Blood oranges are in season. These gorgeous oranges, looking very similar to regular oranges on the outside, have got a beautiful colour on the inside; ranging from a light reddish orange to a dark, purpley, beetroot coloured flesh. There are many things you could make with them. Blood orange curd is one delicious example (my mouth watered just by typing that) or maybe a blood orange marmalade.
I fancied making something rather simple in my first experiment. Naturally it had to be a cake. So I decided on blood orange fairy cakes.
I grated zest to go in the sponge and used the juice, and there was a lot of juice, to make the icing. The result was a rich tartness. Moreish. In fact, so moreish I'm thinking of making some more. Because this lot didn't last five minutes.
Makes 12 Blood Orange Fairy Cakes
Equipment
- An electric mixer always makes life easier but it isn't imperative; a wooden spoon will do the job.
- Large bowl for the sponge, smaller bowl for the icing.
- Zester (cheese grater is fine using the smaller holes) and juicer.
- 12 cupcake cases
- 12-hole muffin/cupcake tin. {I say a muffin/cupcake tin rather than the smaller fairy cake tin because if you use a large case and tin you can cut the sponge cakes flat and create a smooth top with the icing. Of course, you can use the smaller holed tin if you have that and ice any which way you like.}
- Wire rack for cooling.
- Bread knife.
Ingredients
For the sponge
- 170g caster sugar
- 170g butter
- 3 eggs
- 170g self-raising flour
- grated zest of two blood oranges
For the icing
- 500g icing sugar
- juice of two blood oranges
- a little water in case the juice isn't enough to make a firm consistency
Method
- Pre-heat your oven to 160 degrees fan.
- In a large bowl cream together the sugar and the butter until well combined.
- Add the eggs, plus a spoonful of the flour to prevent splitting, and beat again.
- Add the flour and the zest and mix.
- Add two desert spoonfuls to each cake case.
- Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes. They'll be ready when you press gently and the sponge springs back again.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack if you have one.
- Now you can start on the icing. Place the icing sugar into the smaller bowl and add the juice of the oranges a little at a time. You're looking for a stiff-ish consistency but not so stiff so it won't flow and fill all the little gaps. If you don't have enough juice then add a little hot water from the kettle.
- When the cakes are cool take a knife to cut off the risen centre (see picture above).
- Using a spoon place icing on the top of each cake so it flows to the edges of the cupcake case.
- Allow icing to set. Then eat!
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