March Recipe Ideas
Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake
Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake
Absolutely Delicious.
Equipment
9 or 10 inch standard cake pan (springform or regular)
parchment paper
electric or hand mixer
spatula
sharp knife
Ingredients
2 medium blood oranges
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1⅓ cups granulated sugar
1⅓ cups cake flour
½ cup all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 tsp blood orange zest grated
1 tbsp lemon zest grated
3 eggs
Additional olive oil for greasing
Directions
To prep, preheat the oven to 400°F and move the rack to the middle. Grease your cake pan with a touch of olive oil. Line the greased pan with parchment paper, and then grease the parchment paper as well.
Take each orange and slice off both ends (so you should have four orange ends) and set them aside. Slice the oranges into thin rounds, trying not to exceed ⅛ or so inch in thickness. You can leave the rind on. You should have at least 12-16 slices.
Into a medium bowl, squeeze the juice out of the orange ends, producing a tablespoon of more of juice. Dump in lemon juice and stir it together. Then add the ⅓ cup of sugar to the bowl and whisk it together, until the sugar melds with the juice and creates a pink slurry. Dump this evenly into cake pan and spread it out carefully with a spoon and your fingers, attempting to cover the bottom of the pan.
Carefully line the pan with the oranges slices, starting from one corner and layering the oranges in rows. The oranges should overlap a little bit but the goal is to cover as much surface area with the oranges as possible.
In a medium bowl, combine the cake flour, all purpose flour, baking powder and salt.
In a larger bowl (this one is where everything will be combined), crack the eggs. Add the remaining 1 cup of sugar and then beat on medium and then high speed for 3-5 minutes, until the eggs are white, creamy and thick (but still pourable). It should look pretty whipped at this point.
Next, add in the SLO Olive Blood Orange olive oil. If using a hand mixer, add it in 2 increments. If using a stand mixer, just drizzle it in slowly. Beat on high speed until well incorporated.
Add the dry ingredients in 2-3 increments, mixing on low speed to prevent flour from going everywhere. Once everything is combined, scrape down the sides with a spatula. Add in the lemon zest and orange zest and mix one more time for about 20 seconds. The batter should look well combined.
Carefully pour the batter into the cake pan, making sure not to move the orange slices sitting in the bottom of the cake. Transfer the cake to the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes, until knife comes out clean once inserted. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
If you are not using a springform pan, place a plate, cake stand or tray upside down on the cake pan and hold both sides firmly. Then, flip the cake 180°, so the cake pan is now facing down and the white part of the cake is now sitting at the bottom. Remove the pan slowly, and then remove the parchment paper to reveal the beautiful top. Slice and enjoy
Original recipe appeared on thymewithcaroline.com
Garlic Herb Focaccia
Beautiful and tasty. Crispy edges and pillow soft center.
Ingredients
2 cups warm water (between 100–110°F)
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons instant or active dry yeast (slightly less than 1 standard packet)
1/4 cup SLO Olive neutral extra virgin olive oil, such as Arbequina, Koroneiki or BearBird Italian blend.
1 Tablespoon kosher salt
4 and 1/2–5 cups all-purpose flour or bread flour (spooned & leveled), plus more for hands.
Topping and Pan
5 Tablespoons SLO Olive extra virgin olive oil or more as needed, divided
2 garlic cloves, minced
3–4 Tablespoons chopped fresh herbs such as basil, thyme, and rosemary (or 2 Tablespoons dried herbs)
sprinkle of coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Prepare the dough: Whisk half of the water (1 cup), 2 teaspoons sugar, and 2 teaspoons yeast together in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or paddle attachment. Cover and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
Add the remaining water, olive oil, salt, and 1 cup flour. Beat on low speed for 20 seconds, then add 3 and 1/2 cups more flour. Beat on low speed for 2 minutes. If the dough is still sticking to the sides of the bowl, add the last 1/2 cup of flour.
Knead the dough: Keep the dough in the mixer and beat for an additional 5 full minutes, or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 5 full minutes. (If you’re new to bread-baking, my How to Knead Dough video tutorial can help here.) If the dough becomes too sticky during the kneading process, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of flour at a time on the dough or on the work surface/in the bowl to make a soft, slightly tacky dough. Do not add more flour than you need because you do not want a dry dough. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger—if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise. You can also do a “windowpane test” to see if your dough has been kneaded long enough: tear off a small (roughly golfball-size) piece of dough and gently stretch it out until it’s thin enough for light to pass through it. Hold it up to a window or light. Does light pass through the stretched dough without the dough tearing first? If so, your dough has been kneaded long enough and is ready to rise. If not, keep kneading until it passes the windowpane test.
Let the dough rise: Lightly grease a large bowl with a teaspoon of oil or some nonstick spray—just use the same bowl you used for the dough. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 2–3 hours or until double in size. (Tip: For the warm environment on a particularly cold day, heat your oven to 150°F (66°C). Turn the oven off, place the dough inside, and keep the door slightly ajar. This will be a warm environment for your dough to rise. After about 30 minutes, close the oven door to trap the air inside with the rising dough. When it’s doubled in size, remove from the oven.)
Prepare the pan: Generously grease a 12×17-inch baking pan (with at least 1-inch-tall sides) with 2 Tablespoons of olive oil. This is the base layer of the bread, so be generous with the oil. A pastry brush is helpful to spread it.
Flatten the dough: When the dough is ready, punch it down to release any air bubbles. Place on the oiled baking pan, then stretch and flatten the dough to fit the pan. Don’t tear the dough. If it’s shrinking (mine always does), cover it with a clean towel and let it rest for 5–10 minutes before continuing. This lets the gluten settle and it’s much easier to shape after that.
Let the dough rest: Cover the dough tightly and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours. The longer it rests, the better the flavor. I recommend at least 12 hours.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature as you preheat the oven and prepare the toppings. Keep it covered. It may rise a little during this time, but not much.
Preheat oven to 450°F. Allow it to heat for at least 10–15 minutes so every inch of the oven is very hot.
Prepare the toppings: Whisk the 3 remaining Tablespoons of olive oil with the minced garlic and herbs. Set aside.
Using your fingers, dimple the dough all over the surface. You can watch me do this in the video above. Drizzle on the olive oil topping and use your hands or a pastry brush to spread it all over the top. Add a little more olive oil if needed so the dough is completely covered. (This creates the crisp crust!) Sprinkle with a little coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Bake for 20–23 minutes or until lightly browned on top. If desired, broil on high for the last minute to really brown the top.
Cut and serve hot or let it come to room temperature before slicing and serving. Focaccia tastes wonderful warm or at room temperature. Cover leftover focaccia tightly and store at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for 1 week. You can also freeze the baked and cooled focaccia for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature. To reheat the slices, you can use the microwave or bake in a 300°F oven for 5 minutes.
Original recipe appeared on sallysbakingaddiction.com.
