Earlier this month, I was lucky enough to be go on a very special long weekend trip to celebrate an old friend’s birthday at new friends’s beautiful family ranch in Colorado. We did a lot of cooking (and eating and drinking) that weekend, and this cake stood out, I think, as our favorite dessert. The cake’s color and slightly (pleasingly) grainy texture come from semolina, a somewhat coarse, yellow, high-protein flour often used to make pasta. Orange, honey and cardamom give the cake a fresh, slightly exotic flavor, and the use of olive oil instead of butter lightens the cake and adds a further fruity note.
The cake is simple and forgiving to make (even at high altitude, with a few adjustments). The only trick is to make the candied oranges and syrup in advance as they need time to cook and cool before you use them. If you can’t find whole cardamom, omit it from the syrup and add and extra 1/2 teaspoon of ground cardamom to the cake. (Adding ground cardamom to the syrup will give it a gray cast that’s not entirely appetizing.) Semolina flour is available at most supermarkets.
Recipe
(from Bon Appetit )
Ingredients
For the candied Oranges and syrup:
1 cup (240ml)sugar
3/4 cup (180ml) orange blossom honey (or another light, mild flavored honey)
3 tablespoons green cardamom pods
1 small orange, thinly sliced
For the cake:
1/2 cup (120ml) olive oil plus more for brushing
1 cup (240ml) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (120ml) semolina flour (pasta flour)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup (120 ml) sugar, divided
3 large eggs, separated
2/3 cup (160ml) plain whole-milk yogurt
1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chopped unsalted pistachios, lightly toasted
Instructions
For the candied oranges and syrup:
(Note: this can be done a day ahead and should be started about two hours before you bake the cake.)
1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Crush cardamom pods lightly under a rolling pin to release their flavor and fragrance.
2. Bring sugar, honey, cardamom, and 3 cups (720ml) water to a boil in a medium heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add orange slices. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer, turning orange slices occasionally, until tender and the syrup is reduced to about 3 1/4 cups (770ml), about 40 minutes.
2. Arrange orange slices in a single layer on prepared baking sheet; strain out the cardamom pods and seeds. Cover syrup and orange slices separately, and chill them both. Return orange slices to room temperature and rewarm syrup slightly before using.
For the cake:
1. Preheat oven to 350° (175C). Brush a 9-inch springform or round cake pan with oil. (A springform pan isn’t necessary, but it does make this somewhat fragile cake easier to remove.)
2. Whisk both flours and next 4 ingredients in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat 1/4 cup (60ml) sugar and 1/2 cup (120ml) oil in a large bowl for 1 minute. Beat in yolks, then flour mixture. Beat in yogurt, zest, and vanilla.
3. Using clean, dry beaters or a whisk, beat egg whites in another medium bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in remaining 1/4 cup (60ml) sugar until firm peaks form. Fold egg whites into batter just to blend in 2 additions. Transfer to prepared pan; smooth top.
4. Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 25 minutes.
5. Pierce the hot cake all over with a skewer. Slowly drizzle 3/4 cup (180ml) warm syrup all over. When the syrup is absorbed, slowly pour 3/4 cup (180ml) more syrup over. Reserve remaining syrup for serving. Let cake cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.
6. Run a thin knife around edge of pan to release the cake. Remove the pan sides if you’re using a springform pan, or gently tip out the cake if you’re not. Arrange candied orange slices over. Sprinkle on the pistachios. Cut into wedges and serve drizzled with more syrup.
