From the BHC Archives: April 5, 2015
Cooking oranges. Now there’s something I haven’t done before. But it wasn’t like I had any business trying to cook a Passover dinner, either.
But maybe it would work. And I just happened to have two Cara Cara oranges on hand.
Cara Caras are a type of navel orange that up and mutated itself in the 1970s somehow to create a gorgeous pink interior with a refreshing yet tart flavor. They mostly grow these days in California and are in season between December and April.
This is gonna be a train wreck, I thought to myself. I’m STILL no good at juggling multiple dishes and the timing necessary to make sure everything is done on time. So why not add an impromptu cake to the mix, one with a strange new technique I’d never before attempted. Cooking boiling oranges. Who would have thought.
The Mediterraneans, that’s who. I found this recipe on the very good, very intimidating Food52 blog: From a woman who discovered that the recipe her mother-in-law had written down for her was actually a traditional Sephardic Jewish Pesach recipe. Very cool.
Best of all, every ingredient can be found at your local Trader Joe’s.
To wit:
2 Cara Cara oranges, Washed.
unsalted butter for greasing the pan
2 cups (10 ounces) packed ground almond meal
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
6 eggs.
1. Put the oranges in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce and simmer gently for about an hour and a half, or until oranges are very soft. Remove from water and let cool. Then cut them into quarters and remove any seeds if necessary.
2. Adjust oven rack to center position and preheat oven to 350. Butter a 9-inch spring form pan.
3. Here’s the fun part. Pulse the oranges in a food processor until pureed but still slightly chunky and set aside. I used my immersion blender to the same effect. By this time my kids were asking me what the hell I thought I was doing.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the ground almonds, baking powder and salt. set aside.
5. Whisk sugar and eggs together in a large mixing bowl until combined (about one minute). Stir in orange puree and almond mixture until combined.
6. Pour into prepared pan.
7. Bake until a fork inserted into the center comes out clean, about 55-60 minutes. Let the cake cool completely before trying to coax it out of its pan. Continue cooling on a wire rack.
(Editor’s note: If this wasn’t nearly 10 years old I might have a better photo)
I can’t believe this worked. It is delicious and moist and sweet. You hardly need the dusting of powdered sugar…but it sure does make it look pretty. Go ahead and impress your friends.
Do try this at home. Bring it to work. Wallow in the accolades of your gluten-free colleagues.
And may your home smell like oranges.