I recently attended a market and cooking class in Santa Barbara given by Chef Laurence Hauben. It was a fun day beginning with a tour of the harbor visiting the fisherman – tasting and purchasing items for our meal, where I tasted my first fresh Sea Urchin! Our next excursion was a fabulous Farmers’ Market in town where the produce selection was incredible as they had items I can never find up my way and each display was more gorgeous than the next. The market portion of our day ended at C’est Cheese where we tasted several varieties that we would use for our cheese course later that day.
We spent the rest of the day in Chef Hauben’s authentic European style kitchen cooking up a vast amount of dishes for us to enjoy as we dined together afterward. It was a lovely day and the food was divine. I left completely satiated and inspired and couldn’t wait to try the dessert we made on my own. It featured beautiful Blood Oranges that I get from my Talley Farms CSA box that I had just waiting in my produce drawer at home!
The best part of this dessert is that you do all of the cooking in one pan. First you make caramel and then top it with slices of blood orange. After that simmers for a bit getting tender and succulent, you pour an almond cake batter on top and bake it. The challenge is to invert the cake from the pan onto a platter where you get to see the amazing results. Mine came out easily and everything was perfectly in place. This cake is clearly a showpiece and is sure to impress all of your guests!
Upside Down Blood Orange Cake
Serves 10
- 1 cup sugar, plus 3/4 cup
- 3 tablespoons orange juice, plus 1/3 cup
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 unpeeled small to medium blood oranges
- 3 eggs, yolks and whites separated
- 1/2 cup fruity olive oil
- grated zest of 1 orange
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup almond meal
- 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Cut off both rounded ends of each orange so that the ends are even and flat. Using a sharp knife or mandoline, cut the oranges into thin slices. Remove and discard any seeds.
- Place a 10″ cast iron skillet on the stove over medium heat. Add sugar and cook until sugar turns light amber caramel, swirling as needed to keep the heat even. (Do not stir) Watch as it starts to color, as it changes quickly!
- Remove the skillet from the heat and whisk in 2 tablespoons butter into the caramel. Lightly stir in 3 tablespoons orange juice, trying not to clump the mixture.
- Arrange the orange slices, overlapping slightly, in concentric circles on top the caramel in the bottom of the skillet. Replace the skillet over a low flame and cook to soften the oranges for about 10 min. While cooking, baste occasionally with the juices.
- Beat 3/4 cup sugar and the egg yolks together until light and fluffy. Add the orange zest, 1/3 cup orange juice and the olive oil. Stir in the almond meal, then the flour. Do not over work.
- Beat the egg whites with the salt in a large bowl until firm peaks form. Fold 1/3 of the egg whites into the batter to lighten, then fold in the remaining egg whites in 2 additions. Pour the batter on top of the orange slices in the skillet.
- Bake the cake until golden and set, about 35 minutes.
- Cool the cake in the skillet 10 minutes, then run a small knife around cake to loosen. Place a platter on top of the skillet.
- Now comes the tricky part: Holding the platter and skillet firmly together, quickly invert the two. Lift the skillet to release the cake and rearrange any orange slices that may have become dislodged.
- Cool and if you like, you can serve with a little créme fraiche or unsweetened whipped cream.
(click here) for printable recipe
2 opinions on “Show Off your Blood Oranges in this Exquisite Upside Down Blood Orange Cake!”
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This looks sooooo delish! I can’t wait to make it at home. Thank you for sharing and thank you for a wonderful cooking demo this last Saturday. Your’re a champ!
Andrea
Thank you Andrea! I will be posting the recipe for the Carrot & Coconut Soup that I made at the Home Show. I’m glad that it was so well received and I know our Talley customers will enjoy making it for themselves.