We’ve been on a blood orange kick, lately.
It started out with switching lemon to orange for a crinkle cookie. That cookie became a Blood Orange Crinkle Cookie for Katie & Ben’s Baby Shower.
Victor’s planning a Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake, and here’s the latest – Blood Orange Upside Down Cake!
This recipe uses granulated sugar instead of the more traditional brown sugar to compliment the orange flavor without masking it with caramel.
It works.
The idea comes from America’s Test Kitchen.
Blood Orange Upside-Down Cake
- 1 pound blood oranges
- 142 g – 10 tbsp unsalted butter, melted, divided
- 298 g – 1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 4 g – 3/4 tsp salt, divided
- 142 g – 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 125 g -½ cup sour cream
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons orange marmalade
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 9-inch round cake pan, line with parchment paper, then grease parchment. Grate 2 teaspoons zest from 1 orange; set aside. Peel oranges. Trim ends and slice oranges crosswise ¼ inch thick, removing any seeds.
Pour 56 g – 4 tablespoons melted butter over bottom of prepared pan and swirl to evenly coat. Whisk ½ cup sugar, cornstarch, and ⅛ teaspoon salt together in bowl, then sprinkle evenly over melted butter in pan. Arrange orange slices in single layer over sugar mixture, nestling slices snugly together and pressing them flat (you may have fruit left over).
Whisk flour, baking powder, and remaining ½ teaspoon salt together in large bowl. Whisk sour cream, eggs, vanilla, orange zest, and remaining 1 cup sugar in second large bowl until smooth, about 1 minute. Whisk remaining 6 tablespoons melted butter into sour cream mixture until combined. Add flour mixture and whisk until just combined.
Pour batter over oranges in pan and smooth top with rubber spatula. Bake until deep golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes.
Let cake cool in pan on wire rack for 20 minutes. Run knife around edge of pan to loosen cake, then invert cake onto serving platter. Discard parchment. Let cake cool for at least 1 hour.
Heat marmalade until fluid. Brush marmalade over top of cake. Serve.
I brushed it with the last of the Orange Curd Victor made in early February.
Not only did it look good, it tasted great!
And while it is great as-is, sprinkling some chopped nuts – almonds, walnuts, pistachios – your pick – among the oranges before adding the batter would be a fun addition!