Minneola Orange Cake

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The minneola is a cross between a grapefruit and a mandarin orange, you'll know it by its distinctive nub at one end.  They're sometimes called tangelos, or Honeybells and they're known for being very juicy.  They have a pretty color that's a little more reddish than the classic orange.  Minneolas were on sale at my grocery store, and even though I'm excited about spring (5 more days!) I hate to see citrus season go.  Use any variety you want for this yummy cake.

This recipe is written in weight measures, so I weighed them out and then I used cups to remeasure the amounts, so they're pretty accurate.  My conversions are in red.  The ml measurements should also be on one side of your liquid measuring cups.


Minneola Cake         ~~~adapted from Rick Stein's Mediterranean Escape via Almost Bourdain

250 g (2 sticks plus 3 Tbsp) lightly salted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing

250 g (1 1/2 cups) caster sugar

4 medium eggs

1 1/2 tsp finely grated zest (I zested the whole Minneola)

250 g (2 cups, but slightly under fill the second cup) self raising flour

85 ml (1/3 cup) freshly squeezed Minneola juice
1/2 tsp orange extract, optional

For the icing:

125 g (about 1 cup, but I used extra to be sure I had lots of icing) icing sugar

5 tsp ( I used a bit more) freshly squeezed Minneola juice

• Preheat the oven to 170C. (350) Grease and line a 22-cm clip-sided round cake (I used a 9" cheesecake pan with a removable bottom and just greased it) with non-stick baking paper.
• Using an electric whisk, cream the butter and sugar together for 4-5 minutes until very pale. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating very well between each one. Beat in the orange zest. Add the flour all at once and mix in well, then slowly mix in the orange juice.
• Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer, inserted into the center of the cake, comes out clean. If it starts to brown too quickly, cover loosely with a sheet of lightly buttered foil.
• Leave the cake, in its tin, to cool on a wire rack, then carefully remove the sides and base of the tin and peel off the paper. Put it onto a serving plate.
• For the icing, sift the icing sugar into a bowl and stir in the orange juice until you have a spreadable consistency. Spread it over the top of the cake, letting it drip down the sides, and leave to set. Serve cut into slices, and store any leftovers in an airtight container. 

This buttery cake has good citrus flavor.  It's not as dense as a pound cake, and I think it would make a great layer cake or cupcakes with a proper citrus frosting.  The batter was easy to put together and had a beautiful silky texture.  It's a keeper.