Provence Summer Orange Cake

Summer is here and our orange tree in the back garden is bursting with oranges! Other than eating them fresh off the tree and giving bags away to friends and neighbors, making a cake like one I had in France is a great way to relish the sweet taste of summer oranges. This is one of our favorite cakes, and today I'm sharing the recipe for our Provence Summer Orange Cake. We have just one tree in the back garden, but it produces masses of oranges twice a year. From spring into summer, and {the best crop!} in December. We use a long "orange picker" to pluck the oranges out of the tree. I put my harvest in a large dairy bowl from Provence, or an antique metal French basket, like the one below so I can carry them all at once to the kitchen. Mr. FGH seems to want to carry his oranges in groups of four to the kitchen. Which is probably why he is thinner than I am, I go for the easy and less walking back and forth way! This Provence Summer Orange Cake is delicious! It's moist, loaded with orange flavor, has little bits of orange peel here and there, and is not too sweet. It's great for a brunch, with a glass of lemonade, or tea or coffee. Let's face it, a nice slice of cake is pretty much good any and every time! I adapted this recipe a little from the original because I am allergic to wheat flour, but in France they make it with regular flour. You will use a mixer and a food processor to make this cake.

Provence Summer Orange Cake

INGREDIENTS Cooking oil spray {I actually use olive oil spray in a pump} 1 cup butter, unsalted, softened 1-1/4 cups sugar {I use unbleached sugar, but regular sugar is what the original recipe calls for.} 3 large eggs - organic preferred 1 lb. of oranges - which in our case means about 2 big oranges - washed well, ends cut off, then cut into chunks and seeded. The peel stays on. 2-1/2 cups flour {regular or "measure for measure" gluten free flour} 1/4 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp.baking soda 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1-1/2 cups powdered sugar 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon orange juice, a squirt of lemon juice DIRECTIONS 1.Preheat oven to 325f. Spray a bundt pan with the oil spray. 2. Mix in a large bowl butter and sugar until fluffy with a mixer. Add in eggs. 3. Whirl orange chunks in your food processor until smooth, but not a puree-liquid. Add 1-1/2 cups of this puree to the large bowl with butter, sugar and eggs and beat until blended. 4. Add flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder to this and beat until smooth. 5.Pour batter into your prepared pan. 6. Bake about 55 minutes, until a toothpick {I use a knife!} comes out of the center with just a few crumbs sticking to it. 7. Cool 10 minutes, invert cake and let it cool all the way. 8.In a small bowl, whisk the powdered sugar and orange juice and lemon juice together to make a glaze, drizzle over your cake. Let the glaze set. Slice and have a little bit of orange heaven! Take a minute to visit Menton in France in this blog post, it's world famous for citrus, both lemons and oranges! It's what inspired this cake.

ps. this is the last week of our SUMMER SALE >

What is your favorite summer cake? If you have a great one, we'd love to know!

A BIENTOT

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