Blood Orange and Olive Oil Upside-Down Cake

If there’s any dessert I’ve wanted to get right from Dessert Person, it’s the Blood Orange and Olive Oil Upside Down Cake—it’s the cover of the book! And getting it right took two attempts.

I decided it was a good time to try this recipe since blood oranges are in season. This was the first time I’ve ever tried blood oranges, and they’re my new favorite! Not only is their crimson color gorgeous, but blood oranges are less sour than other oranges. Other ingredients that were new to my kitchen included the semolina flour and Grand Marnier. I was not able to get orange blossom water so I used vanilla extract instead. The semolina flour is more mealy than other flours I’ve used so far, which makes sense since it is used for making pasta. It somewhat reminded me of cornmeal. My husband helped me find the Grand Marnier at the liquor store; it’s the most beautiful bottle I’ve ever seen!

My first challenge happened when I was placing the oranges in the springform pan. I cut the oranges as thin as possible, but that is easier said than done. I recommend getting some extra oranges in case you realize you didn’t cut them thin enough. Before placing the oranges, I decided to coat the bottom of the pan with butter, and then place the parchment paper in the pan. I was noticing the parchment was not sitting as tightly in the pan with just olive oil. I saved all my leftover orange slices to juice like Claire directed, and when I made my sugar mixture with it, it was equal in quantity to the pictures in Dessert Person (page 68). I placed the oranges in after that, and all seemed fine in the world.

As for the batter, this was the first time I ever made an olive oil cake. I’ve had olive oil cake once before; if you aren’t used to the taste, it may surprise you the first time. Compared to a typical birthday cake, the savory oil taste comes through before any sugar flavor. In order to get the right consistency with the batter, I had to look up the beginning section of Dessert Person on how to get the “ribbony” texture with the eggs and sugar. I’ve done this before, but simply didn’t realize this is when the batter sort of rolls off the whisk in a single line. After that I gradually added in the oil and watched how the mixture evolved into a cake batter form.

I took the cake out of the oven after 42 minutes, and it was the moment of truth. I let the cake cool for the suggested 15 minutes, flipped it on to the wire rack, and…the batter cooked over the oranges! This was a very strange outcome; I didn’t expect the oil batter to sink through the juicy orange slices. I did my best to scrape the batter off the tops of the oranges, but it just didn’t look like the cover of Dessert Person. I mean, don’t get me wrong, is my cake going to look as stunning as the version made for the cover of a book?! Probably not, but I couldn’t help wondering what went wrong. I tried researching online, but didn’t find any answers. This seemed like a very unusual situation. So, what did I do? I gave it the old college try…again!

After looking at other upside-down cakes online, I wanted to see if the amount of orange juice and sugar at the bottom of the pan made a difference. That was the only thing I felt could block the batter from seeping around the oranges. Rather than 1/3 cup of sugar and two tablespoons of juiced oranges, I mixed about half a cup of orange juice with about a cup of sugar. It definitely made my orange design even out amongst the juice, but it also started leaking a little through the springform pan. I placed the pan on a plate as I made the batter.

When it came time to release the cake from the pan after baking, it came out very easy. And overall, it looked better than the first time! I cooked it a little longer this time, and I think that also may have helped. There was a small amount of batter that baked through, but it was much easier to scrape off without ruining the appearance.

I tried this cake the next day so it had some time to sit and improve its flavor. It was very similar to the olive oil cake I had remembered; it reaches a middle ground between savory and sweet. And let’s be honest; adding extra sugar to the orange mixture pleased my sweet tooth. I think this is a great recipe for all bakers who are serious about learning different variations of cake. It’s truly fascinating how many ways you can create one beloved dessert!

I’m sure Claire will eventually show us how she makes the cover photo of Dessert Person, I’ll post the video when it’s released!