this past march, I ran my first half marathon, I finally achieved a few results at work that had been months in the making, I turned 30 surrounded by my friends and family.
I cannot remember at all how I celebrated my 20th birthday. I think I must have been home for spring break, so perhaps it was unremarkable. I remember my 21st, a gigantic meal I spent all day cooking, a dinner party attended by maybe 20 people or more. I remember feeling stressed. I remember wanting it to be fun.
a decade is a long time. things that once felt so immediate and immovable have become distant, edges clouded and softened by all that has happened since. my life has become simpler – has settled into a rhythm that others might call boring but which I have found full of happiness and comfort. the cherry blossoms bloomed (slightly concerningly) early this year, joining the hellebores and crocuses in signaling the start of spring. I reveled in my ability to enjoy the feeling of joy unfettered. I baked this cake and madeleines and orange chocolate chip cookies using the bright flavors of citrus.
makes one 10-inch cake
263g (1 1/3 cups) granulated sugar
156g (1 1/3 cups) cake flour
82g (1/2 cup) semolina flour
8g (2 tsp) baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
43g (3 tbsp) grand marnier
1 tbsp grated orange zest
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 large eggs (~150g)
280g (1 1/4 cups) extra-virgin olive oil
claire saffitz. dessert person: recipes & guidance for baking with confidence. new york: clarkson potter, 2020.
2 position blood orange on cutting board so the “poles” are on your left and right and the fruit is resting on its side rather than upright. use sharp knife to cut off one pole, exposing colorful round of fruit. slice fruit as thinly as possible through widest part, shaving off rounds that are no thicker than 1/8 inch. reserve ends for squeezing juice. remove and discard any seeds from slices. repeat until all oranges are sliced (25-30 slices total). squeeze reserved ends of blood oranges into medium bowl (~2 tbsp of juice).
3 add 66g (1/3 cup) sugar to bowl with juice and whisk until smooth. pour into bottom of prepared pan and tilt in all directors to spread across parchment. arrange orange slices in overlapping pattern across bottom of pan and set aside.
4 in a medium bowl, whisk cake flour, semolina, baking powder, and salt to combine and eliminate any lumps.
5 in a small bowl, stir together grand marnier, orange zest, and vanilla extract and set aside.
6 in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat eggs and remaining 200g (1 cup) sugar, starting on low to break up eggs, then gradually increasing to high, until mixture is very light, thick, and pale, and falls off whisk back into bowl in a slowly dissolving ribbon (~5 minutes).
7 with mixer still on high speed, gradually stream in oil and beat until fully incorporated and mixture is even thicker. with speed on low, add dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with the grand marnier mixture in 2 additions, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. after final addition of flour, use a flexible spatula to fold batter several times, scraping bottom and sides of bowl.
8 gently pour batter over blood orange slices, making sure not to disturb them, and smooth the top. transfer cake to oven and immediately reduce temperature to 350ºF. bake until top is golden brown, center is firm to touch, and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean (35-45 minutes).
9 transfer pan to wire rack and let cake cool for 15 minutes. run thin knife around edges of cake and remove outer ring. invert cake onto wire rack and remove circular base. carefully peel away parchment and let cake cool completely. for best flavor and texture, wrap cake in plastic and let sit at room temperature at least one day before serving.
fort juniper 