Theme: Citrus
Cookbook: The Crabapple Bakery Cupcake Cookbook
Argh! It’s only the second theme of the Cookbook Challenge and I have already fallen behind! In my defence, I’ve been away on holidays and since coming back to Melbourne, I’ve been down with a retched bug I can’t seem to get rid of. It started off as a sore throat and then turned into a runny nose, followed by a throat infection and now I don’t know what it is, but I’m feeling so run down. Blergh! Here’s hoping I can shake it off soon.
I know it’s a bit late, but to all my Chinese readers, Gong Xi Fa Cai! Chinese New Year was on 3 February, with this year being the year of the rabbit. Chinese New Year also falls on the same day this year as the Vietnamese New Year, but out of the 12 animals of the zodiac, this is the only year where the animals differ. In the Vietnamese calendar it is the year of the cat.
I was tasked with bringing dessert to one of the Chinese New Year dinners I attended so I went looking for a citrus recipe to also tick off theme two of the Cookbook Challenge. I decided on a flourless orange cake recipe, not because anyone was gluten intolerant, but more because I was intrigued at using whole oranges in a cake.
The original recipe finishes off the cupcake with a white chocolate ganache but I had a bit of fail moment when I forgot to buy the cream. I ended up just melting white chocolate and using it on its own. To be honest though, the cupcakes tasted wonderful un-iced… they just looked a bit ugly because of the cracks!
Flourless orange cupcakes with white chocolate frosting
Makes 17-18
Ingredients
2 whole oranges, washed (I used navel)
2 2/3 cups almond meal
2 tsp baking powder
80g unsalted butter, softened
1 cup + 2 tbsp caster sugar
5 small eggs
Method:
1. Place the oranges in a saucepan and fill with enough water to cover the oranges. Bring to the boil, then turn down heat and simmer for 1 hour and 15 minutes until the oranges are very soft.
2. Let the oranges cool a little before blending until smooth in a food processer.
3. Preheat the oven to 160C (140C fan forced). Line two muffin trays with 18 cupcake papers.
4. Combine almond meal and baking powder in a small bowl. I like to sift my almond meal then grind the larger bits that won’t go through the sieve but this is not necessary.
5. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter for 1-2 minutes.
6. Add the caster sugar, a third at a time, beating for about 2 minutes after each addition. After the last addition, the sugar should have dissolved and the mixture should be light and fluffy.
7. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until just combined after each addition. Try not to overbeat.
8. Add half the almond meal to the mixture and beat on the lowest speed until combined.
9. Add the pureed oranges and beat on the lowest speed until combined.
10. Add the remaining almond meal and beat on the lowest speed until combined.
11. Spoon the mixture into cupcake papers until three quarters full. The cupcakes don’t rise much.
12. Bake for 45 minutes or until the cupcakes look dry and slightly browned.
13. Remove from trays and allow to cool before frosting.
14. Melt white chocolate and spread over cooled cupcakes. Grate some white chocolate for extra decoration.
Results: These cupcakes were a huge hit with everyone at the dinner. They were incredibly moist, with a strong but not overpowering orange flavour. The almond meal provided a nice texture. I was surprised there wasn’t a bitter taste at all, considering the whole orange was used.
Would I make it again? Definitely, everyone should try making these!
Check out my other Cookbook Challenge posts here.
Over & Out, April xx
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Love it! I never knew how delicious almond meal was!
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