blood orange, almond and polenta cake
31 Oct 2012
When I came home from my holidays last week I saw nets of blood oranges in the fruit market. I bought one of the bags home with me but what to make? I decided I wanted to make a blood orange cake. I found a blood orange cake recipe in Ottolenghi but it involved making caramel and as I'm still struggling a bit with my sleep, there was way too much pfaffing around for me. I found this recipe on the web, which was much the same as the one I was planning to use.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiXzrPfPHM8bInL8JDdCcPfNKYOU9DTobKriD1JGsld9n9J-aPNk7bEm-c23eYfUXqXKYT89YSRxr8LcP4UaQmlOchG57C5BDXM_916MSaPcYZZxow6ySvASdWZ1FDNppU4H6qxg/s1015/blog-1+%25282%2529.JPG)
I bought this cute little bundt tin last week but it's pretty tiny so I halved the recipe to fit the dimensions of the tin. I greased the tin and debated flouring it and decided not to. I always flour my tins but I was tired after a sleepless night so I confess my decision making was a bit compromised. That was my first mistake as the cake stuck to the tin when I turned it out onto the cooling rack.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-D3VCXnsaqLc8nadyyxil8u-M16HrwwZF01a7f_uBJ3a19xmz4PNvq6_PG25Xbn4p3iR0I_3X4lwy97WGPEuyZRBnV_e0IqH8254bPeB7QYLVdcJ7mBmCN9vw1hEO2pyjC9JYIg/s1600/blog-2.jpg)
I made the syrup and it seemed quite a lot for such a little cake but I went ahead and poured it all over the cake. Mistake number 2. The cake was now so soft it cracked when I tried to put it onto the cake stand.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1cnmtr1TyoRafNYOCuej22FfsiIDiScE0kJUPt20bCn56_nrg1AFSVWg-vrxTnm0dZbj1H8VtgVpn6uEVkEwqtWx7cB6KfttGihhk-U6b08GhhKqr9uAxfAOcUPgK6OXYcHaYMg/s1600/blog-3.jpg)
By this stage it was looking as though I'd have to bake another cake to photograph. I checked my fridge and I didn't have enough butter and by now I was not in the mood to walk up to the shops so I put the cake into the fridge hoping it would firm up enough to photograph.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAbBE3DqWhwE5RIB8o4H7ZOzCnh8Dv2nN5U511XuvFBkAFeq2X6C_xIqb3vDBJn5PG8DgVImepx3UISxW5CvusAuS5rEHY_bgaSNsFRq700k3tqGKMKgsfBUeuqIg0h8OK5Us6pg/s1600/blog-4.jpg)
So the cake isn't perfect but it still tasted pretty good. I have plenty of blood oranges left in the fruit bowl so I do plan to make this again. I haven't included my recipe because I want to make a successful version of the cake before I do. The lesson I learned - don't try baking a cake at 7.00 a.m. when you've only had 3 hours of sleep. It will only end in tears!
The evening news is on in the background as I write this. I'm still in shock at the havoc Hurricane Sandy has wrought in North America. For the first time in 2 weeks I'm actually glad to be back home again. I hope every-one I met on my travels are safe and well.
See you all again next week,
Jillian
I bought this cute little bundt tin last week but it's pretty tiny so I halved the recipe to fit the dimensions of the tin. I greased the tin and debated flouring it and decided not to. I always flour my tins but I was tired after a sleepless night so I confess my decision making was a bit compromised. That was my first mistake as the cake stuck to the tin when I turned it out onto the cooling rack.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-D3VCXnsaqLc8nadyyxil8u-M16HrwwZF01a7f_uBJ3a19xmz4PNvq6_PG25Xbn4p3iR0I_3X4lwy97WGPEuyZRBnV_e0IqH8254bPeB7QYLVdcJ7mBmCN9vw1hEO2pyjC9JYIg/s1600/blog-2.jpg)
I made the syrup and it seemed quite a lot for such a little cake but I went ahead and poured it all over the cake. Mistake number 2. The cake was now so soft it cracked when I tried to put it onto the cake stand.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1cnmtr1TyoRafNYOCuej22FfsiIDiScE0kJUPt20bCn56_nrg1AFSVWg-vrxTnm0dZbj1H8VtgVpn6uEVkEwqtWx7cB6KfttGihhk-U6b08GhhKqr9uAxfAOcUPgK6OXYcHaYMg/s1600/blog-3.jpg)
By this stage it was looking as though I'd have to bake another cake to photograph. I checked my fridge and I didn't have enough butter and by now I was not in the mood to walk up to the shops so I put the cake into the fridge hoping it would firm up enough to photograph.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAbBE3DqWhwE5RIB8o4H7ZOzCnh8Dv2nN5U511XuvFBkAFeq2X6C_xIqb3vDBJn5PG8DgVImepx3UISxW5CvusAuS5rEHY_bgaSNsFRq700k3tqGKMKgsfBUeuqIg0h8OK5Us6pg/s1600/blog-4.jpg)
So the cake isn't perfect but it still tasted pretty good. I have plenty of blood oranges left in the fruit bowl so I do plan to make this again. I haven't included my recipe because I want to make a successful version of the cake before I do. The lesson I learned - don't try baking a cake at 7.00 a.m. when you've only had 3 hours of sleep. It will only end in tears!
The evening news is on in the background as I write this. I'm still in shock at the havoc Hurricane Sandy has wrought in North America. For the first time in 2 weeks I'm actually glad to be back home again. I hope every-one I met on my travels are safe and well.
See you all again next week,
Jillian