Blood Orange Upside-Down Cake

A close up of the Cake

The cake with the dressed table

Recently my parents hosted their monthly neighborhood supper club. It was a cold  Saturday in February and while I was skating on Lake of the Isles, my parents were cooking up a storm. Part of that efforts included my dad's famous pork roast. My mom decided to make something new - which was a Blood Orange Upside-Down Cake. I tried it and it was mouth watering. What made this cake a hint better was a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It was a perfect winter dessert The blood oranges makes the cake have a tropical taste, which is a treat to have during a cold Minnesota winter. She found the recipe
as she discovered a  blog she had not read before. It is called The Bojon Gourmet. You should check it out and tell me what you think. I really like how she lays out the steps of her recipes in her amazing photographs. I am so excited to make more recipe's from this women's food blog.
In the winter time if you are missing the red hot summer sun, one idea is to just make this cake because when it is all done the top looks like that red hot summer sun.

The link to the blog is: http://www.bojongourmet.com
This link will bring you to the main page of the
blog

To see even more beautiful pictures of the cake
visit this link: http://www.bojongourmet.com/2012/02/blood-orange-upside-down-cake.html

Makes one 9" cake, 8-10 servings

The topping:
3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, in a few pieces
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) soft light-brown sugar
1 1/2 pounds blood oranges (about 5 medium)

The cake:
4 ounces (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
2/3 cup (5 1/4 ounces) granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated zest from 1-2 blood oranges or tangerines.
1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger root (from 3/4 ounce ginger, peeled)

2 eggs, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups (7 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (3 ounces) crème fraîche
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) blood orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Make the topping:
Position a rack in the center of your oven and preheat to 350º.

As the oven preheats, place the butter in a 9" round cake pan and put it in the oven to melt. Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the butter and return the pan to the oven for about 5 minutes until the sugar is moistened and distributed evenly over the bottom of the pan.

Meanwhile, use a sharp paring knife to slice the top and bottom from the blood oranges. Place a cut-side down, and, following the curve of the orange, cut away the peel and white pith. Cut the orange cross-wise into 3/8" rounds. Repeat with the remaining oranges. Reserve any juices to use in the cake (I like to squeeze the butts and peels to get every last bit of juice).

Lay the orange rounds over the buttery sugar in the pan in a single layer using the fattest pieces and starting with the outer ring, and filling in the center with the smaller pieces. Set aside while you make the cake batter.

Make the cake batter:
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, sugar, zest and ginger until fluffy and lightened in color, about 5 minutes on medium speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition until incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl.

In a measuring cup, stir together the crème fraîche, blood orange juice and vanilla extract.

With the mixer on low, add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, let stir to incorporate, then scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add half of the crème fraîche mixture, let incorporate, then scrape. Repeat, adding another 1/3 of the dries, half of the crème fraîche, and the rest of the dries. Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold the batter with a rubber spatula to make sure the batter is completely homogeneous.

Dollop the batter over the orange slices, which may have released some juices and that's a-ok, and spread it evenly.

Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35-45 minutes. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes. (If the cake cools too much, the orange goo may stick the pan; no worries, just return the cake to a hot oven for 5 minutes or so to re-melt it.)

Loosen the edges of the cake with a thin knife or offset spatula, invert a large plate over the top of the cake. Wearing oven mitts, grasp the cake and plate together and bravely flip them both over. Rap the plate on the counter a few times to dislodge, then remove the cake pan. Let cool to room temperature, about 1 hour – the cake is still baking from residual heat, so try to resist cutting into it too soon.

For the cleanest slices, use a serrated bread knife to gently saw through the orange slices, which can be a bit messy. Serve slices with extra crème fraîche, or crème anglaise (see headnote).

The cake is best served shortly after cooling, but will keep for up to 3 days at room temperature.