We’re deep into citrus here at saltandserenity this month. I bought every type of citrus I could find at Farm Boy last week, and I’ve been having fun exploring and shooting them.
Without a doubt, blood oranges are the darling of the citrus world. But, like most drama queens, you never really know what kind of mood they’ll be in. Sometimes you cut one open and you get a glorious blaze of crimson. Other times, she’ll be in a tamer mood and it’s just a hint of fire.
But I’m here to tell you about her shy cousin, the Cara Cara orange. A member of the navel family, they’re a cross-cross-polination of the Washington Navel and the Brazilian Bahia Navel. While they look like a regular navel orange on the outside, inside, their flesh is a lovely pink colour. They’re sweeter and less acidic than a regular navel orange. They have a delicious “berry-like” flavour. They’re available from December – April. Seek them out, you won’t be disappointed.
I decided to make a simple pound cake to highlight the Cara Cara. I adapted one of my favourite pound cake recipes (lemon pound cake) from Daphna Rabinovitch’s book “The Baker in Me.”
Butter, sugar, eggs, sour cream, flour and of course lots of Cara Cara orange zest for flavour.
About halfway through mixing the batter, it will look like it has curdled. Don’t panic. Once you add the flour mixture, it will all smooth out. Daphna instructs you to cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer for quite a while. You want to aerate the batter. Â When it comes time to add in the dry ingredients, she instructs you to remove the bowl from the mixer and switch to a wooden spoon, so that you don’t overwork the batter. Listen to her. She knows her stuff!
I decided to add an icing sugar glaze to the cake. Powdered sugar, cara cara juice and just a touch of lemon juice to amp up the acidity. If you want the glaze to stay shiny when it dries, add a spoonful of white corn syrup to the glaze. I added an optional garnish of dried orange slices. I really like how pretty they make the finished cake. They are available online from several different sources, but it’s pretty simple to make your own.
If you want to try, thinly slice about 4 oranges. Arrange on parchment lined baking sheet, in a single layer. Sift a heavy layer of icing sugar over the orange slices and bake in a 200°F oven for 4-5 hours.
I am blown away by your magnificent photography. I want your pictures hanging in my home…just so beautiful! I just love reading the way you made this cake…I can hardly wait to try and make it!!! 😋
Thanks Auntie Susie. You always leave me the sweetest comments. xoxoxo
What can I substitute for sour cream?
If you want a non-dairy substitute, Tofutti makes a non-dairy sour cream that would work well. You could also use coconut milk instead of sour cream. If you can have dairy, greek yogurt is a good substitute.
Baked this in a 12 c Bundt pan and it came out great. 45 minutes at 325 was perfect. Flavors definitely better the next day. I might use a little less zest in the cake next time to try to tone down the bitterness, but that could have been just the oranges I was using. Thanks for the recipe, we’re enjoying it!
So glad you liked it Gee. Thanks for letting me know!I really love hearing when people try my recipes.
I am celiac and made this using gluten free flour. It turned out amazing. I will be freezing sliced portions. Thank you for the great recipe and the absolutely beautiful pictures.
Thanks Sandy. So glad it worked out for you. I always slice and freeze leftover cake too. It’s so great to pull out when ever I have a craving. I’m curious as to which brand of GF flour you used.
I made it today and it came out perfect. Thank you so much for such a beautiful recipe!
Thanks Maria
It makes me so happy to hear that. I have been craving this cake all week. Need to bake it again soon.
This was so good. I used gluten free King Arthur measure for measure and split the batter between two loaf pans. It turned out so perfect. Thank you
Thanks Victoria. Great to know that the King Arthur measure for measure worked well in this recipe. I have used it in other recipes, but never this one. It’s an amazing product. Glad the loaves were yummy!