Blood orange cake

 

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! How lovely are these blood orange wrappers?! After I made these cakes, I sliced big chunks and wrapped them in the papers for gifts... sharing the love.

 

Don't worry, you won't find any soppy stuff here, just 'bloody' yummy cake. However lovely it is to be in love, speaking as someone who has spent the last year single after many years of being a couple.. I have really enjoyed getting to know myself this year. Without going into much detail, my year of saying 'yes' has been a really exciting one. Today should have less stress on love and more stress on happiness. I hope you are happy... and if you're not, chin up.. here's some cake. See the little flecks of orange in the sponge?

I find the internet such an inspiring place. When I stumbled upon the 'Cake Hunter' on my tea cake search I didn't realise how happy her blog would make me. This week it has inspired me to join a gym (eek!) and to make blood orange cake. Sophie made the Ottolengi recipe, but I needed to make Gluten Free for my GF friend and fancied using olive oil, in hope that this would taste of the blood oranges and olive oil of Spain.  I was feeling experimental on the weekend so threw something together with inspiration also from smitten kitchen. 

 The leftover pulp from the glaze made a good jam to top the cake.. eating the scraps can be the best bit.
Blood Orange Loaf Cake (makes 2, fortunately) 
4 blood oranges
200g caster sugar
140ml of natural yogurt
3 eggs
160ml extra virgin olive oil (or mix of olive oil and sunflower)
125g Gluten Free flour
60g quick cook polenta
60g ground almonds
2 teaspoons gf baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
For the glaze - I used 50g of simmered and strained raspberries here to add a little colour. 
100g orange juice 50g lemon juice 
100g caster sugar
(simmer the above for a few minutes until sugar has dissolved and the liquid thickens to a maple syrup consistency)

1. Zest the oranges and add zest to sugar
2. Supreme 3 of the oranges by slicing the top and bottoms off and then slice away the peel with the first layer of skin. Now you'll be able to see clearly where to cut. Catch the juices for the oranges, squeeze out the top and bottoms and add the juice of a lemon and other orange until you have 150ml of liquid. The remaining liquid, add to your yogurt.
3. Use half your segments, flaked up to add to your cake mix and reserve half for decoration.
4. Mix your yogurt, sugar, oil thoroughly and then add dry ingredients. Pour into two lined loaf tins and bake at 170fan oven for 40 minutes. After 40 minutes, check they are cooked through. 
5. Once the cakes have come out the oven, brush with the warmed syrup, repeatedly. Reserving half. 
6. Reduce the syrup a little and pour onto cakes once they have cooled for 20 mins or so. (little trick for you there) 
Serve with more yogurt and orange segments.

 I hope you do something lovely tonight. I've got beers chilling for a girly night of gossip, takeaway pizza and naughty, calorific pie. Further afield, one of my friends is heartbroken and another is very ill, I so wish I could send hugs. 
If you need a quick fix idea, why don't you make sugar biscuits or shortbread (easiest and tastiest things ever) If you have no time to ice them, make them into pretty shapes or stamp out a message, I did this one out of leftover dough. From me, to you, with love x