Blood oranges have been in season now since December in the Bay Area! I had not seen or tasted blood oranges four years ago, and now I cannot get enough of them! I juice, jam, bake, eat them as is, and use them in salads! They come in various shades of red and a dark deep orange which I simply love, and the taste is so refreshing! I make juice using blood oranges and cara cara oranges for my family, and they cannot get enough of it!
Come citrus season, I get into the marmalade mode, and churn out my 2 favorite marmalades : Blood Orange and Rosemary Marmalade and Orange and Cardamom Marmalade. I was never too fond of marmalades, maybe cause they are too bitter when I have eaten it outside. I have found a way to not make the marmalade too bitter but yet get the taste of marmalade. Using a zest stripper, I strip off the outer peel without going to the white pith, and then I discard the white pith, leaving the fruit inside for the marmalade. This helps to get the full flavor of the citrus without making it overtly bitter.
This Upside Down Blood Orange and Rosemary Cake has the Blood Orange and Rosemary Marmalade in addition to bits of the fresh rosemary from our garden. I use almond flour in the batter, along with blood orange juice, blood orange zest and the marmalade! You can use the normal marmalade as a substitute , if you do not have the Blood Orange and Rosemary Marmalade.
My favorite part of the process is layering the absolutely gorgeous pretty slices on the bottom of the cake pan, in an overlapping fashion to form a pretty design. Once the cake comes out, I wait for about an hour till the cake cools down, and then brush the top of the cake with a blood orange marmalade syrup, for the final glistening effect!
It is a such a fragrant, light, airy, refreshing cake with the sliced blood oranges on the top! And one of my absolute favorite Tea Cakes! It goes great with a cuppa coffee or tea. Bring it to a friend’s home and you will see it disappear within no time. One slice is simply not enough! I love to serve it with light airy homemade whipped cream with specks of vanilla bean in them.
Do try this recipe! You will NOT be disappointed! If you do try this recipe, please do not forget to tag #thejamlab on Instagram and/or leave a comment in the blog post!
I cannot wait to share more citrus recipes with you, while the season is in full bloom!
Thank you so much for reading!
Much love,
XO
Amisha
Ingredients
- 10 tbsp unsalted butter softened, plus a tablespoon for greasing the pan
- 4 tbsp demerara sugar
- 3-4 small blood oranges, thinly sliced, after removing the skin/pith
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 6 heaped tbsp Jam Lab's Blood Orange and Rosemary Marmalade
- 4 large eggs, beaten
- 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 almond flour
- 2 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary
- Finely grated zest and juice of 2 small blood oranges or 1 big blood orange
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350C. Grease the base and sides of a 9-10 inch cheese cake pan. Sprinkle the base with demerara sugar. Arrange the blood orange slices on the base of the tin in a slightly overlapping layer, such that the tin does NOT show.
- Cream the butter and granulated sugar until pale and fluffy, then beat in 3 heaped tablespoons of the Blood Orange and Rosemary Marmalade, followed by the beaten eggs. In a medium bowl, add in the flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, rosemary, salt and whisk to blend. Fold in the dry ingredients, and the blood orange zest and juice.
- Carefully pour the cake batter into the tin. Place in the oven and bake for about 1 hour, till golden and firm to touch. Remove from the oven and allow to stand for 15 minutes. Very carefully, remove the outer layer of the cheesecake pan, and while it’s still slightly warm, turn out the cake onto a serving plate.
- Wait for it to cool down completely, and prick holes in the cake with a skewer. Make a glaze by warming the rest of the marmalade in a pan with a little water for 5 minutes on the gas at medium to low heat. Brush this syrup over the cake. Serve warm or at room temperature with homemade vanilla bean whipped cream!
- Recipe adapted from Jamie Oliver.
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