Blood Orange Upside Down Cake
Blood Orange Upside Down Cake
Recently while I was grocery shopping, in the produce department, I saw a huge white sign. Written in big, red-orange letters were the words:
BLOOD ORANGES, Get them before they’re Gone! Well, I marched right over to the big cardboard bin and I picked up two 5 lb bags of blood oranges before they were all gone. I also picked up five, 16 oz bags of cranberries, for $.99 a bag before they too were gone.
Now What?
Once I got home and unpacked my groceries, I said to myself, “Lynn, What in the heck are you going to do with all of these oranges!” “I mean, you can only eat just so many oranges, right?” I decided to put on my thinking cap, I thought and I thought. Finally, a light bulb went on in my head, “I’m going to make a Blood Orange Upside Down Cake,” I said out loud to myself.
Upside Down Cake
I am so glad I decided to make this delicious Blood Orange Upside Down Cake. This cake is light and fluffy, the oranges were nice and sweet and the dark brown sugar/butter topping had a nice caramel, buttery taste. I was super surprised at how tender and sweet the blood orange rind became. It was very similar to ‘candied’ orange rind sweet, tender and bursting with a refreshing, citrus flavor.
Boxed Mix
Blood Orange Upside Down Cake is perfect on a blistery, cold, winters day. Really any upside down cake is perfect on a blistery, cold winters day! I was going to make a ‘from scratch cake’ but many of the recipes I looked at called for cornmeal, which I didn’t have, some of the recipes called for buttermilk, didn’t have any of that either and a few of the recipes called for sour cream or yogurt, it was a ‘no’ to both. What I did have was a box of cake mix. I went with the boxed cake mix.
Blood Orange Upside Down Cake
Ingredients
- 1 15.25 oz box butter golden cake mix
- 3/4 cup blood orange juice
- 7 tablespoons softened butter
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon blood orange zest
- Upside Down Topping:
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons blood orange juice
- 1 teaspoon blood orange zest
- 2 to 3 thinly sliced blood oranges
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º F. for metal and glass pan(s) 325º F. for dark or coated pan(s).
- Making topping: Melt 1/4 cup butter in a 10-inch x 2-inch deep round baking pan. Remove pan from oven, sprinkle dark brown sugar over butter. Drizzle 2 tablespoons blood orange juice over brown sugar/ butter mixture. Lay blood orange slice on top of brown sugar/butter/ juice mixture. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon blood orange zest over blood orange slices, set aside.
- Make cake: blend cake mix, blood orange juice, softened butter and eggs in a large bowl at low speed until moistened, about 30 seconds.
- Beat at medium for 4 minutes. Stir in 1 teaspoon orange zest.
- Carefully pour the batter into prepared pan, over the orange slices.
- Evenly spread the batter over the top.
- Bake for 45 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let the cake rest for 5 minutes in the pan. Run a knife around the edges. Invert onto a cooling rack and tap lightly to release cake.
- Serve cake warm with whipped cream.
- Store cake in refrigerator.