Many may not be familiar with kumquats, a petite jewel of the citrus family, where the entire fruit is consumed in one delicious bite of sweet and tart. About the size of a grape, the entire kumquat is eaten including the skin, which is actually the sweeter part of the fruit.
Several varieties of kumquats are found in the Bay Area, the most common is the oval shaped Nagami. A Bay Area nursery may also include marumi and meiwa varieties, and I’ve also seen limequats.
A mid-April visit with my mom, who lives in Roseville, CA, included picking a sizable harvest from her backyard tree. And by sizable, I mean coming home with quarts of kumquats!
Since I had too many to eat at their peak freshness, I knew I was going to be on the hunt for recipes for inspiration. Ever the fan for a citrus-forward dessert, a loaf cake was perfect for quick use of a goodly amount of kumquats.
Here’s the recipe that caught my eye, but I didn’t have enough dates on hand but cutting back is likely something I would have done with the source recipe anyway. And adding more nuts is a habit.
Other substitution for dates is any sweet, dried fruit; and I think chocolate chips would also be delicious. Pretty much any pairing you enjoy with citrus.
Advance tip: Dates, and many dried fruits, will stick together when chopped. To help with an even distribution throughout the tea cake, I spread out the chopped pieces on a plate. When ready to add to the batter, I sprinkle them in and gently fold into the batter so they stay separated.
How I also used the kumquat bounty — The kumquat puree was also delicious as part of a salad dressing, and I added sliced kumquats in with little gem lettuce, tender beet greens, beets, avocado, and red onion.
Kumquat Tea Cake
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup sour cream room temperature
- 1/2 cup kumquat puree
- 4 tablespoons orange juice freshly squeezed
- 2 extra-large eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup walnuts toasted, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup dates coarsely chopped
Instructions
- To puree the kumquats, slice in half crosswise and remove any seeds. Then blitz in a mini-food processor, or small blender, until nearly smooth but still retaining a few bits of identifiable rind.
- Position an oven rack at the lower third position. Preheat oven to 350° F. Lin an 8.5 x 4.5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper crosswise, leaving up to an inch of overhand. Generously butter the exposed ends of the pans. Set aside.
- Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl; and whisk to combine well. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, at least 3-quart size, use an electric mixer to cream the softened butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add the sugar and continue beating until the sugar is dissolved.
- Add the eggs, beating to incorporate well, then add the kumquat puree, orange juice, and vanilla extract. The mixture will look curdled, and that's A-OK.
- Add one-third of the flour mixture on low speed, then alternate one-half of the sour cream, another one-third of the flour mixture, remaining sour cream, and end with the flour mixture. Take care to not over mix, using a spatula to complete the incorporation of the flour mixture into the batter.
- Add the chopped walnuts and dates. Take care to separate the dates as they are sticky and will tend to clump together. You want an even distribution of dates and walnuts throughout the batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for about 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and transfer to a wire rack to complete cooling,
