Happy spring everyone! I'm so ready to welcome in warm weather, green grass, and early spring flowers this year. I was dreaming about using blood oranges in a cake recipe and thought I'd modify my plum cake recipe for a citrus option. This time, I put the sliced citrus on the bottom of the cake with butter and sugar to create a caramelized, yummy citrus upside-down type cake. It really is worth the extra time peeling the citrus and creating this yummy layer for the cake.
This same cake might be really nice with rhubarb once this starts popping up soon as well. Serve the cake warm with a little whipped cream or ice cream and a drizzle of citrus curd over the top. I used a lovely passionfruit curd from This is Food Union in Rochester, but lemon curd would be fantastic as well.
Enjoy the spring weather everyone and keep in touch!
Caramelized Citrus and Curd Cake
Cake Ingredients 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour 1 ½ tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. sea salt 1 stick (8 Tablespoons) butter (room temperature) ¾ cup sugar 2 eggs (room temperature 1-2 Tablespoons fresh citrus zest (use the zest of blood orange, lemon, clementine) 1 Tablespoon vanilla ½ cup milk (I used almond milk) Sauce and Citrus ½ cup Turbinado sugar (or light brown sugar) 4 Tablespoons butter 2 Tablespoons blood orange vermouth 1 blood orange, 1 lemon, 1 clementine (peeled and sliced. You can use all oranges as well.) 6 Tablespoons lemon or other citrus curd Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Cake batter
Use an electric mixer to cream the butter and sugar until pale and creamy (3-4 minutes).
Add the eggs and mix well.
Add the vanilla and citrus zest and beat on medium-high until well incorporated (about another 1 minute).
In a separate bowl, combine the almond flour, baking powder, and sea salt. Mix well.
Add the dry ingredients to the egg/butter/sugar mixture and mix well (until it is smooth – about another 30 seconds).
Add the milk and mix until well incorporated.
Sauce for citrus
Place the turbinado sugar and butter into a small saucepan and melt until it starts to bubble. Add the vermouth and remove from heat.
Assemble the batter and citrus
Cut out a round of parchment paper to fit inside the bottom of a 9-to-10-inch cake pan.
Use spray oil to coat the bottom and sides of the cake pan.
Spoon the caramel sauce into the bottom of the pan just on top of the parchment paper.
Peel and slice the citrus you would like to use. Place the citrus slices on the top of your caramel sauce. Place them in one layer only, don’t overlap.
Place the batter into the pan over the citrus slices and carefully spread out evenly.
Spoon the citrus curd over the batter and use a knife to swirl it into the cake batter.
Put your cake pan on a sheet pan, just in case the caramel bubbles over while baking.
Place the cake in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes. Do not overbake.
Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for about 20 minutes.
Run a knife around the edges of the pan and place a plate over the top of the pan to invert the cake onto the plate. Take care not to burn yourself on the hot caramel.
Enjoy with fresh whipped cream or ice cream and another drizzle of citrus curd over the top if you like!
