It's been such a dreary Winter for most; snow and more snow predicted in the next few days, that I thought a lovely citrus cake would make it more manageable!
Pound cake and chocolate cake were my mother's two favorites to bake. I remember the first I made one with her and just loving the golden color from the eggs and butter...it made me happy. Admittedly, I went to the market to buy Meyer Lemons for this pound cake, but was told, "they aren't in season yet." Then, I saw these lovely gems called Blood Oranges and I knew it was meant to be.
The blood orange is a variety of orange that is smaller than it's familiar "cousin." The distinctive, dark maroon flesh is due to anthocyanins, a family of antioxidant pigments found in some fruits and flowers, but not citrus fruits! It's consider a mutation of the sweet orange and I have to say, I was delighted by it's intriguing color and the taste. As you can see from the bottom photo, it's rind is definitely thicker and much tougher to peel, but don't let that deter you of it's unique flavor.
Blood Orange Pound Cake
2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
zest from 2 Blood Oranges
4 T fresh Blood Orange juice
2 tsp. Vanilla extract
8 large eggs
3 cups Queen Guinevere Cake Flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
Preheat oven to 350F-degrees. Spray a 12-cup Bundt or Tube pan with a non-stick baking spray.
Into a small bowl, measure the granulated sugar and add the zest from the oranges. Use your fingers to "rub" the zest into the sugar to maximize the aroma and flavor of the oranges.
In a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, cream the butter until fluffy. Add the sugar and cream once more, scraping the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, scraping the sides again.
Add the vanilla extract and fresh orange juice and mix on medium speed. Measure the dry ingredients into a bowl and hand whisk to combine. Add to the butter/egg mixture and beat on low speed until combined, then on medium for 1 minute.
Spoon the batter into the prepared baking pan and smooth the top.
Place the pan in the oven and close the door. Bake for 15 minutes, then, lower the temperature to 325F-degrees and continue baking another 45-50 minutes. (A wooden skewer poked into the cake should come out cleanly.) Remove from the oven and allow to set in the pan about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1/4 cup (approx) of juice from the two oranges with 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar to make a glaze. Poke some holes into the cake top (as it's resting in the pan) and pour the warm glaze over the top.
I used a straight, metal spatula to make sure the sides were loose, then, turned the cake out onto the serving platter.
Although it was a very pretty cake in this position, I decided to flip it to its original, upright position for serving.
My mother would say, "all a good pound cake needs is a dusting of confectioners' sugar." And, that's all that I did~
Hubby loved the flavor and the simplicity of the cake, which is his favorite. Stay warm, Enjoy!
