Orange tout simplement – Gâteau à l’orange aux graines de pavot, oranges confites et eau de fleur d’oranger

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Some days you just feel like a particular item no matter what…after a migraine from hell I had yesterday (seriously the worse migraine I had in my whole life), I was thinking to go to the Emergency room so that I could function. It’s over now but I still feel dizzy from yesterday’s nightmare, I am still in the mood for making/baking whatever …”ing” something.

I have no idea why but I woke up with  an orange craving, a migraine  along with a pregnant woman symptoms is not really the best scenario. Anyway, I was supposed to go to a wedding reception and since I am still struggling with the leftover migraine of yesterday, I decided to stay home and rest and play with oranges.

My mom makes this cake but instead of poppy seeds she uses chocolate chips, and it’s really a splendid cake, the chocolate and the orange are a perfect match. Since I had no chocolate chips, and a huge container of poppy seeds, I thought that would work as well…and it did. The cake ended up very light and fluffy. Actually, I was quite happy the way it turned out, and about my humble baking abilities, since I did not put too much thought into it, and that I am not a sweet tooth type of a person, besides everyone who ate it, loved it. I guess sometimes, the public is your best judge.

I am trying to figure out if I should measure in metric system then convert into imperial or vice versa. I really hate the imperial system of ounces and pounds. I still cannot figure it out and I think never will. So for this cake, I used the cups and converted into grams but I think it’s not really accurate in metrics. My scale just died so I used my cup measurer and not certain it’s that accurate, but the cake turned out great. My next purchase will be a new scale…and that will be today.

Ingredients for 6-8 people

  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 (64 g) cup granulated sugar
  • 1/3 (or 40 g) cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup (or about 130 g) white flour
  • 1/3 (or 40 g) cup almond meal
  • 2 tbs poppy seeds
  • 3 tbs heavy cream
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • Zest and juice of 1 orange
  • 1 whole orange
  • 2 tbs honey
  • 1 1/2 tbs orange blossom water
  • 1 tsp orange peel powder (optional)
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda

Preparation

In a container mix eggs and sugars, add heavy cream and oil. Mix well. Add orange juice, orange zest, orange peel powder and orange blossom water. Add almond meal, flour and poppy seeds. Mix to obtain a nice and smooth batter. Add baking soda and baking powder. Mix again. Bake in a non-stick pan in a pre-heated oven at 375F for about 30-40 minutes.

For the candied orange, slice an orange crosswise in thin slices. Bring water to a boil, and add orange slices for 3 minutes. Drain them. In a non stick pan add 2 tbs honey and cook orange slices in honey for a few minutes. Then remove and place in a 375F oven until they’re become dry, about 30 minutes.

Sprinkle cake with powdered sugar and place candied oranges on top.