Blood Orange Almond Paste Cake

This post is sponsored by Wilfa

Is it weird that I have a favourite cake texture? I’ll let you decide but I’m guessing its not quite normal. Weird or not, the fact is I do have an ideal cake texture and todays recipe is a perfect example, a cake that I am completely in love with. The texture is found most commonly in pound cakes and loaf cakes, it's a dense and buttery texture, almost velvet-like in its tenderness. It’s the type of cake that sits on your counter and demands you take a little nibble every time you walk past it, a cake that needs sharing before you ‘accidentally’ eat 3 slices in 1 day.

This particular cake, made with the secret ingredient almond paste, is an adaption of a recipe from Elisabeth Prueitt of Tartine Bakery fame, itself an adaption of a recipe from the legendary baker Flo Braker. I’ve made many versions of this cake over the years, but always with an element of citrus to brighten and balance the sweetness in the recipe. Todays version is made with early season blood oranges, but if you cant get your hands on those, it’s also great with regular oranges or, more traditional, with lemons. If you have made a version of this recipe before and you’re in the US you may notice the ratio of eggs is different from the original recipe and this is simply to reflect UK egg sizes (UK size large is a US size extra-large).

Another reason I love this cake is that is baked in a pullman loaf pan. If you’re subscribed to Second Helpings, you’ll know that a pullman loaf pan produces loaves that are perfectly square, like this weeks post for Shokupan. I cant help but love the clean sharp edges it gives to the cake, giving it a very ‘bakery style’ look. If you are in the market for pullman loaf pans, I get mine from Rackmaster (if you want the lid for making square loaves of bread they can be purchased separately).

Making this cake normally requires a stand mixer, the almond paste needs breaking down with the sugar to create a breadcrumb like texture and this takes quite a bit of power, not something many hand mixers could handle. Thankfully I used my Wilfa Smooth Mix Hand Mixer which has a powerful 500W motor that is more than up to the task at hand. If you are in the market for a hand mixer, or you’re looking for the ideal gift for someone new to baking, I can wholeheartedly recommend this mixer. It has a 5-speed action with a useful boost function as well, comes with both whisk and dough hook attachments, and also just look really smart. One of the reasons I agreed to be Wilfa’s ambassador was that I was really taken with how well built and how powerful their equipment is, and that of course stands true for the hand mixer.

For 20% off Wilfa products use my code THEBOYWHOBAKES at checkout.

Blood Orange Almond Paste Loaf Cake
Serves 10

Almond Paste Cake
120g plain flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
250g almond paste (see note)
250g caster sugar
Zest of 3 blood oranges
280g unsalted butter, room temperature
5 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
A couple drops almond extract

Blood Orange Juice
100ml blood orange juice
100g caster sugar

Blood Orange Glaze
200g icing sugar
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
A couple drops almond extract
Pinch of salt
1 blood orange

Note: this recipe uses almond paste, not marzipan. The one I use is 50% almonds (marzipan tends to have a much lower almond content) and can be bought from Ocado and either online or in-store from ScandiKitchen in central London, among other places. It is a brilliant ingredient and well worth tracking down for the occasions you want to make a version of this cake.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC (160ºC Fan) and lightly grease a 9x4x4 pullman loaf pan and line with a piece of parchment that overhangs the long sides of the pan, securing in place with metal binder clips.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Add the almond paste, in small chunks, to a large bowl along with the sugar and orange zest. Using the Wilfa Smooth Mix Hand Mixer mix together until the almond paste is broken down into a fine breadcrumb like mixture. If the almond paste remains in large chunks the final cake batter will have lumps. Add the butter and and continue to beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until fully combined before adding another. Add the vanilla and almond extract and mix briefly to distribute. Add the flour mixture and mix briefly just until a smooth cake batter is formed.

Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread into an even layer. Bake in the preheated oven for about 70 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. While the cake is baking make the simple syrup. Place the orange juice and sugar into a small saucepan and bring just to a simmer to dissolve the sugar.

