blood orange caramel sauce

honestly

i don't know how much more i can do

with these bloody oranges

i have

sugared and squeezed them

turned them into jam, jelly and marmalade

rendered them drunk with vodka

tossed them in salads

lifted the flavor of cakes

and 

eaten them out of hand

and now 

i have boiled them into a golden-sticky-sugary delight

so delicious

that i am going to crown myself

the caramel queen

of

orange grove

 blood orange caramel sauce

(printable recipe)

2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 cup blood orange juice

2 Tbs unsalted butter--room temperature

1 cup heavy cream--room temperature

place the sugar, salt and orange juice in a heavy bottomed saucepan over low heat.  bring to 275F for 3 full minutes.  quickly add the butter and cream.  be careful as it will boil up and spatter.  stir to combine and bring back to the heat.  cook to 225F while stirring constantly, letting it sit at that temperature for a full 3 minutes. remove from heat and allow to cool.  use while still slightly warm, or at room temperature. keep in refrigerator for approximately 3 weeks...if it lasts that long!

great over ice cream or in your morning tea

more recipes using blood oranges
arancello
sugared orange tea cake
sugared oranges

blood orange arancello

you'd think
that living in
near terminal sunshine
with
air naturally scented in citrus
would lead a gal
to
evenings on the porch stoop
knees touching elbows
slowly peeling an orange
while
wistfully remembering
her
 first
 love

but
i'm no rube
a blood orange tree
weeping under the weight of its fruit
is meant to be

arancello
which among other things
is
more lustful
than
wistful

arancello

made with blood oranges 

(can be made with any type of orange)

(printable recipe)

4-5 blood oranges--washed and dried

3-4 cardamom pods--crushed (optional)

4 cups grain alcohol (everclear) or vodka

3 cups water

3 cups sugar

1/2 cup blood orange juice-strained

3 Tbs honey

remove the peel from the oranges using a vegetable peeler. be careful to avoid any white pith.  place in a sterilized glass jar or crock.  add the cardamom pods, if using.  pour in the alcohol and cover tightly.

place in a cool dark cupboard for a minimum of 2 weeks and as long as a couple of months

juice the oranges and reserve 1/2 cup in a freezer safe container. freeze for use in the next step of the process.

after 2 weeks or longer, your mixture should look like this

strain to remove the peels and the cardamom seeds

pour liquid into a larger jar

stir together 3 cups of water, 3 cups of sugar, defrosted 1/2 cup orange juice and honey into a saucepan. heat over medium heat, stirring periodically, until the sugars are dissolved and liquid is clear. allow to cool then pour into the strained alcohol.  taste to make sure it is as sweet as you like. if you like a bit more sweetness, make a mixture of equal parts sugar and water and add until you get your desired taste.  cover jar and place in the cool dark cupboard for another 7-10 days.

you may also bottle it at this time and allow the bottles to sit for 7-10 days before using.  this is not critical...you can drink it now, it just gets better with age.  after the waiting period, store in the refrigerator or freezer and serve cold.

you may have seen this previously on 504Main--she featured my recipe in the month of April

sugared orange tea cake

hey

remember those oranges 

that i sugared

and canned?

(click here to get recipe)

remember

how i promised to make lots of good things with them

well

i don't break a promise

so here is my first creation

a

gorgeous and moist cake

perfect with a 

cup of tea

sugared orange tea cake

(printable recipe)

1c + 2Tbs unsalted butter--room temp

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

4 large eggs--room temperature

1 tsp vanilla

10-12 sugared oranges

orange syrup (from oranges)

whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and baking powder in a bowl.  in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy.  add the eggs one by one mixing thoroughly after each one, careful to clean the sides of the bowl as you go.  add the vanilla and beat once again.  make sure the batter is thoroughly whipped before stirring in the dry ingredients.  once you add the dry ingredients, be careful not to over mix.  pour into prepared cake pan (greased and floured). smooth the top and lay the oranges on top, overlapping a bit.  bake at 325 until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes.  after cake is removed from the oven, but not yet cooled, pour a bit of the orange syrup on top, allowing it to completely soak in before adding more.  do not add more than 1/3 of a cup.

*you can add a bit of grand marnier to the syrup if you like.  you can also make a nice icing of confectioner's sugar with the orange syrup and drizzle for a lovely presentation.

allow to cool completely before removing from cake tin.

i am linking this up to
tuesday night supper club
and
a little birdie told me

sugared oranges

a couple of weeks ago

my good friend julie

handed me

two grocery bags

stuffed full

of 

blood oranges

amazingly sweet

stunningly hued

orbs of delight

best part

they were all mine

for the past fortnight

i have been

concocting 

all sorts 

in my kitchen

first up

 sugared oranges

*to make approx 9 pint jars

(printable recipe)

blood oranges-or thin skinned oranges

(this recipe uses about 180-200 orange slices)

granulated sugar

ground ginger (optional)

6 cups granulated sugar

3 cups water

1 cup blood orange juice

2-1" knobs of fresh ginger

choose your oranges carefully.  make sure they have thin skin and that they are not so large that they will not fit into the jars you are going to preserve them in. slice the oranges in rings no thicker than 1/8" beginning at stem end.  arrange in a casserole dish in a single layer, slightly overlapping.  once you have your first layer, sprinkle sugar to lightly cover.  lightly sprinkle ground ginger on top as well (no more than 1/8 tsp per layer). continue with a second layer of oranges and repeat with the sugar and ginger. continue until you have reached your desired number of orange slices. remember to reduce the amount of syrup if you are reducing the number of oranges.

sugar and ginger the top layer of oranges, cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit for an hour at room temperature.  after 1 hour or up to 2 (if waiting longer than 2 hours, place in refrigerator) lightly pack your oranges into sterilized jars--each pint jar will hold approximately 20 pieces.

 make the syrup.  

place the sugar, water, blood orange juice and ginger in a saucepan over medium heat. add the leftover juices from your oranges as well.  bring to a boil and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved and the syrup appears clear.  remove from heat.  using a ladle, spoon the hot syrup over the oranges, making sure there are no gaps of air.  use a knife to maneuver the oranges so the syrup can seep through. leave a 1/4" gap at the top of the jar.

seal the jar and process in a water bath per standard canning methods. 

for tips on canning please click here

i processed my jars for 20 minutes at high altitude, but i cannot guarantee that this method will be appropriate for your batch.

And now for the big question

what would you use these for?

well,

coming soon is a

cake recipe using sugared oranges

but you can also use for

cocktail garnish-using the syrup in the beverage

dry them in a slow oven and dip in chocolate

top cupcakes and cheesecakes

sweeten your morning yogurt

garnish grilled chicken

be imaginative

the list is endless...