As a young girl, pineapple upside-down cake was always a treat. Back then Mom would make it from a Betty Crocker cake mix, and she would let me position the pineapple rings onto the bottom of the pan. My very favorite part was carefully placing the Maraschino cherry in the center of each pineapple ring. (Well favorite part except for the eating of the cake…)
Several years ago I spied a recipe for a blood orange upside-down cake and had to try it. It appealed to my (now grown-up) taste buds and looked spectacular. But the recipe had many steps: making caramel topping; and separating the eggs then whipping and folding the whites into the cake batter. Delicious but time consuming.
Now that Moro blood oranges are appearing everywhere and easy to obtain, I wanted this cake on my table again. So I experimented to create a simpler version for a “quick cake”, easy enough to put together last minute for a brunch, snack or dessert opportunity on short notice; and with ingredients a baker’s pantry would stock. Plus the blood oranges.
I’m telling myself this might qualify as a healthy cake. It contains fruit and the deep red flesh of blood oranges is “due to the presence of anthocyanins, a family of antioxidant pigments common to many flowers and fruit, but uncommon in citrus fruits”.
A few advance tips:
- Cardamom is an intensely flavored spice; especially if you use fresh pods, remove the seeds and grind them yourself. Start with less if unsure. Green (preferred) cardamom pods are available on spice racks in most well-stocked grocery stores.
- Baking times will vary so check for doneness by the 30-35 minute mark. A toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake should come out clean, or with only a few small crumbs clinging to it.
Blood Orange Upside-Down Cake
Makes one 10-inch cake
INGREDIENTS
For topping:
- 3 unpeeled small to medium Moro blood oranges
- 1/ 2 cup butter
- 1/ 2 cup brown sugar
For batter:
- 1-1/ 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 – 3 teaspoons ground cardamom, to taste
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/ 4 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 3/ 4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon Cointreau
- 1/ 2 cup whole milk
Special equipment: Ovenproof 10-inch diameter skillet with 2 1/ 2-inch high sides
PREPARATION
Position oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350˚.
For the topping:
Slice blood oranges crosswise, 1/16to 1/8-inch thick, with sharp knife. Remove and discard any seeds. Set aside. Melt butter in 10-inch skillet. Add brown sugar and simmer over moderate heat, stirring, for four minutes. Remove from heat. Arrange orange slices in concentric circles, overlapping slightly, on top of butter-sugar mixture.
For the cake:
Sift together flour, cardamom, baking powder and salt. Set aside. Beat butter in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar, scraping side of bowl as needed to incorporate. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla and Cointreau. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture in three additions, alternately with milk in two additions, beating until just blended. Do not over beat the batter.
Spoon batter over blood orange topping and spread evenly. Bake cake in middle of oven until golden and a tester comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes. Cool cake in skillet 10 minutes. Run a knife or thin spatula around cake to loosen. Place serving plate over skillet. Using oven mitts, hold plate and skillet firmly together and invert cake onto the plate. Replace and rearrange any orange slices as needed.
Serve cake barely warm or at room temperature
