Blood Orange Baby Cakes with Blood Orange Curd and Bay Leaf Buttercream
Blood oranges are in season so I’m obviously baking with them. This orange and almond sponge is one of my all-time favourites. Whole blood oranges are boiled and then pureed before being added into the cake batter. It makes for an incredibly moist and flavourful sponge. Plus its gluten free too!
I decided to make this a celebration of blood oranges and make a curd to sandwich and garnish the cake with. Unfortunately it’s beautiful punchy colour doesn’t hold up but it tastes delicious still.
I had never used bay leaves in anything sweet before this but I think I’ve fallen in love with it. I infused them into the milk of the custard buttercream and it imparts a delicate citrus flavour. A custard buttercream is still light but with a bit more body and flavour than a swiss meringue buttercream. I also topped the cakes with blood oranges segments that have been coated in sugar and blow torched until caramelised. My little slice of sunshine.
Ingredients - Makes 2 x 4inch cakes
Blood Orange & Almond Cake:
2 blood oranges
150g ground almonds
150g caster sugar
3 medium eggs
2 tsp baking powder
Blood Orange Curd:
80ml blood orange juice, approx. 2-3 ripe blood oranges
2 eggs
105g caster sugar
7g cornflour
165g unsalted butter, room temperature
Bay Leaf Custard Buttercream:
200ml whole milk
3 large bay leaves, dried
1/2 tsp vanilla paste
125g caster sugar
18g cornflour
2 large egg yolks
400g unsalted butter, room temperature
Edible flower petals, to garnish
Blood orange segments, to garnish
Method:
The day before assembly:
For the cakes: stab the blood oranges all over with a knife and place into a large saucepan. Fill the pan with cold water until the oranges are completely submerged. Cover and place over medium heat. Boil for 1 hour until extremely soft. Pour out the boiled water and leave the oranges to cool completely before blending into a puree. Weigh out 300g for the cake.
Pre-heat the oven to 170°C. Grease and line two 4 inch cake tins with a little oil and baking paper. In a mixing bowl, whisk the pureed oranges with the rest of the ingredients until smooth. Divide the cake batter between the two prepared tins and bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Leave to cool completely before turning out of the tins and wrapping in clingfilm. Refrigerate overnight.
For the blood orange curd: whisk together the blood orange juice, eggs, sugar and cornflour in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking occasionally when cold but constantly when hot. Continue to cook until the curd starts to bubble. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter. Pour into a jug and blend using a hand blender. Cover with clingfilm, pressing it against the surface of the curd so that it doesn’t form a skin. Chill in the fridge overnight.
The day of assembly:
For the bay leaf buttercream: heat the milk and bay leaves in a saucepan until simmering. Take off the heat, clingfilm and leave to infuse for one hour. Remove the bay leaves and add in the vanilla and half the sugar. Place the milk back on the stove over low heat. In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, remaining half sugar and cornflour. Once the milk is simmering, slowly pour it over the egg mixture while whisking. Once combined, pour the custard back into the pan and set over medium-low heat. Cook the custard, whisking constantly, until it begins to bubble. Continue to cook for a further minute before taking it off the heat and pouring it into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment, whisk the custard on medium until just warm. Increase the speed to medium-high and add the butter in, a few chunks at a time. Once all of the butter has been added, increase the speed to high until you have a shiny and smooth buttercream.
To assemble, unwrap your orange cakes and slice in half so you have two layers. Dab a little of the buttercream onto your chosen serving plate before placing the bottom half of the sponge in top, cut side up. Spread a thin layer of buttercream onto the sponge before piping a border around the edge. Fill the centre with curd. Stack the second sponge on top with the cut side down. Spread a layer of buttercream on top, using a palette knife to build up the edge and indent a swirl in the top. Spoon over a few pools of curd before garnishing with blood orange segments and flower petals. Repeat with the second cake.
