Feb 14

Feb 14 Blood orange mini bundt cakes

Happy Valentine’s Day friends! Whether it’s a Valentine’s, Galentine’s or Palentine’s day celebration for you, a night in with family or a night in for one, I hope you all feel loved. Enough gushiness - who’s ready for cake?

This week’s recipe is all about the blood orange! I’ve found these gorgeous fruits to be very elusive. Every year, my instagram is SWAMPED with beautiful, blushing recipes but I have never been able to lay my hands on any, as their season is so short. I can only speak for the U.K here (you wonderful readers in far-flung corners of the world may well be feasting on them), but supermarkets don’t seem to come up with the goods here, so turn your eyes to smaller greengrocers! It’s wonderful to support small, local shops and the often stock more seasonal fruits like blood oranges. I found mine on a whim, passing an ethnic greengrocer and filled my bag up!

If you’ve not tried one before, a blood orange looks unsuspecting from the outside, sometimes only a rosy blush on the skin hinting that it is different from a regular orange. Once you cut inside, you should be met with a beautiful crimson flesh - or at least a few crimson speckles! The flavour is bold and sweet, with a real raspberry-like tang. This recipe will work just as well with regular oranges - and I’d throw in a few raspberries to the icing to balance the sweetness!

You’ll love this olive oil cake because it is painfully easy! One bowl for the cake, one bowl for the icing: simple as that. As there is no butter involved, you don’t need to cream and beat the mixture to incorporate air; rather the opposite. Once the dry ingredients are added, you want to mix until just combined and no more, otherwise you’ll end up with tough cakes as too much gluten with develop in your batter. The raising agent will do the hard work for you in creating a lovely airy sponge - trust it!

The tin I am using for this recipe is a lovely NordicWare (similar to this one: https://amzn.to/2OQZaWM) The biggest problem you’ll face when baking a bundt cake is lining the tin. I’ve had countless cakes ruined by getting them stuck in the tin, but no more. Try making a lining paste – simply mix together, then use a pastry brush to apply it to the inside of the tin – and say goodbye to broken cakes! I use softened butter in mine, but my friend Nancy Birtwhistle has a great recipe for one using vegetable shortening which lasts a lot longer.

For the lining paste:

50g softened butter
2 tbsp plain flour
2 tbsp sunflower or vegetable oil

Stir together the ingredients in a small, sealable jar. It can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 weeks and brought back to room temperature to use.