Appeale

Last evening I had the pleasure of volunteering for another Canvas Underground event – this one featuring a blind tasting of six varieties of artisan beef courtesy of The Artisan Beef Institute & The Oliver Ranch Co.  I was there taking photos of the event, and for the first time I made a desert to end the meal.

Looking over recipes I wanted to make a lighter dessert (especially after accompanying several yummy beef tastings).  A huge fan of cornbread, I settled on a cornbread dessert with a citrus twist: Orange Cornmeal Cake (from my trusty friend Martha).

All-in-all a simple and festive dessert – perfect for the holiday season.  The original recipe calls for a bake time of 35-40 minutes, however my cakes were ready in 25 minutes.  You can test by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cake – if it comes out clean you’re good to go.  Also, I’d highly recommend serving the cake with peeled orange slices – It adds a really nice flavor!

Orange Cornmeal Cake

Serves 8

Ingredients
1/2 cup olive oil, plus more for pan
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup orange juice
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
1/3 cup sanding sugar
Orange segments

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush bottom and sides of an 8-inch round cake pan with oil; line bottom with a round of parchment paper, and brush paper with oil.

In a large bowl, whisk together oil, eggs, 1 cup sugar, and orange juice until smooth. (Whisk in between every addition) Add flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and orange zest; whisk gently to combine.

Pour batter into prepared pan; sprinkle top evenly with 1/3 cup sanding sugar (topping will be thick). Bake until cake begins to pull away from sides of pan and a tester inserted in center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes.

Cool in pan 20 minutes. Run a knife around edge of cake; invert cake gently onto a plate, and remove parchment paper. Reinvert cake onto a rack to cool completely. Serve with orange segments.