My first encounter with a blood orange was entirely accidental. Its peel was orange-tinged without a hint of the vermillion hidden beneath. I sliced it in half, dispersing an oily spritz into the air, and studied the vivid juice that oozed out of the fruit. Red! Blood red!
Not all blood oranges take you by surprise. The Moro blood orange has skin flecked with crimson – a warning of its robustly coloured, berry-flavoured interior. Even within blood orange varieties, flesh ranges from a blushing ruby to an abyss of black and purple. A cake made with a couple of blood oranges promises a constellation of deep reds and flushed pinks.
While there are 3 main types of blood orange, the Tarocco is my favourite. Not only because of it’s unremarkable exterior (and the magnificent scarlet flesh hidden within), but because of its juice – sweet, saccharine glee.
But be warned, not all blood oranges are as luscious. The Moro ones can sometimes toe the line towards a grapefruit-like tartness. But since this cake is rather forgiving, any type of blood orange will work, no matter the sweetness. The sniff of thyme is totally optional, but it subdues the otherwise almost-cloying syrup-saturated fruit.
Blood oranges remind you of passion, of romance and of love – they require all of the above to develop their maroon tinge. In the day, they bathe under the Mediterranean or Italian sunshine (and perhaps rather unromantically – they are now also grown in California). But the cool autumn nights are crucial for the anthocyanins to work their pigment magic. The result? Endlessly beautiful, crimson-threaded segments. And as a bonus – all that good-for-you antioxidants.
Now back to this vegan polenta cake… it’s gluten free. I know – about time I have more gluten free recipes on the blog. The cornmeal that makes up the bulk of the batter lends a glorious goldenness to the cake. The perfect canvas for the multi-hued blood orange slices.
If you are unlucky enough to miss the fleeting season of the blood orange, as I nearly was – any other orange may do. Try several huge rounds of navel orange, slivers of peeled mandarin – or if you’re daring – discs of astringent, mouth-puckering grapefruit. Whatever citrus fruit you use, this vegan polenta cake is guaranteed to delight.
Cut yourself a wedge and scoop up whatever syrup that has slipped off and pooled on the serving platter. The cake is delicious as is, but I must urge you to try topping yours with lashings of chilled coconut cream.
It is a truly sumptuous springtime pudding.
- 2 blood oranges, sliced thinly (zest them before slicing, and use the zest as required)
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 2 tsp orange juice*
- ½ tsp orange zest
- ½ tsp thyme leaves, finely minced
- 1¼ cups fine cornmeal (180g) (also known as polenta)
- 3/4 cup plain flour (120g)**
- 3/4 cup white sugar (150g)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup full fat coconut milk
- ½ cup orange juice *
- ½ tsp orange zest
- Preheat heat the oven to 175°C. Grease and line an 8-inch cake pan with parchment along the base and sides.
- In a heavy-bottomed small pot, add the sugar, orange juice and zest and thyme. Stir until the sugar is dispersed, and bring to a simmer and cook for 3 more minutes. Strain out the thyme leaves through a strainer (optional - if you want a cleaner look). Spread the syrup-thyme mixture evenly over the bottom of the prepared pan and lay the blood orange slices over in a single layer.
- In a large bowl, sift in the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to mix and aerate the ingredients, then make a well in the centre of the dry mixture and pour in the coconut milk, juice, and zest. Stir to form a smooth, lump-free batter.
- Pour this batter into the pan, on top of the arranged orange slices.
- Bake the cake until a skewer stuck in the centre comes out clean, 45 to 45 minutes. Let it cool in the pan for 20 minutes before running a knife along the sides of the pan to loosen the cake. Flip it over onto a cake plate, and unmould it. Peel back the parchment to unveil your beautiful polenta cake.
** For GF, just use a GF all purpose flour blend, and add in an optional ½ tsp of xantham gum
If you, like me, love the challenge and surprise of upside-down cakes, try out my chai-spiced banana upside down cake.
I am ONLY nearly 3 years late to the party, but I guess it is a case of better late than never! I made this today and it is an excellent cake: highly recommended!
It is moist and airy (I used the baking powder generously), with a slightly sticky exterior. The bottom/top with orange slices is syrupy and delicious.
I omitted the thyme and avoided the half a cup of orange juice in the batter (acid impedes the full power of baking powder…. or something????) subbing with more milk. I used plain soy and it still worked wonderfully. Also, my two blood oranges could not stretch to sit at the bottom and also produce enough juice for that step, so maybe keep that in mind. However, I used more zest in the batter. My smaller orange slices floated to the middle of the cake, but the larger ones remained in place.
Very minor issues… GREAT cake: try it!
So glad you liked it! x