Upside Down Blood Orange Cake

Upside Down Blood Orange Cake

Preparation time: 60–80 minutes | Serves: 4–6 people

Blood orange season comes around in Sydney just as Spring is about to bloom. There's something so special about the colour and flavour and I couldn't think of a better way to showcase them than in this upside-down cake.

With its sunset hues - dark red orange flesh, pinkish-orange rind and golden base, this citrus cake recipe makes for a striking dessert that will get you excited for spring.

Ingredients for this Blood Orange Almond Cake

The base of the cake is made with a sliced blood orange (peel and all) that is boiled for a few minutes to remove the bitterness of the peel and pith.

The juice of a second blood orange creates a sticky, sweet syrup for the base. Instead of a traditional sugar syrup, I flavoured mine with rose honey, paired with cinnamon, fennel seeds and sumac which add earthy, floral notes.

Oranges and almond are such a classic pairing, so I made a delicate almond cake for the base. I use olive oil for its light, fruity flavour, folded with almond meal, eggs, brown sugar and a touch of flour. You can expect an airy yet moist and crumbly cake that soaks up all the bright citrus flavours.

Serving suggestions

Because of all the contrasting flavours in this cake that strike a yet delicate balance, I love serving it with a complementary drizzle of good quality extra virgin olive oil from Pukara Estate.

That said, you can also serve it with a thick dollop of cream, generous drizzle of honey or warm, with vanilla ice cream.

Find some more suggestions and swaps in the recipe notes.

Ingredients

For the blood orange syrup
  • 2 blood oranges (1 sliced, 1 juiced)
  • 3 tbsps. rose honey
  • 3 cups water
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 tsp. sumac
  • 1/2 tsp. fennel seeds
For the cake
  • 100 gms olive oil
  • 50 gms Greek yoghurt
  • 80 gms brown sugar
  • 2 eggs (room temp)
  • 1 tsp. vanilla essence
  • 100 gms almond flour
  • 50 gms flour
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 2 tsps. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • Extra virgin olive oil, to serve

Method

Making the syrup
  1. Boil blood orange slices with water for 10 minutes. Remove slices and discard liquid.
  2. Add juice, water, honey and spices.
  3. Simmer 15–20 minutes until reduced.
  4. Remove cinnamon stick and cool.
Baking the cake
  1. Preheat oven to 180°C and line cake tin.
  2. Arrange orange slices and pour 3/4 syrup.
  3. Whisk wet ingredients.
  4. Fold in dry ingredients.
  5. Pour batter over oranges.
  6. Bake 35–40 minutes.
  7. Flip cake and remove paper.
  8. Pour remaining syrup.
  9. Serve warm with olive oil drizzle.
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