Bolo de Laranja

Portuguese people love to have their cake... well… all day. Especially if it is this one with oranges as they fall off the trees like leaves in the fall. It was my first time in the winery and guest house Quinta Nova(a place where everyone should stay) when I fell in love with this cake; I begged for the recipe the second time we visited. I had it whenever possible – breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner – as the mesmerizing aroma of the orange and the moist texture was something I could not resist. 

This recipe has been resting in my computer for a while until the day I made a very special Portuguese dinner, and my guests loved it and begged me to publish it. It took me three months to do it, but better late than never. 

Ingredients

200 g butter, room temperature
4 large eggs, yolks and whites separated
250 g golden caster sugar
250 g all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 zest of an organic orange, grated
60 ml freshly squeezed orange juice (only fresh)

glaze:
250 g golden caster sugar
80 ml freshly squeezed orange juice (only fresh)

Prepare

Heat the oven to 160°C. Line a 23 cm round cake pan (with removable sides).

Whisk the butter, egg yolks, and sugar with a balloon whisk around 4–5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add the flour, salt, and baking powder. Mix in. Add the juice and zest and mix in again (do not beat like crazy; fold in as lightly as possible). 

Whisk the egg whites until they are airy but not too dry. Fold into the egg yolk batter gently. 

Place into the oven one level below center and bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Remove the cake and immediately pour over the glaze, letting it soak in. 

Glaze. Place sugar and juice into a sauce pan and heat, mixing until the sugar has dissolved. 

Recipe I learned from Luisa Amorim, while staying at Quinta Nova winery (with my changes from white sugar to golden caster)

Recipe and pictures: Signe Meirane
Camera: Sony Alpha 7s