Winter Citrus Loaf Cake
Winter Citrus Loaf Cake
Winter citrus fruits like blood oranges are some of my favourites to bake with before the summer fruits come in, and this winter citrus loaf cake is a delicious way to use them up!
It starts with a fragrant citrus cake batter that uses cake flour – the secret to getting a soft sponge thanks to its lower protein content.
It’s coated in a coarse citrus sugar, then topped with a mascarpone chantilly and a blood orange syrup.
The design is a really trendy way to serve the cake and elevates a simple loaf cake into something even more professional – you might just need to brush up on your rocher skills!
Ingredients
Method
Start by lightly greasing a 2Lb loaf tin with soft butter and then lining the inside with parchment/baking paper. Set this to one side. Pre-heat the oven to 165C/330F Non-Fan non-fan-assisted.
Add the flour, salt and baking powder to a bowl and whisk it together to combine. Set to one side.
Add about 150g of unsalted butter to a saucepan and place it over a medium-low heat. Once melted, remove it from the heat.
Take a spoon and scoop off any milk solids that are floating on top. You should then be left with clear clarified butter on top, and milk solids at the bottom of the pan.
Carefully drizzle the clarified butter into a jug, weighing 90g. Skim off any milk solids with a spoon that might have mixed in. Set this to one side. If you can't be bothered, just use melted butter!
Into the bowl of a stand mixer, add the sugar, then the lemon & orange zest (you can use regular oranges, no problem). Massage the zest into the sugar. with your finger tips.
Add the eggs on top then attach the beater. Beat for 2-3 minutes on a medium speed until lighter in consistency.
Pour in the cream and beat to combine.
Add in the clarified butter and beat to combine.
Sift over the dry ingredients and mix on a very low speed until it pulls together to a smooth batter with no more streaks of flour.
Pour the batter into the lined cake tin - you should get around 850-875g of batter.
Pipe a very thin line of soft butter down the centre of the cake, then place the cake straight into the pre-heated oven. Bake for around 60-65 minutes - a skewer should come out clean when inserted.
About 15 minutes before the cake is ready, add the fresh lemon & blood orange juice into a small saucepan along with the sugar.
Place it over medium heat until it is boiled and the sugar has dissolved.
Once the cake is baked, remove it from the oven and immediately tip it onto a wire rack with a tray underneath. Poke a few holes into the cake with a skewer.
Pour about 1/2-3/4 of the soaking syrup over the cake - this won't completely soak through the cake but brings some softness. By using blood orange juice, we will leak a bit of red colour into the final sponge when you cut it, so if you want to keep the sponge nice and 'yellow', just use all lemon juice instead.
Immediately lift it off of the wire rack and wrap it tightly in cling film. Refrigerate the cake for at least 12 hours/overnight. This will allow the cake to fully set and help to soften the crumb - don't skip this resting period.
Note - you will need the remaining sugar soak to glaze the cake tomorrow so don't throw it away. Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate it.
Once the cake has chilled, remove it from the fridge and bring it to room temperature. It really is best to leave it out for 2-3 hours. Because the cake has butter, serving it cold won't give you the best texture, so it needs a few hours at room temperature to soften up.
Add the freshly squeezed blood orange juice to a pan along with the sugar. Place it over a medium heat and cook until it thickens to a syrup-like consistency.
Remove it from the heat and pour it through a fine sieve. Set it in the fridge to cool for about 20 minutes.
Into a small tray, add granulated sugar (not caster/superfine sugar - we want larger granules here for the texture) along with lemon zest and some fresh vanilla. Toss these together.
Remove the soaking syrup from the fridge, which should be slightly thicker, and use a pastry brush to paint this all over the outside of the cake.
Roll the entire cake in the sugar to coat all the sides.
Place it onto a chopping board, and cut thick slices, about 3/4" thick. Place these onto a tray.
Into the bowl of a stand mixer, add the ingredients for the mascarpone cream and whisk on a medium low speed until it thickens to a medium peak.
Scoop the cream into a smaller bowl and use a spatula to press it against one side of the bowl, this will make it easier to Rocher. Don't worry if the cream starts to thicken slightly, using a hot spoon (dipped in some boiling water) will cut right trough there cream making it easier to rocher.
