"...To arrange an orange"

‘COOKINGWITHMAVIS’ #23      “…To arrange an orange”

 As the years progress, ANYTHING with the flavour of orange turns my tastebuds into a tizzzzzzzz!

I fixate during Winter, on every orange peel that I waste…knowing that I REALLY should, prior to peeling, grate the living daylights off every pith, and save all that gloriously fragrant oily rind…scoop it off my grater, and into one of many miniature freezer-containers, to keep for the “ what-if’ s ” in Summer, when oranges just aren’t readily available, and I might need a tablespoon-or-two of  glorious rind  as flavouring!

But do I ? ....do I   have the patience to stop all that I’m  doing? … or to delay the taste gratification of juicy peeled orange segments downing my  gullet, by grating BEFORE  peeling  those  glorious globes?

Well, just occasionally, do I  manage to get that sequence right!

...seldom, but sometimes, I   have the willpower to grate the rind for “freezer hibernation”, mmmmm…yes! ...for summer storage! ...meanwhile, let me introduce you to one of my favourite  adaptations of orange and almond decadence……

And so to recipes…..

 Whole Orange & Almond Bundt cake…  

A Bundt baking tin is a heavy, fluted ring pan.

Whole-orange and almond bundt cake

Texture and moisture are the immediate sensations that make this cake so deliciously scrumptious!   Don’t expect a light and fluffy featherlight cake, ‘cos this isn’t it!

This is the kind of cake you proffer just a sliver, as a sliver is a sample slice, ample to savour!     I use both butter AND oil in this recipe – butter for flavour, and oil to keep this cake moist. 

Heavy, and textured, full-bodied with chunky pieces of tangy orange rind and the crunch of toasted almonds, together with a hint of almond flavour mixing with the tangy orange rind makes each piece very “more-ish”!  Mmmmmmmmm……….

A slice of heavenly, heavy, moist orange and almond bundt cake

INGREDIENTS:           

2 whole large oranges, with the peel-and-all… pips removed

6  ‘jumbo’-size eggs (‘extra large’ will do too)

250 g  butter (1 cup)

90 ml  sunflower oil

2 cups sugar

2 cups cake flour

1 cup semolina

4 ½ teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped almonds (without the skins)

¼ teaspoon almond extract 

Coarsely chopped whole oranges

Lightly toasted chopped almonds

The Glaze :

½ cup water

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons marmalade

2 tablespoons apricot jam

 METHOD:

Bundt tin filled with thick orange/almond cake batter

1)  Measure a cupful of slivered / chopped almonds and gently toast in a dry frying pan on medium heat, …keep on shaking them around so that they don’t get brown, letting them change only slightly in colour.  You’ll know when it is enough as the heat brings out the aroma!

2)  In a Pyrex glass jug, melt the butter and oil gently, on low in the microwave, or in a small pot on the stove, just enough to gently melt the butter – then leave to cool a little.

3)  Cut the oranges into quarters, and blitz by short pulsing in a food processor (you could chop by hand into rough pea-size pieces) – you don’t want to blend to a purée!

4)  Grease the bundt tin ( I spray with ‘Spray ‘n Cook’)

5)  Into a bowl mix together the flour / semolina / salt / baking powder.

6)  Preheat oven to 180 ° C

7)  In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs and sugar well.

8)  At medium speed, add the melted cooled butter/oil mixture.

9)  Add almond extract.

10)  Fold in a few spoonfuls of the flour mix and alternate with a few spoonfuls of the chopped orange (starting and ending with the flour mix).

11)  Fold in the cupful of toasted almonds, then gently pour batter into the bundt tin, and bake @ 180  ̊ C for 60 minutes …or until a sharp knife inserted, comes out clean – it might need a further 7 minutes only.

12)  When ready, remove from oven and leave to cool for ½ hour.

13)  With a spatula or small round-tipped knife, gently prize the edges of the cake from the central funnel and the sides of the baking tin.

14)  Quickly invert, turn tin upside down, and place on a baking rack to cool further, and when cooled for at least 1 hour, gently try to lift the bundt tin off the cake.

15) Spoon the warm glaze over the cake.

 To make the glaze  :

- In a heavy-based pot, bring the sugar and water to the boil

- Add the marmalade and apricot jam,

- Stir till thickens

- Leave to cool about 20 minutes

- Then spoon over the cake

- You can scoop up excess glaze that escapes under that rack, and put it again and  again , onto the cake!

Voila!   …Cut thin slices of heavy moist dense whole orange and almond flavours to tantalize your tastebuds! ….it’s   HEAVEN !!!!

 - c'est  la meilleure chose jamais !   ......    - is  the best  thing  EVER  !   

Moist, textured, crunchy Whole-orange and Almond bundt cake

                           ……OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOrange….

To view ‘COOKINGWITHMAVIS’s   previous blogs,  just scroll up to the top right, and click on the previous YEAR… or any month, to see….

-  ” Crisp Creamcheese ”  , 

-  “  …‘Mavis’ s  Breasts ”   ,…. 

-  “ To Eat an Artichoke”   , …

-  “ Jewish Chicken Soup”   ,…

- “  Preserved Goose ”  , ….

And my favourite:

…all about YOU  , is blog #13 : –

“ Behind the Scenes ”  …and more !

Till next time….

     ‘COOKINGWITHMAVIS’