Author Notes
I love thinking "out of the box" and enjoyed adapting a favorite Meyer lemon cake recipe (that was originally inspired by Molly Wizenberg of the blog Orangette) to feature blood oranges instead. As for the ice cream, it was inspired by some of the more esoteric flavors in David Lebovitz' Perfect Scoop...I've used fresh mint and the flavor is pretty subtle; if you are looking for a really minty flavor for the ice cream, you'll probably want to add a drop or two of mint extract. If you are not planning to serve the cake with the ice cream, you might want to ice it- allow it to cool for 30 minutes or so after you add the syrup and then whisk 1 cup powdered sugar together with 3 tablespoons of blood orange juice. Using a offset spatula (or a spoon), cover the top of the cake with the icing. You can serve the cake immediately, or wait 45 minutes to 1 hour and the icing will harden. —WinnieAb
Test Kitchen Notes
So good. Easy to follow recipe. Highly recommended. With just two bowls and a whisk, this cake comes together in a snap, and is oven-ready in less than 10 minutes. The cooled, glazed cake is delicate and moist, with a perfect crumb, and the sweet tart of the blood orange syrup is a perfect pair to the warm spice of cardamom. In Step 1 of the Ice Cream portion of the recipe, do not be alarmed if the heavy cream, milk, and feta whips into thick, fluffy clouds in the blender -- they fold in very nicely with the minty custard later. The ice cream tastes like the smell of a freshly picked bouquet of mint (mild and grassy, not sharp and cool), and has a nice cheesecake-like texture and finish. - Jennifer Ann —The Editors
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Ingredients
- Blood Orange Cardamom Cake
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1 1/2 cups
all purpose unbleached flour
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2 teaspoons
baking powder
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1 1/2 teaspoons
ground cardamom
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pinch of sea salt
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2 teaspoons
minced blood orange zest
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1/2 cup
plain whole milk yogurt
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1 cup
sugar
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3
large eggs
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1/2 cup
fruity olive oil
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juice from 1 blood orange
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1/4 cup
powdered sugar (for the syrup)
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1/4 cup
blood orange juice (for the syrup)
- Mint Feta Ice Cream
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1/2 cup
feta cheese
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1/2 cup
whole milk
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1/2 cup
heavy cream
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1 1/2 cups
half and half
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2/3 cup
sugar
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2 cups
packed fresh mint leaves
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4
egg yolks
Directions
- Blood Orange Cardamom Cake
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Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 inch springform pan with olive oil, and flour the bottom of the pan.
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In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, ground cardamom, and salt. Add the orange zest and mix well.
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In a large bowl, combine the yogurt, sugar, eggs, olive oil, and orange juice. Whisk well to combine. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and whisk again to combine.
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Pour into the prepared pan and bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. I suggest you start checking after 25 minutes: you do not want to overbake it.
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Cool the cake for 15 minutes and then remove the sides of the pan. Place the cake (which is still attached the bottom of the springform) on a large plate, prick the cake all over with a fork, whisk the syrup ingredients together, and then drizzle the syrup all over the cake. The syrup will seep into all those fork holes you just made, and this is a very good thing. Allow to cool before serving with the ice cream.
- Mint Feta Ice Cream
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Process the feta cheese, whole milk, and cream in a blender until smooth. Set aside.
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Heat the half and half and the sugar in a medium pot on the stove. Remove from the heat before it comes to a boil, add the mint leaves, and cover. Allow the mint to infuse for about 1 hour.
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Pour the infused liquid through a strainer into a bowl, squeezing out the mint leaves to extract all of their flavor. Compost or discard the mint. Reheat the minty milk mixture over medium heat to just before boiling, and then set it aside.
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Beat the egg yolks with a wire whisk.
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Slowly pour the warmed milk mixture into the egg yolks; whisk constantly while you do this so that the egg yolks don’t cook.
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Pour the warmed egg milk mixture back into a saucepan. Stir constantly over medium heat, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the custard thickens and coats the back of a spoon.
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Remove from the heat immediately and pour the custard through the strainer. Add the blended feta mixture and stir to combine.
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Chill the custard completely in the refrigerator and then proceed to make ice cream according to your manufacturer’s instructions.
I grew up in a restaurant family (my parents owned the now closed Quilted Giraffe in NYC) and I've always loved to cook.
My interest in the connection between food and health led me to pursue a graduate degree in naturopathic medicine. I don't practice medicine anymore; I have a blog called Healthy Green Kitchen that I started in May of 2009 and I wrote a book called One Simple Change that will be published in January, 2014.
I live in upstate New York with my family and many pets.
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