Blood Orange Almond Cake

Winter is orange season, and nothing is more dramatic than a blood orange. And few upside down cakes offer this kind of burst of color to brighten up the winter blues. Blood oranges are available from December to March in North America, but seem to be most prevalent in January. We had to try to showcase them in this cake!

This blood orange almond cake is complex in flavor and texture – sweet, citrusy, nutty, and moist. Our oranges did not offer the super-dark red flesh some varieties offer, but ours were still unique and delicious. Ask at your supermarket or specialty grocer to see what you can expect. 

The recipe, by Linda Schneider on Taste, calls for fennel seed, but we chose not to use it. We did include almond extract, and highly recommend that extra boost of almond flavor.
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ingredients

Cake

• 7 ounces (1¾ sticks) unsalted butter, cut into cubes, at room temperature
• 9 ounces (1 cup plus 2 tablespoons) granulated sugar
• Grated zest of 2 large or 3 small blood oranges
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
• 10 ounces (2¾ cup) almond meal
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature
• 3½ ounces (¾ cup) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
• 2 teaspoons ground fennel seed (optional)
• Pinch of salt
• 3 to 4 blood oranges, thinly sliced into rounds, rind removed, for the top of the cake

Blood Orange Syrup

• Juice of 2 large or 3 small blood oranges
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1/3 cup sugar

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directions

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of a 9-inch round springform baking pan with parchment paper. Grease the sides of the pan.
• Place the butter, sugar, blood orange, and lemon zest in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a SideSwipe or flat beater attachment.
• Beat on low to medium speed until the butter and sugar are just combined. 

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• ​Add half of the almond meal and beat at low to medium speed until incorporated.
• With the mixer running at slowest speed, add the eggs one at a time. NOTE: We don't normally recommend adding ingredients while the mixer is running, mostly because of the mess factor. But since this recipe specified this technique, we gave it a try. We think you can stop and add each egg separately if you wish.
• Add the remaining almond meal, flour, almond extract (if using) and salt. Beat on medium speed until smooth.
• Slice the oranges into 1/4-inch slices and trim off the rind with a sharp knitLine the blood orange rounds in a single layer on top of the parchment.

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• Pour the batter into the baking pan. Level the batter with a palette knife.
  

• Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
• When the cake is almost done, prepare the blood orange syrup: Juice one lemon and about three blood oranges until you have about ½ cup of juice. Pour into small saucepan with 1/3 cup of granulated sugar. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Keep warm until cake comes out of the oven.

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• As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, poke the cake all over with a wooden skewer (about ¾ of the way through the cake). Pour the hot syrup over the cake.

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• Let cool completely before removing it from the springform pan. Place a large plate over the cake and with one swift motion carefully invert the pan so that the orange slices are on top. Peel off the parchment. Slice and serve.

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