Orange Nut Bread

My mom would make this bread the day before we would go down to our camp in north central Pennsylvania for a weekend. It's moist and orange-y, and the walnuts round it out perfectly.  It's better the day after it's baked and had time to develop the flavor. We would have slices with sweet butter. It was a real treat, and still is. Luckily, I found the recipe among the bits of paper in a drawer in mom's kitchen.

ORANGE NUT BREAD

the juice of 1 large orange + additional fresh juice (or water) to make 1 cup total
the zest from the orange (about a tablespoon)
4 tablespoons softened butter (1/2 stick)
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.
Grease a loaf pan with shortening.

Bring the orange juice to a boil, then immediately turn off the heat and allow to cool slightly. Set aside.

Cream the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and blend, then add the orange zest and vanilla and stir well.

Stir together the flour, salt,  baking powder, soda in another bowl -- add alternately with the orange juice to the butter/sugar mixture, and stir just until mixed well.  Add the walnuts, stir well, then scrape down the sides of the bowl and blend again. Pour into the prepared loaf pan and bake on the middle rack of the oven at 350 degrees for 40 to 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out barely clean. Remove from oven and cool on a rack. Loosen and remove from the loaf pan after it cools to room temperature. Wrap tightly in foil and allow to mellow overnight. Slice and serve with sweet butter. Great with hot tea!
Makes one loaf.

Bright, Brilliant Flavors: Citrus Cake

Last night at WiNKS, my local knitting group, we were asked to list which cake we loved most for our personal birthday celebrations. The list included, no surprise, many that simply said "chocolate anything!". And while I love chocolate cake (obviously, since it's part of the title of the blog), my favorite cake for my March birthday is Citrus Cake. It's luscious orange and lemon notes are perfect just when the weather can't get much worse and the days more dreary. It's bright flavors and cheery color are the perfect antidote to winter and more pedestrian cakes. This is one cake that benefits from being made a day in advance. Overnight, the orange and lemon juices and zests work their magic to infuse the cake so that it bursts with brilliant flavor.

Amazingly, I have never put it here on the blog! So it's time to remedy that.


CITRUS CAKE

Grease and flour 2 9" round cake pans; set aside.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temp
4 eggs
the zests of 1 lemon and 1 orange
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour ~or~ 2 3/4 cups cake flour
1 1/2 tsps. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup buttermilk

Cream butter and sugar in large mixing bowl on medium low speed. Add eggs one at a time; beat well until blended in. Add the zests of the lemon and orange, stirring to blend. Stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl, and add alternately with the buttermilk, mixing well. Pour into prepared pans, and bake on a lower middle rack of the oven at 350 degrees for 30 - 35 minutes, just until a wooden pick inserted in the center is clean. After removing from oven, run a knife around the edges of the cake layers, and prick the layers with a fork all over. Immediately pour the Infusion Glaze over the layers. Cool for 5 minutes, then turn cakes out of pans onto waxed paper and allow to cool completely. Frost top, sides and middle with Citrus Buttercream Frosting. Best if flavors can marry overnight, but don't feel bad if you just can't wait. (Confession: I usually can't wait!)

Infusion Glaze:
juice of 1 LARGE lemon
juice of 1 LARGE orange
1 cup sugar
a smidge of salt

Combine juices in a small saucepan over medium low heat and bring almost to a boil; add sugar and salt, and stir well just until sugar disappears into the juices. Remove from heat. Refer to recipe for use, which is immediately after cake comes from the oven.

Citrus Buttercream Frosting
zest and juice of 1 large lemon and 1 large orange
1 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 tsp. salt
10X (confectioners) sugar - (4 to 5 cups)

Zest the lemon and orange, then juice them; set aside. In large mixing bowl, cream butter and  salt, beating at medium speed until very light and fluffy. Add 2 cups of 10X sugar and beat for several minutes. Slowly add the juices and zest, and beat with additional confectioners sugar until the consistency is right for frosting and filling the cake, which is usually  2 to 3 more cups of the 10X sugar. Beat three to five additional minutes  after reaching desired consistency.   Place a cake layer, glazed side up, on a cake plate and use 1 1/2 cups or so of the frosting to fill the cake. Place the other cake layer, glazed side down, over the frosting and frost the cake sides and top, swirling the frosting into lavish curls. If possible, keep in a cake safe overnight. If you just can't wait, enjoy!


Makes 10 to 12 generous slices.

Just in Time for Christmas: Jennifer's Orange Salad

Knitting friend Jennifer Ashworth made this delicious Orange Salad for the WiNKS Christmas Party and Beedle's Open House last Saturday. Fresh and clean tasting, it's a perfect foil for heavier fare. What a great dish for Christmas dinner!

JENNIFER'S ORANGE SALAD
•4 ripe medium oranges, peeled
•1 small red onion, sliced very thin
•2 tablespoons sherry vinegar [Jennifer used pear vinegar]
•6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil [Jennifer thinks that's a bit too much - see what you think]
•1/2 teaspoon mild smoked paprika
•Sea salt and black pepper to taste [don't be shy]
•3 tablespoons golden raisins, soaked in hot water for 20 minutes, then drained
•15 to 20 black olives, pitted
•2 tablespoons chopped toasted walnuts [toasted in the oven in a baking dish]
•2 tablespoons blanched almonds [optional]
•Fresh parsley and mint, chopped

Directions

1. Remove pith from oranges and slice into 1/4-inch rounds. Arrange on a serving platter and scatter very thinly sliced red onion on top. [Jennifer built her triple recipe in - you guessed it - triple layers.]
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, olive oil, paprika, salt, and pepper. Spoon over the onion and oranges.
3. Sprinkle with raisins, olives, chopped walnuts, and almonds. Garnish with parsley and mint.
Chill a couple of hours - serve with a flourish
The tripled recipe will serve a large group, 10-12

Shades of Summer: Blackberry Cobbler

Blackberry Cobbler: A summer favorite. At least at our house. It doesn't take a summer day for us to break out the blackberries, either. Warm from the oven, with a big dollop of Ben and Jerry's Vanilla atop it, it is a rich and satisfying treat.

BLACKBERRY COBBLER

1 full quart fresh blackberries -OR- 2 bags frozen blackberries

Zest from 1/2 an orange -OR- 1 tsp. grated orange peel, soaked in 2 tblsp. orange juice for 20 minutes

1 cup sugar

3 tblsp. flour

1/4 tsp. salt

Mix berries and next four ingredients together and pour into a well-buttered oven proof 2 qt. casserole dish or deep 7 x 11 pan. Dot with 2 or 3 tblsp. butter, and set aside while making the dough for the topping.

Topping

2 cups flour, sifted with:

3 tsp. baking POWDER

1/2 tsp. salt

3 tblsp. powdered sugar

1/3 cup vegetable shortening

3/4 cup PLUS 2 tblsp. milk

Blend the shortening into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or 2 knives (as for pie pastry) until the mixture appears mealy. Add milk, mixing gently by hand, to form a soft, rough dough. Drop by tablespoons onto berries, covering them completely to the edges of the pan. DO NOT COMPRESS DOUGH.

Bake at 375 degrees (Farenheit) for 40 -45 minutes or until topping is pale golden brown. Let stand at least 20 minutes after baking, then serve with ice cream.

Serves 4 to 6, easily.

Aaaahhhhhhh!