My town was built on oranges. Really, orange groves used to cover the land and you could smell the trees and blossoms. Development over the years has led to the destruction of most of the orange groves to the point where most of the oranges in the grocery stores are shipped in from out of the area.
There’s a group whose goal is to save the remaining orchards through education and selling shares of the crop. These locally grown oranges are the best I’ve ever tasted. You can taste the sunshine. Because of this, I only buy oranges from the farmers’ market.
You can read an interesting article about the history of oranges in my area from the New York Times Travel Section HERE.
This week’s Sweet Melissa Sundays selection uses a whole orange, skin and all, to flavor it. It was a breeze to prepare. I made a third of the recipe (but used half an orange, ate the other half) and made two mini-loaves.
It smelled wonderful going into the oven and smelled even better coming out of the oven. I couldn’t wait to try it. But wait, it needed to be glazed. The cake is glazed with a syrup made from a reduction of fresh orange juice, fresh lemon juice, and sugar.
I really loved this cake the flavor blossomed in the oven and was fresh and light. This is a perfect cake for a tea or shower or just because.
Thanks to Melissa of Lulu the Baker for choosing a great recipe. If you would like the recipe, buy the book or visit Melissa’s blog.
Pink Stripes 