Floral, orange forward cake with a little spice and texture.

Orange Semolina Cake

Makes 1 - 20cm (8 in) cake

A simply delicious way to use some of the beautiful seasonal citrus available in stores. This cake was a long time in the making. I’m not sure where I first saw the technique of boiling a whole orange and then pureeing it to add to a cake but, I thought the technique was genius and wanted to use it as soon as possible. It took me a few years before I actually got around to it and I can tell you, after actually working with it, it is one of the cleverest cooking methods I’ve come across. The orange flesh becomes super tender providing a sweet orange liquid to the resulting batter. The pith of the citrus is no longer bitter from the cooking process while the zests’ flavor is softened slightly resulting in a total orange experience that is difficult to describe. It is orange-y and sweet but also floral, soft and round.

A simple one-bowl, single-layer cake, you add semolina for texture, almond extract to enhance the floral accent of the orange, dark brown sugar for depth and cardamom for a little spice. Bake and you have a delicious cake to serve to guests or eat on a Wednesday.

Ingredients

150-170g (1 large) orange

Dry Ingredients

180g (0.75 c) dark brown sugar

130g (1 c) all purpose flour

95g (0.50 c) semolina

4g (1 t) kosher salt

4g (1t) baking powder

3g (0.75 t) baking soda

2g (1 t) ground cardamom

1g (0.50 t) ground ginger

Mix-In 1

140g (0.50 c) Greek yogurt, room temperature

100ml (0.50 c) olive oil or vegetable oil

1 orange, zested - optional

Mix-In 2

2 large eggs, room temperature

3g (0.75 t) vanilla extract

3g (0.75 t) almond extract 

Finishing

Powdered sugar

Recipe Know-how

1.      Fill a medium pot three-quarters full with water.

• Bring to a boil.

• Reduce the temperature to a simmer and add the orange.

• Simmer partially covered for 45 – 60 minutes or until very tender when gently squeezed.

• Remove the orange to a plate and cool 5 minutes.

If your orange has seeds, gently cut it into quarters wit a sharp knife and remove and discard the seeds.

• Puree in a food processor until smooth.

• Cool to room temperature, about 15 – 20 minutes.

Continue prep while the puree cools.

2.      Line the bottom of a 20cm (8 in) round cake pan with parchment.

• Butter and flour the sides of the pan. Set aside.

3.      When the puree is mostly cool, preheat an oven to 180 C / 350 F.

4.      In a medium mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients with a whisk until well combined.

• Add Mix-In 1 ingredients and orange puree.

• Using a rubber spatula stir until smooth.

• Add Mix-In 2 ingredients.

• Stir until well combined.

• Pour into the prepared pan.

• Bake cake for 30 – 40 minutes.

A finished cake should spring back when pressed and a toothpick inserted into the middle should come out clean.

5.      Remove the cake from the oven and place on a cooling rack.

• Cool 10 minutes in the pan.

• Turn out onto the cooling rack and cool completely.

• Dust with powdered sugar.

6.      Serve.