Orange-Infused Cake with Candied Oranges

I've been meaning to blog about this cake for quite a while, but, as a lot of good food, it seems that as soon as it comes out of the oven it's off to a friend's house or half finished before I have time to take my camera equipment out. I love this cake because it really does bring out the intense taste of oranges, inside and out. The secret to this cake is to pour an orange juice based syrup on the cake just as it comes out of the oven, so that the orange juice can make its way through the just-baked cake batter and infuse every inch of the cake with delicious, sweet, orangey goodness.

Making candied oranges is optional here but it's really a nice touch to finish off the cake. I would suggest trying to make them if you never have, because the results always look impressive and they're such a nice treat to have around the house. You can also use leftover slices and dip them in melted chocolate which really brings them over the top! They're easy to put together (although a little time consuming)and they really taste amazing. You can apply this method to all citrus - the key being to simmer the fruit slices in water 3 different times, discarding the water after each use. Citrus rind, because of its bitterness, needs to be boiled in this way in order for the end result to be nothing else but candied deliciousness!

Orange-Infused Cake with Candied Oranges
Serves 6-8 people

4 eggs
180 grams of butter at room temperature
150 grams of sugar
200 grams of all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
A pinch of salt
Juice and zest of 1 orange
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Glaze
50 grams of confectioner's sugar
1 orange, juice and zest

Preheat your oven to 350F.
In a medium-sized bowl, add the egg yolks reserving the whites in a separate bowl. Add the sugar to the yolks and mix until homogeneous. Add the room temperature butter and beat using a mixer until creamy (about 3 minutes). Add the orange juice, zest and the vanilla extract and mix until just combined. Add the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix until the mixture is homogeneous.

Beat the egg whites (with a pinch of salt) to hard peaks. Gently fold the egg whites into the flour mixture into the mixture is just combined. Pour the batter in a cake mold and bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

While the cake is baking, make the glaze. In a small bowl, whisk the confectioner's sugar, orange juice and zest making sure there is are no lumps.

Once the cake is cooked, let cool for a couple minutes and un-mold on a cooling rack. Place an sheet of aluminum foil underneath the cooking rack. Using a spoon, pour the glaze over the cake, making sure to cover every surface of the cake. Fold the foil to recuperate the glaze the poured off of the cake and re-pour it on the cake. Adorn with the candied oranges and serve.

Candied Oranges
3 oranges
1 1/2 cups of sugar

Thinly slice the oranges. Fill a medium-sized pot with water. Once the water reaches a simmer, carefully add the orange slices. Blanch the orange slices for about 5 minutes, discard the water and blanch them again with a new pot of water. Repeat the process 3 times. Re-Fill the pot with 1 1/2 cups of water and 1 1/2 cups of sugar and place on medium heat. Once the sugar has completely dissolved into the water, add the orange slices and leave them to simmer in the syrup for 45 minutes. Using a flat spatula, turn the oranges a couple times during that time. Gently remove the oranges from the pot and place them on a wax paper lined cookie-sheet to dry out.