Blood Orange Poppyseed Loaf

I'm gonna enjoy the blood orange season for as long as it's here (which is not long, considering I live in Malaysia and we get it imported from the States - so it's really touch and go) so I hope you guys really don't mind that I'm posting yet another orange based recipe. I mean, come on, these things are bloody gorgeous! 

So what are blood oranges? As my mum and various aunts have asked (we really don't see them around these parts), I feel we could all use a trip to Wikipedia (one of my top 5 favourite places in the world):

The blood orange is a natural mutation of the orange, which is itself a hybrid, probably between the pomelo and the tangerine,^[4]Within Europe, the arancia rossa di Sicilia (red orange of Sicily) has Protected Geographical Status.^[5] In the Land of Valencia, it was introduced in the second half of the 19th century.^[6]

Also, it's not ALL aesthetics: 

Blood oranges have a unique flavor profile compared to other oranges, being distinctly raspberry-like in addition to the usual citrus notes.

Ah, the reason we don't see it around these equatorial parts:

Blood oranges may have originated in either China or the southern Mediterranean, where they have been grown since the 18th century. They are now the primary orange grown in Italy. The anthocyanins which give the orange its distinct maroon color will only develop when temperatures are low at night, as during the Mediterranean fall and winter.^[3] Blood oranges cultivated in the United States are in season from December to March (Texas), and from November to May (California).

Interesting.... well, maybe not to you, but I now have 7 other tabs open linked from that one Blood Orange wiki page. It's a slippery slope... could easily spend hours going down this wikipedia rabbit hole.

Okay, now that I have wasted enough of your (and my) time, here's the recipe for my new favourite thing. Also, let's be honest ... 

... you can totally do these with normal oranges. I have, and I will - when the season ends. But for now... let's just enjoy the colours. 

Blood Orange Poppyseed Loaf

Slightly adapted from The Whole Bite blog

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup natural yogurt
• 2 tsp blood orange zest
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp poppy seeds
• 1/3 cup fresh blood orange juice
• 1 tbsp confectioner's sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C and prepare a loaf tin by greasing and lining with non stick paper
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the yogurt, orange zest and sugar until combined, then add the eggs, vanilla and vegetable oil and beat well
3. Add the flour, baking powder and salt and fold until all the dry ingredients are just wet, and stir in the poppy seeds
4. Pour the batter into the tin, top with thinly sliced oranges (optional) and bake for 50 - 55 minutes
5. When done, remove from the oven and prepare the orange glaze (whisk the orange juice and confectioner's sugar together to form a paste), pour this over the warm cake and let it sink in

That's it, hope you enjoy it as much as we did! Give the recipe a go this weekend, it really doesn't require a lot of hands on time and it's always nice to have something a bit extra for tea time. Lots of love,

x Nabs

Honey Lemon Poppyseed Cake

We've come to the point in the wedding planning stages where we are now counting down the DAYS! It's 7 days to go to the ceremony, and then we'll be home free to just be a married couple - no more wedding planning, no more invitation lists, seating charts, fabric samples, and endless other things. I can't wait.

In the madness of it all, I wanted - nay, needed, to get some solid baking time in. It's been almost 2 or 3 months since I actually full on made something in the kitchen that's worth sharing. 

I feel the need to point out that despite what everyone may think of me, including myself, I haven't been a Bridezilla at all throughout this whole process! I honestly thought I would be, what with all my Pinterest boards, my Disney, fairy tale wonderland personality, etc. I suppose, at the end of the day, all I really care about is being married to the man I love, and being able to spend the rest of our lives together doing completely mundane things. The thing I look forward to the most is spending Saturday mornings and afternoons with him in our own home, having a lazy brunch and cleaning the house after ignoring it all week cos we're both too busy at work. And foot massages. Yes, I look forward to being on the receiving end of those, whenever I want them. For free. 

Hehe, anyway, last weekend while we were trying to pull our invitation list into some semblance of sense to then be able to convert it into a seating chart... I was struck by the overwhelming desire to make something. I was also lucky that the recipe I chose to test is one that uses a lot of readily available ingredients. I'm really happy with how this turned out, and I think this frosting might possibly my new favourite thing. 

Honey Lemon Poppyseed Cake
Recipe from the Hungry Rabbit

For the Cake

• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cup cake flour
• 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp freshly grated lemon zest
• Smidge of fine sea salt
• 240g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 3 tbsp blue poppy seeds

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C, and line 3 8" round cake tins with parchment paper
2. In your mixing bowl bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest and salt until evenly spread
3. Whisk the eggs, coconut milk and vanilla extract in a small bowl before adding the mixture to the flour with the mixing paddle set on low speed
4. When all the egg mix has gone in, add the butter and increase the speed to low-medium while you mix to ensure everything combines and the butter is even
5. Stir in the poppy seeds by hand, then divide the batter into three tins, spread it out and bake for 15-20 minutes or until your kitchen smells like cake and a tester inserted into the cake at an angle comes out clean
6. Cool the cakes in their tin for 10 minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack to cool completely

