Recipe: Zero Waste Blood Orange Cake
Make this delicious, seasonal citrus cake to celebrate Easter. A crowd-pleaser for all ages, this blood orange cake is ideal for family get-togethers. It’s simple, colourful and makes the perfect centrepiece for your Easter table.
Swap out the blood oranges for other citrus if you’d prefer – clementines and tangerines are in their peak season between October and January while blood oranges are in their peak from November to April. Similarly, swap out the pistachios for whatever nuts you have in your cupboard. Walnuts, almonds or pecans would work well sprinkled on top of your cake.
Ingredients
2 Whole Blood Oranges, or other citrus fruit
350g Unsalted Butter, softened
350g Caster Sugar
4 Large Eggs
175g Polenta
8g Baking Powder
¼ tsp Maldon Salt
350g Ground Almonds
250g Mascarpone
2tbs Icing Sugar
2tsp Vanilla Extract
25g Toasted Chopped Nuts, we use pistachios
How to
Place the whole oranges in a pan, cover with water and bring to a simmer. Simmer gently over a medium heat for about an hour until super soft, drain away the liquid and place in a jug blender. Blend until super smooth and set aside to cool.
Meanwhile, line a baking tray with baking paper and grease with a little softened butter. Preheat the oven to 160°C fan.
In a large bowl, cream together the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Slowly add in the eggs, one at a time, making sure to mix the eggs in fully before adding the next.
In a separate bowl, mix together the polenta, baking powder, ground almonds and salt. Add the dry mix into the creamed butter mixture and fold in. Once cool, fold in the whole orange puree.
Pour into the prepared cake tin and bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes. If you push a skewer into the middle of the cake it should come out clean, if it does not, return to the oven a cook for a little longer. Once cooked, turn out onto a rack to cool.
Using a hand whisk, whisk the mascarpone in a bowl until loosened, add in the icing sugar and vanilla and whisk to combine.
Once cooled, spread the mascarpone on top of the blood orange cake and sprinkle with the toasted chopped nuts, enjoy!
