Ingredients
- 1/2 cup(s) honey
- 1/4 cup(s) mild-flavored extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature, separated
- 2 tablespoon(s) freshly grated orange or lemon zest
- 1/3 cup(s) fresh orange or Meyer lemon juice
- 5 tablespoon(s) chopped crystallized ginger, divided
- 1 cup(s) whole-wheat pastry flour
- 2/3 cup(s) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon(s) baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
- 2 teaspoon(s) confectioner's sugar
- Spiced Orange Compote (recipe follows)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Oil an 8-inch round cake
pan (see Variation), line with parchment paper
- Stir together honey, oil, egg yolks, zest, juice and 3 tablespoons crystallized ginger in a medium bowl. Sift whole-wheat pastry flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Beat egg whites with an electric mixer on high in another medium bowl until soft peaks form, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Stir the honey mixture into the flour mixture with a wooden spoon. Gently fold in the egg whites with a rubber spatula until they are well combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake
- Just before serving, sift sugar evenly over the top of the cake and garnish with the remaining 2 tablespoons ginger. Serve with Spiced Orange Compote on the side. Variation: You can use a 9-inch cake pan for this recipe, but you will get a thinner cake. Reduce the baking time to 25 to 30 minutes. You can find 8-inch cake pans at well-stocked kitchenware stores or online at surlatable.com.
- To bring an egg to room temperature, either set it out on the counter for 15 minutes or submerge it (in the shell) in a bowl of lukewarm (not hot) water for 5 minutes.
Ingredients
- 8 small oranges, preferably seedless
- 2 cup(s) water
- 5 tablespoon(s) sugar
- 1 vanilla bean
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 whole cloves
- 1 star anise
Directions
- Use a 5-hole zester to remove zest from oranges into long, thin, spindly strips (see Variation). Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the zest to the boiling water and cook for 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon to a small strainer (reserve the cooking liquid). Rinse with cold water; separate and drain on a paper towel.
- Stir sugar into the reserved cooking liquid; bring to a simmer. Cut vanilla bean in half lengthwise; scrape the seeds into the sugar water and add the pod along with cinnamon stick, cloves and star anise. Continue to simmer until the sauce reduces to 1/2 cup and thickens slightly, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from the heat.
- Meanwhile, slice off an end of each orange so they stand upright steadily. In careful sculpting slices, remove all the remaining peel and white pith from the oranges with a very sharp knife. Slice the peeled oranges into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Remove any extraneous pith or rind and any stray seeds.
- Discard the vanilla pod and whole spices. Stir the zest into the sauce. Layer the orange slices in a serving bowl, spooning the sauce between layers to distribute the zest evenly throughout. Variation: If you don’t have a 5-hole zester, use a vegetable peeler to remove long strips of the outer skin (zest) of the orange. Cut the zest into thin slivers.