For the (amazing) honey lemon curd filling

• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 2 large eggs
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/4 cup honey
• 30g unsalted butter, chilled and cut into tiny cubes
• 1 tbsp heavy cream
• A few drops vanilla essence
• Pinch of fine sea salt

1. While the cakes are baking, make the curd (haha I've been watching too much GBBO and am tempted to stop here)
2. Seriously though, over a low heat and in a heavy bottomed heat resistant saucepan, heat the lemon juice until just hot but not boiling
3. Whisk the eggs and yolk in a medium heat resistant bowl, and gradually add the honey as you're doing so
4. Gently trickle in the hot lemon juice, whisking as you do, then return the mixture to the saucepan to cook over a low-medium heat. Stir constantly until the mixture begins to thicken. Be careful of scrambling the eggs. 
5. Remove from heat and whisk in the butter until incorporated, then stir in cream, vanilla and salt. Strain the mix through a fine mesh strainer into a glass bowl, cover with cling wrap - directly onto the curd to prevent a skin from forming - and pop it into the fridge until ready to use

For the (ridiculously delicious) honey cream cheese frosting

• 114g unsalted butter, softened (but not melty and slouchy)
• 2 cups icing sugar
• 240g cream cheese, chilled but softened (trust me, warm cream cheese makes for gross looking frosting)
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup honey

1. In the bowl of your stand mixer, whisk the sugar, cream cheese and butter with the paddle attachment until fully combined (the original recipe says to do sugar and butter first, then adding the cream cheese after, but I'm lazy) 
2. Add the cream, honey and vanilla and beat again on medium to high speed until just combined (take care not to over beat as this will result in a too runny frosting). 
3. Cover the bowl with a clean, damp tea towel and refrigerate until needed

Assembly

• When the cake has cooled completely, swipe a small teaspoon of cream cheese frosting onto the bottom of the cake plate and place one piece of cake on top (I do this to prevent the cake from sliding around while I'm frosting). Spread half of the honey lemon curd on top, until about 1/2" off the sides of the cake, then top with another layer and the remaining curd. Place the top layer bottom side up and gently press down to level
• Apply a crumb coat of frosting on the top and sides of the cake and refrigerate for half an hour to set. Spread frosting on the top and sides of the cake, drizzle with honey or any remaining curd, and refrigerate to set for at least 30 minutes before serving 

Orange Poppyseed Muffins

It's Chinese New Year, and everyone's on holiday (or to be more precise, everyone has been on holiday since Christmas). I'm flying off to Switzerland on Friday night for a ski trip, the same one I went on last year with my brothers' school, and I don't know if I'm super excited about it or just dreading the physical exertion (come on, I'm a baker with a full time office job and working out for me means walking up the stairs of the carpark to my car at the end of every day). Also, I'm of the old school holiday-means-sleep-and-rest set, so I'll probably need a holiday after my "holiday".

What's with this griping? I love skiing, really, and I can't wait, I just also wish I had the option to sleep in while I'm there. But nope, it's a school trip, and I'm an adult "chaperone", which means I have to work and earn my keep. The school bunch is loads of fun though, so I'm quite looking forward to catching up with the teachers I met last year. Also, skiing is so exhilarating when you've figured out how to do it, so I'm definitely jonesing for that rush when we go down the steeper slopes. 

Anyway, in honour of the Lunar New Year celebrations, I made Orange Poppyseed Muffins for work earlier this week. I also made Lemon Poppyseed Muffins.... and a beetroot chocolate cake covered in thick chocolate ganache. But, let's focus on the Orange. I've been spoiling my colleagues this week with daily treats, and like I said in my previous post: how selfish of me! I get to bake, which I love, then I don't even have to eat the stuff and make my friends take all the calories instead! You see, guys, that's my ultimate diet plan; make everyone around me bigger in comparison while I stay the exact same size. 

Here's to a week of binge eating (for those of you celebrating the Lunar New Year)! Happy holidays, much love and see you when I get back (hopefully in one piece and slightly slimmer for all the exercise). 

Orange Poppyseed Muffins

Makes 14 regular sized muffins

• 175g caster sugar
• 225g all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tbsp poppy seeds
• Zest of 1 orange (or lemon)
• 2 eggs
• 50ml freshly squeezed orange juice (or lemon)
• 50ml natural yoghurt
• 125g butter, melted
• 50ml vegetable oil
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla essence

1. Preheat the oven to 180C and line your muffin tray with pretty paper
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, flour, baking powder, poppy seeds and orange zest. 
3. In a separate bowl, lightly whisk the eggs, orange juice and yoghurt, then add it to the flour mixture
4. Stir in the melted butter, then the vegetable oil and vanilla
5. Pour the batter about 2/3 of the way up each muffin mold and bake for 20-22 minutes
6. Remove from the oven when ready and allow to cool completely. When cool, you may choose to drizzle some orange glaze over the tops of the muffins for a full orangey experience. Or leave them bare for a "healthier" option