Once the cake is baked, allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes before carefully turning out onto a wire rack. Brush the top and sides of the cake with the syrup and allow the cake to fully cool before glazing.

To make the glaze whisk together all the ingredients with just enough blood orange juice to make a thick but pourable glaze. Pour the glaze over the top of the cake, teasing it over the sides of the cake so it drips down the sides.

Kept covered the cake will keep for 3-4 days.

Mince Pies

It is finally December so I am letting the grinch have his happy ending and slowly getting into the festive spirit. I have been working on Christmas for probably half of this year, imagine pretending it is Christmas for photoshoots in the middle of summer, or writing recipes for Christmas leftovers when everyone else is sunning themselves on a beach somewhere. To some people that sounds like heaven but I like to keep the holidays special, celebrating Christmas even a day before December the 1st just seems wrong. This recipe might seem familiar to some of you, those who have been reading The Boy Who Bakes for years, because I first posted it way back in 2011, unfortunately when I moved my site over to the new design my hosting company deleted my entire blog and with it all the recipes So to make friends and influence people, here is that recipe.

No apologies but this recipe is not the most classic version mince pie, actually its basically the gilded lily of mince pies. Traditionally made with a simple shortcrust pastry I use a sweet pastry, rich with vanilla beans, and as buttery as can be. The filling might be a traditional mincemeat but lurking underneath that dried fruit is a little nugget of almond paste, which just makes a rich tart that bit richer, and trust me it’s delicious! My family have been making a version of these pies for years, since I was little, and in my eyes they're hard to beat. 

If you want to make a big batch of these, the great news is that they freeze wonderfully. Simply bake and cool fully before freezing on a parchment lined tray until solid, then bagging or boxing up (done this way they shouldn't freeze together as a block). Made at the start of the month you can have warm mince pies whenever you want through the christmas season.

Mince Pies
Makes 15-20

Filling
600g Mincemeat, shop bought or homemade
200g marzipan or almond paste, shop bought or homemade
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Sweet Pastry
1 vanilla pod
400g plain flour
35g ground almonds
75g icing sugar
pinch of salt
250g unsalted butter, diced and chilled
2 large egg yolks
approx. 1 tbsp ice cold water

To make the pastry cut the vanilla pod in half through the middle and scrape out the seeds. Add to the bowl of a food processor along with the flour, almonds, icing sugar and salt. Pulse a handful of times until everything is mixed evenly. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolks and the water and pulse briefly just to distribute, but stopping well before the dough comes together as a ball (the finished texture should be crumbly). Tip the dough out onto the work surface and use your hands to bring together into a uniform dough. Divide the dough into two batches, flatten into discs and wrap in clingfilm, refrigerating for at least an hour or until firm. 

Roll out a piece of the dough on a lightly floured worksurface, rolling to about 3mm thick. Use an 8cm round cookie cutter to cut out as many discs as you can, setting the trimmings aside. Use the pastry discs to carefully line the holes of two 12xhole bun trays. Repeat with the second piece of dough, cutting out 6cm lids. Briefly knead the scraps of dough back together and re-roll cutting out extra discs for more pies. Take the almond paste and roll into small balls, pressing into flat discs and pacing into the base of each pie. Fill each pie level with mincemeat, don't overfill as the pies have a tendency to leak and glue themselves to the tins if you do. Dip your finger in the egg and run around the edge of each mince pie and top with a lid, pressing gently together to seal. Use a knife or a fork to press a couple holes into the lids and finally brush the lids with the remaining egg. Chill the pies for 20-30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan). Once the pies are chilled bake for 25-30 minutes or until the pastry is a golden brown. Allow to cool in the trays for 10 minutes before carefully lifting out and setting onto a wire rack to cool completely. 

Kept in a sealed container these will keep for a week.

Notes: 
You can use homemade mincemeat if you like or even just improve a shop bought version. I like to add some diced stem ginger to shop bought mince meat just to make it a little extra special. 

This recipes use a traditional shallow bun tin, if you use a muffin tin your pastry bases will need to be a little bigger so you will make less, around 15.