazelnut Frangipane Tart

7|08|2017

Until last year Blood Orange was this exotic, stunning looking citrus that I had only seen in pictures. Once I figured out where and when to find them, I’ve literally waited, keeping an eye out for them this year. Who else is crazy about fresh produce like me? And really how amazing is the world around us! Well, now that they are here and the season is fleeting I have a few recipes to share. Personally I find the best pair with citrus are nuts so a frangipane tart was a must. The tart didn’t disappoint at all. Bright, bold, nutty, buttery and so delicious bursting with the flavour of hazelnuts and a punch from the slightly sour blood oranges.

When Blood Oranges arrive in Australia, there is something else to look out for. The cherry blossoms. So yes, Spring is coming. We made it!

Blood Orange Hazelnut Frangipane Tart
Makes a 6 inch round tart (serves 6)

Shortcrust tart shell, store bought or home-made (use this recipe)
For the frangipane filling
100 g unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup hazelnut meal
1/4 cup plain flour
1 tsp powdered cinnamon
2 tbsp finely grated blood orange zest
1/2 cup orange marmalade
2 fresh blood oranges, thinly sliced, to serve
Fresh mint leaves, to serve

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C (180 degrees C for fan forced )In a medium bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Add the egg and beat to combine. Add the hazelnut meal, flour cinnamon and blood orange zest and mix to combine well.

Spread the frangipane filling evenly on the tart shell. Bake for 20 minutes or until the top is slightly puffed up and golden. Remove from oven. Spread orange marmalade on the warm tart. Cool to room temperature.
Top with blood orange slices, fresh mint leaves and edible flowers. Enjoy!