Blood Orange Torte

I haven’t posted for a while. Sorry about that.

I still cook a lot, obviously, but blogging – not so much ;(

Anyhoo, I recently bought a couple of bags of particularly tasty blood oranges – some sweet, some tart and all very juicy. My baby enjoys them but I’m not so keen on the mess he makes with them (or rather, the mess he makes on his clothes – that beautiful colour all delightfully transferred onto his new top – ahh lovely!)

My husband has been diligently ignoring them, however, and so I was moved this morning to make good use of nap time by plonking them on a torte.  I’ve used this recipe on several occasions as it’s easy, quick and a scrummy way to showcase any number of different fruits, today’s star being Blood Oranges!

Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen’s Purple Plum Torte.

Ingredients:

• 125g plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• large pinch of salt
• 180g caster sugar
• 1-2 tbsp granulated sugar to sprinkle on top
• 115g unsalted butter, softened
• 2 large eggs
• 2-3 blood oranges, thickly sliced plus the grated zest and juice of one orange
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Method:

Set oven to 180 deg (160 FAN) and lightly grease a loose-bottomed 9 inch tin.

Sift the flour, salt and baking powder into a medium sized bowl and set aside.
In a larger bowl cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, then stir in the orange zest. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Add the flour mixture and stir until just combined (don’t over-beat…as you know). The batter is fairly thick and ‘dry’ but resist the temptation to add a dash of milk…the fruit will work its magic.
Spoon the batter into the tin then arrange the sliced oranges over the top until completely covered. Next sprinkle over a couple of tablespoons of the blood orange juice along with the sugar and cinnamon.

Bake until golden on top. Keep an eye on it, in case the sugars over-caramelise, but it should take around 40 minutes. Leave to cool slightly on a rack, then scoff with tea or coffee, or re-heat for pudding with a dollop of cream or ice cream. Mmm Mmmm.

• ← Blackberry and Lemon Verbena Mousse
• Ultimate slow roast Chinese pork belly with Hoisin glaze →