Blood Orange Upside Down Cake

Oranges and citrus fruits of all kinds are this season’s gold and are overflowing in the market. Blood oranges are a particular favourite for their beautiful natural pigmentation inside that lends natural flair to any dish that it is added to. And upside down cakes being my current obsession, this had to be one to try! This version calls for slow cooking the blood orange slices first in a brandy + honey base. The remains of this base will then become a mild glaze in the end to top the cake. The cake itself is simple and only spiced with cinnamon. I’ve deliberately chosen the base to be less sweet + used more honey than soft light brown sugar as a sweetener for this one to match the vibrance of the glazed blood orange slices on top. This cake pairs really well with your evening cup of coffee, and is that something nice in your pantry to look forward to as the weekday comes to a close.

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Ingredients

For the blood orange base

  • 2 large blood oranges

  • 2 tbsp honey

  • 1/4 cup brandy

  • 1 tbsp soft light brown sugar

  • Pinch of salt

For the cake

  • 100g white spelt flour

  • 50g buckwheat flour

  • 50g ground almonds

  • 1 tsp baking powder

  • 1/4 tsp baking soda

  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder

  • Pinch of salt

  • 3 large eggs, separated

  • 150g butter

  • 100g honey

  • 25g soft light brown sugar

  • 1 tsp orange extract

  • 1/4 cup buttermilk

Method of Preparation

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C. Butter a 20cm round cake tin, and line the base with parchment paper, and apply some butter over the paper as well.

  2. Prepare the blood orange base first. Slice one and a half blood oranges into 1/2 cm thick slices. Extract the juice from the remaining half blood orange. Now place the blood orange slices + blood orange juice + remaining ingredients for the base in a large non-stick pan. Bring to boil, then cook on low/medium heat for 30-35 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow to cool.

  3. While the base is cooking. prepare the cake batter.

  4. Separate the eggs, adding the whites to a medium mixing bowl and the yolks to a small bowl. Whisk the egg whites to form stiff peaks, and set aside.

  5. Sift together the white spelt flour + buckwheat flour + ground almonds + baking powder + baking soda + cinnamon powder + salt, and set aside.

  6. Whisk the butter + honey + soft light brown sugar together, till it becomes creamy. Add the egg yolks + orange extract, and whisk again till well combined. Fold in the flour mixture. Then add the buttermilk, and mix again. Gently fold in the egg whites, being careful not to over mix.

  7. Line the base of the prepared tin with the cooked blood orange slices, working from the centre outwards and stacking in such a way that there aren’t any gaps. Pour over 1 tbsp of the juice left in the pan to coat the blood orange slices. Then add the cake batter. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, and cover with kitchen foil. Return to the oven for 20 minutes, or till a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven, and allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes. Then gently flip onto a wire rack and remove the base parchment paper. Add the remaining juice from the pan on top as a glaze. Allow to cool completely, before serving.

  8. Enjoy alongside a steaming hot cup of tea or coffee!