TANGERINE CAKE

Leia em PORTUGUÊS

Since the December Daring Baker's Challenge, Christmas Stollen, I've been trying to learn how to make Candied Orange Peel. Most of the recipes have a final step of leaving the peels to dry at room temperature for long hours. I was in Brazil at the time and it was a steaming hot summer there. In Brazil it is very common to have little ants around your kitchen, it doesn't matter if you live on the ground floor or on the 22nd floor (like I do). You cannot leave ANYTHING unattended for longer than... let's say... 10 minutes(???) Specially if there is sugar involved (and don't be surprised if you find them in a bowl of salt, or making a crowd around a piece of roast chicken... sigh...). So I had to look for a recipe that didn't have this step, and I found it at Coisinhas da Bárbara. I followed the easy steps and came out with a very nice result, not as nice as hers, but it was perfect for my Stollen. The recipe yielded much more than I needed so I would munch on them every once in a while. I noticed that they were a little too bitter still, and also there was too much sugar around it, so the only things that I would change in this recipe are:

• reduce the sugar a little 
• repeat the blanching process a couple more times.

Yesterday, I tried to do this again, this time with tangerines (or mandarins, or clementines... I still have to research on the different types), and it just didn't come out as expected. I blanched them 3 times and then added them to the sugar syrup, but they just didn't dry out, they became a sticky mess :o( Nevertheless, my husband tried it and thought it was quite tasty and suggested a tangerine cake to use it. Ok, I used the candied peel in the batter and thinly chopped them for the frosting. I have to say that this cake came out so good! It filled the house with tangerine smell and the taste was just amazing!! I don't think it would be different if using successfully made orange or tangerine peel ;o)

TANGERINE CAKE

1 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

a pinch of salt

1 egg

1/4 cup vegetable oil (I used grapeseed oil)

90 g plain yogurt

1/3 cup tangerine juice

1/4 cup candied tangerine  peel

For the icing:

2/3 cup icing sugar

a few tsp tangerine juice (strained)

1 or 2 tbsp candied tangerine peel, finely chopped

• Preheat the oven at 190°C (375°F)
• Mix egg, oil,yogurt, juice and candied peel in a blender until the candied peel has been cut into tiny pieces. Set aside.
• In a bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
• Add the mixture from the blender and whisk until well incorporated.
• Transfer to a small, greased and dusted baking pan.
• Bake at 190°C (375°F) for around 35 minutes or until golden brown. Test for readiness inserting a toothpick or a skewer, if it comes out clean, it's ready.
• While the cake is baking, prepare the frosting.
• Put the sugar in a small bowl and slowly add tangerine juice, mixing until a paste forms. Add the tangerine peel, very finely chopped.
• When the cake is ready, turn it over a cooling rack and spread the icing while it is still hot.