Blood Orange Loaf Cake

As you will have seen from my last post I couldn’t help but pick up a few blood oranges while I was at Borough Market the other week and as they’re in prime season right now I thought I’d share with you all my version of the classic lemon loaf but with a blood orange twist.

It’s super simple and easy so let’s get started!

You will need:

• A standard loaf tin
• 220g self-raising flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• A pinch of salt
• 115g unsalted butter (preferably at room temperature)
• 200g caster sugar
• Grated zest of 2 blood oranges
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 120ml buttermilk
• 60ml (about 2/3 oranges worth) fresh blood orange juice

For the Icing:

• 3 tablespoons (45ml) fresh blood orange juice
• 1/2 cup (60g) icing sugar
• Extra sugar for caramelising the orange slices.

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/ 160°C for fan ovens. Grease or line your loaf tin.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt until everything’s mixed well.
3. In a seperate bowl beat together the butter, sugar and blood orange zest until light and fluffy. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time until well mixed.
4. Add about a 1/3 of the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Add the buttermilk and blood orange juice and mix then fold in the remaining flour.
5. Pour the mixture into the loaf tray then bake for about 1 hour or until golden and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center. I found an hour of cooking then covering the top with foil and cooking for another half hour was perfect. Once removed let the cake cool until chill to the touch.
6. Remove it from the tin and stab with toothpick or skewer repeatedly all over the cake.
7. While the cake is cooling, whisk together the blood orange juice and icing sugar until smooth. Pour over the holes in the cake until it has absorbed it all.
8. Then heat the sugar in the pan, between 50g-100g depending on how many slices you want to caramelise and add an equal amount of water. Stir until the sugar is dissolved then don’t touch it until it turns golden. Slice an orange thinly then lay the slices in the pan, turning once thoroughly coated. Place them on a drying rack and leave for 10-15 minutes until completely cool then place on top of the cake.

Then enjoy! Whether you serve it cold or still slightly warm it’s perfect with a cup of tea or whip up some cream with some leftover zest for an indulgent yet refreshing pudding. Not to mention you can swap it for what ever citrus fruit takes your fancy from lime to lemon to grapefruit!

I hope you give this recipe a go as it’s perfect for even the most novice of bakers and a certified big hit if my family’s anything to go by, as it didn’t even last the night! If you do make it I’d love to know your reaction or see any pictures, and as always please let me know what you’re baking this month as I’m always on the lookout for something new to try!