Rocher the cream into the centre of the cake, then warm the spoon and using the back of it, press it into the rocher to create a divot. Let the cream sit for a few minutes as the warm spoon will have melted it slightly - if you pour the syrup in now, it will mix with the syrup, making the bright red syrup go cloudy.
Take the cooled blood orange syrup and pour a tablespoon into the top of the cream. The cake is now ready to serve.
Ingredients
Directions
Start by lightly greasing a 2Lb loaf tin with soft butter and then lining the inside with parchment/baking paper. Set this to one side. Pre-heat the oven to 165C/330F Non-Fan non-fan-assisted.
Add the flour, salt and baking powder to a bowl and whisk it together to combine. Set to one side.
Add about 150g of unsalted butter to a saucepan and place it over a medium-low heat. Once melted, remove it from the heat.
Take a spoon and scoop off any milk solids that are floating on top. You should then be left with clear clarified butter on top, and milk solids at the bottom of the pan.
Carefully drizzle the clarified butter into a jug, weighing 90g. Skim off any milk solids with a spoon that might have mixed in. Set this to one side. If you can't be bothered, just use melted butter!
Into the bowl of a stand mixer, add the sugar, then the lemon & orange zest (you can use regular oranges, no problem). Massage the zest into the sugar. with your finger tips.
Add the eggs on top then attach the beater. Beat for 2-3 minutes on a medium speed until lighter in consistency.
Pour in the cream and beat to combine.
Add in the clarified butter and beat to combine.
Sift over the dry ingredients and mix on a very low speed until it pulls together to a smooth batter with no more streaks of flour.
Pour the batter into the lined cake tin - you should get around 850-875g of batter.
Pipe a very thin line of soft butter down the centre of the cake, then place the cake straight into the pre-heated oven. Bake for around 60-65 minutes - a skewer should come out clean when inserted.
About 15 minutes before the cake is ready, add the fresh lemon & blood orange juice into a small saucepan along with the sugar.
Place it over medium heat until it is boiled and the sugar has dissolved.
Once the cake is baked, remove it from the oven and immediately tip it onto a wire rack with a tray underneath. Poke a few holes into the cake with a skewer.
Pour about 1/2-3/4 of the soaking syrup over the cake - this won't completely soak through the cake but brings some softness. By using blood orange juice, we will leak a bit of red colour into the final sponge when you cut it, so if you want to keep the sponge nice and 'yellow', just use all lemon juice instead.
Immediately lift it off of the wire rack and wrap it tightly in cling film. Refrigerate the cake for at least 12 hours/overnight. This will allow the cake to fully set and help to soften the crumb - don't skip this resting period.
Note - you will need the remaining sugar soak to glaze the cake tomorrow so don't throw it away. Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate it.
Once the cake has chilled, remove it from the fridge and bring it to room temperature. It really is best to leave it out for 2-3 hours. Because the cake has butter, serving it cold won't give you the best texture, so it needs a few hours at room temperature to soften up.
Add the freshly squeezed blood orange juice to a pan along with the sugar. Place it over a medium heat and cook until it thickens to a syrup-like consistency.
Remove it from the heat and pour it through a fine sieve. Set it in the fridge to cool for about 20 minutes.
Into a small tray, add granulated sugar (not caster/superfine sugar - we want larger granules here for the texture) along with lemon zest and some fresh vanilla. Toss these together.
Remove the soaking syrup from the fridge, which should be slightly thicker, and use a pastry brush to paint this all over the outside of the cake.
Roll the entire cake in the sugar to coat all the sides.
Place it onto a chopping board, and cut thick slices, about 3/4" thick. Place these onto a tray.
Into the bowl of a stand mixer, add the ingredients for the mascarpone cream and whisk on a medium low speed until it thickens to a medium peak.
Scoop the cream into a smaller bowl and use a spatula to press it against one side of the bowl, this will make it easier to Rocher. Don't worry if the cream starts to thicken slightly, using a hot spoon (dipped in some boiling water) will cut right trough there cream making it easier to rocher.
Rocher the cream into the centre of the cake, then warm the spoon and using the back of it, press it into the rocher to create a divot. Let the cream sit for a few minutes as the warm spoon will have melted it slightly - if you pour the syrup in now, it will mix with the syrup, making the bright red syrup go cloudy.
Take the cooled blood orange syrup and pour a tablespoon into the top of the cream. The cake is now ready to serve.