Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Blood Orange Polenta Cake


I love blood oranges and am beside myself with excitement when they're in season here. I don't like regular oranges all that much, but blood oranges--beyond sublime. I have been waiting for ages to have my own blood orange tree, but haven't planted one yet as I've not seen them in any nursery. If it were possible, I'd love to have a whole orchard, but our yard is small and any fruit trees I plant need to grow in pots. Still, some varieties of citrus do really well in pots.

This recipe was in a recent Bon Appetit, and the timing couldn't have been more perfect as I just bought a big bag of blood oranges. This cake is unusual in that it starts out on the stove with a caramel made in a heavy skillet. The caramel is topped with the oranges, and then the cake batter. You serve the cake by flipping the skillet upside down to release the cake. I served the cake with a thick, sweetened yogurt instead of Creme Fraiche which can be hard to find.

The polenta gives this cake a lovely crispy exterior, and the interior stays moist. The caramelized oranges on top are a lovely sweet-bitter-citrus-y counterpoint to the subdued flavor of the cake.

If you can't find blood oranges, which seem to have a very short season, you can use another orange as a substitute. This cake is at once both sophisticated--with the blood oranges and caramel, and homey--with the cornmeal and being baked in a skillet. It reminds me so much of the light and fruity desserts we've had in Italy. It is sweet, but only mildly so as the flavor really comes from the oranges and the polenta--totally Italian and totally delicious.

12 comments:

  1. What an interesting and unique cake. Upside down cakes are so much fun. Thanks so much for sharing this! Peace, Stephanie

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  2. This looks wonderful! I think I've only tried blood oranges once, but I saw them at the grocery store this week, so maybe I should pick some up.

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  3. Utterly wonderful! What a beautiful cake, I can almost taste it already! Into my files it goes!

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  4. Beautiful cake, Michele. I was just saying how I need to get some blood oranges. I love the cornmeal in the cake, too. This looks like a winner recipe!

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  5. never heard of this.. interesting recipe!

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  6. This cake looks wonderful!!!!! I should give it a try one day. Thanks for the recipe.
    Cheers

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  7. Beautiful and mouthwatering cake!! intresting and tempting..BTW I'm first time here and you have great collection of recipes...will come back..

    cheers and do visit me if you can

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  8. Thank you so much for all the fantastic comments!!

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  9. I love blood oranges too and I can only imagine how great they are in a cake with caramel involved! Thanks for sharing the recipe. :)

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  10. What a perfect post!! I TOTALLY just found blood oranges in my Trader Joe's here in Chicago and was curious about what to do with them apart from just eating 'em fresh of course. :) What a wonderful recipe!! Now i'm inspired to buy a bag of them to test this recipe out!! Thank you!!

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  11. I saw this recipe and ripped it out. I'm glad to know it works. It looks awesome.

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  12. Thank you Valerina, Michelle, and Wendy!

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