Citrus Cake 

Its the week of valentines and we are in prime citrus season. This combination is the perfect opportunity to make something sweet and pink. It is gloomy and wet and icy and cold out but making this cake with my friend Michelle was a joy and brightened things up! This recipe is not from scratch- we used a box mix for the base but brightened things up with almond, citrus, whipped cream, and the most perfect blood orange pink glaze. 

Ingredients

1 white cake mix (make as directed but sub butter for the vegetable oil)

2 tbsp almond extract

3 tbsp melted butter

4 tbsp sugar

1 orange (cara cara is my favorite but navel will work too)

1 blood orange

1/2 grapefruit 

1 cup powder sugar 

1/2 pint heavy whipping cream 

2 tbsp sugar (for whipped cream)

Preheat oven to 350 and grease bundt pan

Make cake mix as directed on box. Or use your favorite white cake recipe. I am not great at the precision needed for baking, I am too much of a feeler when it comes to cooking, so I rely on a cake mix to make sure I don't go too off base. I do however sub butter for the vegetable oil. Add almond extract to the batter and blend well. 

On the stovetop melt 3 tbsp of butter and stir in sugar. Pour this mixture into the bottom of your bundt pan. Slice some of your citrus and trim the rind off. I used 3 slices of blood orange, 2 slices of cara cara orange, and 2 slices of grapefruit; saving the rest of the citrus to juice for the glaze. Arrange the slices on top of the butter sugar mixture so they are touching but not overlapping. Top with cake batter. Bake for 33-36 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean and then set in fridge to cool. 

Bake for 33-36 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean and then set in fridge to cool. 

While the cake is baking use the time to make the blood orange icing and the whipped cream. Juice the remaining blood orange- hopefully you will get about a cup out of it. If it is short feel free to add the juice from the other orange. Whisk juice and powder sugar together until it is clump free and a beautiful pink. You want it to be runny enough that it drips from a spoon but thick enough to not soak in or immediately run off. Add powder sugar or more orange juice to get it to the right consistency. The whip cream just requires you to use a stand mixer or hand mixer and combine heavy whipping cream with 2 tbsp of sugar until it has stiff peaks. 

Once the cake is cooled flip it onto a cake plate. The upside down citrus with its bright oranges and reds and pinks kills me. Drizzle your icing over the cake. 

This pink icing is perfect and needs to go on everything and the shape of the bundt cake with all its curves and angles holds it so nicely. 

Fill the middle of the cake with a big spoonful of whipped cream and reserve some for serving. Michelle and I drizzled more icing on the plate, gave an extra dollop of whipped cream, and used our other grapefruit half to make some gin and grapefruit cocktails. Enjoy this bright and lovely cake with someone you love!