Sicilian Orange Cake

It was around this time of year, many moons ago, that I made my first visit to Waitsburg. After the long dusty drive, the bucolic view of vivid green rolling hills surrounding this picturesque little town felt particularly welcoming. The sun was just starting to set as we arrived, the golden light making the abundant spring blooms in the neighborhood glow. Outside, the air was thick with the unmistakable scent of lilacs. The whole town smelled sweet.

Years later, during my first spring living in our home, I was thrilled to realize that our backyard had several beautiful established lilacs. Their sweet scent always reminding me of that first lovely impression of the 'burg. Last year, to celebrate the beauty of spring, I wanted to feature the edible flowers of my beloved lilacs into a dessert. This recipe for a moist orange cake proved a perfect pairing to the perfumy purple blooms. However, this cake is perfectly lovely with or without the flowers.

Ingredients:

3 large eggs

1 ⅛ cup sugar

1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

2 ½ teaspoons baking powder

⅓ cup butter, room temperature

⅓ cup plain whole milk Greek yogurt

1 large orange, organic preferred

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the glaze:

Juice and zest of one additional orange

⅓ cup sugar

Edible flowers, optional (see notes)

Powdered sugar, for dusting optional

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare an 8-inch springform cake pan by greasing with oil or butter, then line bottom and sides with parchment paper. Then grease the paper as well. If using flowers, soak and rinse the flowers thoroughly, then lay in a single layer over clean kitchen towels to dry.

In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to whisk together the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy. Sift the flour and baking powder together, then slowly add to the egg mixture. In increments, add the butter and mix until fully incorporated. Finally, mix in the yogurt until a smooth batter has formed.

Wash the orange well, and then cut into pieces. Keep the rind on but remove the seeds. Place orange chunks in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until coarsely pureed. Add the orange puree and vanilla extract to the cake batter and mix until evenly combined. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Place pan in heated oven and bake for about 50 to 60 minutes. Test with a skewer to make sure cake is fully cooked before removing from oven. Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before removing the sides of springform pan, then allow to fully cool on a wire rack.

To prepare the glaze, melt sugar in a small saucepan with the orange juice and zest. Allow to gently simmer for a few minutes until reduced to a syrupy consistency. Do NOT walk away from the pan as the glaze can burn or thicken too much very quickly. After the cake is fully cool, drizzle glaze over the top and brush to smooth evenly over the surface. If using flowers, drizzle and brush half the glaze, then arrange flowers decoratively over the top and finish by carefully drizzling the rest of glaze over flowers. Lightly dust with powdered sugar.

Notes:

Edible flowers are a beautiful way to elevate this cake into something memorable. I used fragrant lilacs from my backyard, but you could also use viola, pansy, or rose petals. Chrysanthemums, elderflowers or lavender would also be lovely. Look for culinary flowers sold at grocery stores in the same section as fresh herbs. Or harvest from your own garden, or a trusted neighbor. Make sure to use flowers that have been grown organically, and not sprayed with toxic chemicals. No round-up on your cake, please.

As you are using the whole orange, peel and all, look for the highest quality oranges you can find. This recipe is based on a large navel orange. If you use other smaller varieties, you might need more than one orange. I think this would be lovely with blood oranges when they are in season. Also, because you are using the peel, try to find organic oranges if you can.

This recipe could also be baked in a square cake pan, or if you are ambitious, in a decorative Bundt pan. If using a Bundt pan, make sure to generously grease and dust the inside with flour to help cake release from the pan. Allow cake to fully cool before removing from decorative pans. Serve this cake as is or with a dollop fresh whipped cream. Enjoy!