And You Thought You Loved Carrot Cake

You thought you loved carrot cake, but just wait until you try this Victorian Orange Kumquat Cake! The melding of flavors of oranges, kumquats, walnuts (or pecans), raisins, and rum come together to create the most delightful, moist, and flavorful cake you've ever experienced. When the cake is done, you pour and a sauce made of orange juice, sugar, and rum over the cake and let the flavors bloom for a day or two, and you won't believe the result.Dust with powdered sugar before serving with coffee or good strong English tea.

 

 Victorian Orange Kumquat Cake

This recipe is from Emerill Lagasse. You can visit his site at http://www.emerils.com.

Serves 8-10

Ingredients: 

 

• Peel from 3 large oranges

• 1 jar (10 oz.) La Vigne Kumquat Conserve

• 1-cup raisins

• 1-cup sugar

• 1/2-cup butter

• 2 eggs

• 3/4-cup buttermilk

• 2 cups flour

• 1 tsp. baking soda

• 1/2 tsp. salt

• 1/2 cup chopped nuts

• 1-cup fresh orange juice

• 1/2-cup sugar

• 1 TBSP dark rum

Preparation:

Cake:

Grind together, orange peel, raisins and 3/4 jar Kumquat Conserve. Cream sugar and butter. Add eggs and buttermilk. Sift flour and dry ingredients. Fold flour, dry ingredients and ground fruit into creamed butter and sugar. Pour into well-greased 9" spring form pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes or until done. Let cake rest in pan for 10 minutes then remove cake from pan.

Orange Syrup:

Combine last three ingredients and heat together until dissolved. Re-insert cake into pan and ladle syrup over cake (one TBSP at a time).

Store cake at room temperature and garnish with remaining 1/4 jar Kumquat Conserve. Cake mellows and is best after a couple of days. Cake can be stored at room temperature for several days.

Blood Orange Tart

Here's a "you just got to try it"!!!  This handy dandy, quick as pie recipe for a blood orange tart with marscapone cheese.

It' not only tasty but it is beautiful, a treat for the ones you love. The joy is in the discovery of the use of La Vigne Organic Blood Orange juice as an ingredient and a new flavor treat with color.

   
Blood Orange Tart

This is a pass along recipe from a friend;original source unknown to me. 
Serves 10

Ingredients: 

Crust:

2 tsp. butter, softened

2 cups flour

½ tsp. salt

1 tsp blood orange zest or lemon zest

½ cup confectioner’s sugar

12 TBSP cold butter, cut into pieces

1 egg

1 tsp orange flavored Grand Marnier liqueur

Filling:

¾ cup La Vigne Organics Blood Orange Juice

1 blood orange, zested finely

¼ cup dark brown sugar

1/3-cup mascarpone cheese

3 large eggs

3 egg yolks

1 TBSP orange flavored Grand Marnier liqueur

Confectioners sugar and blood orange wedges for garnish

Directions:

Crust:

Butter an 11-inch fluted tart pan with removable bottom with 2 tsp butter and set aside. Make pastry by combining flour, salt, zest and confectioners sugar in a bowl. Add butter and cut in until the mixture resembles coarse crumbles.  Combine the egg and liqueur in a small bowl and add to the flour mixture.  Using a fork, stir until the mixture comes together. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until dough is formed.  Shape into a flattened disk, wrap in plastic and transfer dough to the freezer for 15 minutes.

Place the dough on a floured surface and roll into a 13 inch round. Transfer the dough to the prepared tart pan and ease dough into the edges and up the side of the pan. Trim excess dough and transfer to the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Remove the tart shell from the fridge and prick it all over with a fork.  Line the pastry with foil and fill with weights or beans.  Bake the crust till the edges run golden, approximately 15 minutes. Remove from the oven. Remove the weights and foil. Bake 10 more minutes. Remove and set aside to cool.

Filling:

Make the filling by combining the orange juice, zest, brown sugar and mascarpone in a bowl. Whisk until smooth. Add eggs and yolks one at a time, beating after each addition. Add the liqueur and beat until smooth. Pour filling into the tart shell. Bake until the filling is lightly browned and in spots the crust is golden (approximately 25 minutes). 

Garnish with blood orange segments and confectioners sugar.

Kumquat Scones with Candied Ginger and Orange

Making these scones makes me happy because they always come out nicely, their easy to make, and friends always love them. The ginger and the kumquats compliment one another and provide a subtle reminder of the Orient wrapped up in a British scone. Put the kettle on! Time for scones and tea!

Photo by Carl Kravats

Kumquat Scones with Candied Ginger and Orange 

makes 8 scones

Pans and equipment: 
Two jellyroll or half-sheet pans, stacked one on top of the other (this "double panning" will prevent the bottom of the scones from over-browning).  Line the top pan with a sheet of parchment paper.

Ingredients:

¼ cup (1-3/4 ounces) sugar

Generous 1/3 cup (2 ounces) chopped candied ginger

2 cups (10 ounces) unbleached all purpose flour

¼ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

Zest of 1 large orange, grated

1 stick (4 ounces) cold unsalted butter, chopped into ½-inch pieces

½ cup (3 ounces) La Vigne Organic Nagami Kumquat Conserve (to measure: first rinse, pat dry,  remove seeds, and chop each piece into quarters)

¾ cup (6 ounces) cold heavy whipping cream

Ingredients to Finish:

2 to 3 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream

Turbinado sugar, granulated sugar, or crystallized sugar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 F.  Position an oven rack in the center of the oven.

Place the sugar and candied ginger in the bowl of a food processor and process until the ginger is very finely chopped.  Add the flour, salt, baking powder, orange zest and cold butter pieces and pulse until the butter is the size of small peas.

Transfer the mixture into a bowl (or a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment) and stir in the kumquats.  Pour in the cream and mix just until blended - do not beat or the scones will be tough.  Turn the mixture out onto a lightly floured surface and knead 2 or 3 times, just to bring the dough together.  Pat into a 7-inch circle, then use a large knife to cut the circle into eight equal wedges.  (At this point the scones can be refrigerated overnight, or frozen, well wrapped, for up to 1 month.)

Place the scones on the prepared sheet pan.  Brush the top of each scone with cream and sprinkle with sugar.  Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until firm to the touch and golden brown.  Remove from the oven and place on a rack to cool.

Here's our organic Kumquat Conserve that we used in the recipe.

Photo by Carl Kravats