Blood Orange Upside Down Cake

Blood orange upside down cake or should I say the best tea cake you have ever had in your life! It is dense, moist, and absolutely gorgeous right out of the baking pan.

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Hello everone!

I am so excited for today’s post. It has been exactly 2 years since I started this blog and look at me now… I have often given up on things when They get hard or I get bored of them but the passion I have for cooking, baking and sharing everything I make with you guys just keeps me going.

During this past year, I have been able to made huge progress. I have worked in being more disciplined, treating this like a business and having fun along the way. The hard work I have put in has brought me to where I am today.

Unfortunately I am not posting a layered cake for my blogversary like I did last year, if you’re curious I posted the triple layered vanilla cake with lemon curd and Italian meringue buttercream to celebrate. This year, I am trying to use what I have at home and not use up too many of my ingredients because of the current situation.

It is a pretty weird time to be celebrating but at the end of the day you have to look at all you have achieved and give yourself props for it and that’s what I am doing right now!

Let’s talk blood orange cake for a second

Before the quarantine or the “social distancing” as many of us call it here in America, I had purchased a whole bunch of blood oranges. I had been looking for them everywhere and the second I found them I had to have them.

I knew I wanted to make something using them because I had received a LorAnn blood orange oil from the Fikabröd subscription box. I was not sure what I was gonna make with it until I stumbled upon some gorgeous upside down blood orange cakes on instagram.

For someone who is not the biggest citrus cake fanatic, this one kinda changed everything for me. After taking the first bite of this blood orange upside down cake, I realized that maybe my taste buds have changed a little as I grew up. Or maybe I just made citrus cake way better than anyone did when I was growing up… hahaha!

What makes this blood orange upside down cake so special?

One of my favorite things about this blood orange upside down cake is the fact that it is gorgeous right out of the pan! Sure it might take a little time to candy the blood orange slices but that is it. Everything else is a piece of cake 😉 It is very easy to make and will make a cake that looks more like art and less like cake. Talk about show stopper!

I know you will love these recipes!

• Pink lemon bars
• Triple layered vanilla cake with lemon curd
• Orange mango smoothie

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What ingredients do I need for this blood orange cake?

• Blood oranges – These are gonna be the star of the dish. We will use them to decorate the cake.
• Water– You will need some water to candy the blood orange slices.
• Sugar– Sugar is for both the cake and the candied blood orange slices
• Orange zest – Can’t have a citrus cake without some orange zest, am I right or am I right?!
• Orange juice – I used juice form regular oranges and not blood oranges for this step because I wanted to keep my cake lighter in color.
• Blood orange oil– You can omit this if you don’t have any blood orange at the time but I highly suggest getting some! This is the blood orange oil that I used.
• Flour – All purpose flour works just fine for this recipe.
• Baking powder – Baking powder will help us get a beautiful rise to the cake.
• Salt – Always use a little salt in your baked goods. It helps elevate the flavors.
• Butter – Can’t have cake without butter! Just kidding, you can but butter makes more rich.
• Greek yogurt – Greek yogurt, when added to cakes helps keep them very moist. The acidity of the yogurt also helps activate the baking powder
• Eggs – You will need room temperature eggs for this recipe
• heavy whipping cream – This is an optional ingredient but I highly suggest enjoying this cake with a dollop of whipped cream!

Tools needed to make an upside down citrus cake

To make this delicious cake you will need:

• 9 -inch bakin pan
• A large pot
• A cooling wrack
• A stand mixer or a hand mixer

I have linked some of my favorite product above to make it easier for you to find them!

How to make this delicious upside down blood orange cake

This upside down cake is made in two steps. The first step is to candy the blood oranges :

1. Cut the blood oranges into thin slices
2. In a medium pot, over medium heat add 2 cups of water and 1 ½ cup of granulated sugar. Let the sugar dissolve then slowly start layering in your blood orange slices. Bring the liquid down to a simmer and cook for about 12-15 minutes.
3. After the blood oranges are done, pull them out of the syrup and line them on a cooling wrack that’s placed on top of a baking sheet to let them drip.

Now that the candied blood oranges are done, we will make the citrus cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F, then prepare a 9 inch cake pan by coating it with butter.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
3. In a stand mixer bowl, cream together the room temperature butter, yogurt, and orange zest. Slowly add in the sugar and blood orange oil and mix until light and fluffy.
4. Add in the eggs one at a time, making sure to scrape the sides and mix well between each addition.
5. Slowly ad in ⅓ of the dry mixture alternating between that and ⅓ of the orange juice. Beat well on low speed after each addition.
6. Layer the blood orange slices on the bottom of the 9-inch pan then pour the batter on top of the blood orange slices and bake for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick or a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean!
7. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15-20 minutes then loosen the edges by running a knife between the cake and the edge of the pan. Invert on a cooling wrack to cool some more.
8. Serve this with whipped cream for a fancy tea time cake!

Tips to make sure your blood orange cake turns out amazing!

• Use room temperature ingredients– Make sure to use room temperature ingredients for this cake. Using room temperature ingredients allows for an emulsion to happen when you mix everything together. This then allows for the cake to rise a little more.
• Press the candied blood orange slices into the baking pan – When the candied blood orange slices are ready to be put on the pan make sure to lightly press them into the bottom of the pan to make sure the cake batter doesn’t leak through.
• Cover the cake with foil if it browns too fast- When baking your upside down cake, you might notice that the top is browning a little too fast while the middle is still fairly liquid. grab a large piece of aluminum foil and cover the cake with it while it’s still baking. Make sure that the foil is not touching the cake. This will keep the top of the cake from burning.
• Let the cake cool down for 10-15 minutes before flipping it- Make sure to let the cake cool down for 10-15 minutes before running a sharp knife between the cake and the edge of the pan to loosen it and flip it.
• Top your cake with whipped cream- I love to top my cake with a generous dollop of whipped cream when serving. It balances the citrus flavor perfectly.

Blood orange upside down cake

I took this recipe from Preppy Kitchen blog and modified it to fit what I had at home. The cake turned out incredible so I decided to share it with you guys.

Thank you so much for making it all the way down here, if you tried this recipe and loved it please let me know down in the comments below. Have a great day and stay safe!

XOXO
Chahinez

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