Orange Spiced Syrup

We came across this recipe from Martha Stewart for Orange Spiced Syrup. It's perfect for winter pancakes.  We had some with pumpkin pancakes the other day--it was even better!

1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 pinch of ground cinnamon
1 pinch of salt
1/4 cup light corn syrup
3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

 In a small saucepan, mix brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in corn syrup and orange juice. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally; cool until slightly thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Let cool; stir in vanilla.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

Orange Sheet Cake

I recently made sheet cake for my friends' baby shower.  The co-host made a delicious Texas sheet cake, and I made an orange sheet cake.  And we all ate a slice of each, because --you know-- sheet cake is pretty flat, only like half the thickness of a regular slice of cake.  So a slice of each is really only like having a whole slice of "regular" cake--right?

 I made this orange sheet cake with orange cream cheese Icing from Wilton, but made a few changes.

First, I left out the orange extract, because it's totally not necessary.  That is a typical standard American diet kind of ingredient.  There is fresh orange zest in the cake and frosting, as well as orange juice in the frosting.  That is plenty "orangey" enough.  If you add the extract I'll bet you wouldn't be able to make it through a whole slice because the flavor would become overbearing.  Subtlety is a virtue that a lot of food lacks these days.

Also, the recipe said to bake it in a 9x13 pan.  Obviously that would make a 9x13 cake, not a sheet cake.  Wilton is just trying to advertise one of their pans, but it's a completely wrong opportunity to do so.  I baked this recipe in a half sheet baking sheet.  That's the normal thick jelly roll-type pans that everyone got for wedding gifts from Cosco members. (That's not a dis, I love and use all three I got weekly, and particularly love the two with lids.)

Finally, the recipe for the delicious orange cream cheese frosting makes at least twice as much as you need for a sheet cake.  I can't imagine spreading that much frosting on the smaller 9x13 size cake they suggested baking--it would be half frosting. 

So here are the recipes, with my suggested changes:

Orange Sheet Cake Recipe:

• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour 
• 2 tablespoons orange zest 
• 1 tablespoon baking powder 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 3/4 cup (1-1/2 stick) butter, softened 
• 1-3/4 cup granulated sugar 
• 3 eggs 
• 1-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 
•  1-1/4 cups buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease sheet pan.


In medium bowl, combine flour, orange zest, baking powder and salt. In large bowl, beat butter with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add sugar 1/4 cup at a time, scraping down sides of bowl as needed; when combined, beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; add vanilla extract. Add half of flour mixture; beat on low speed until nearly combined. Add buttermilk to moisten; add in remaining flour mixture, beating until just incorporated. Spread batter evenly in pan.

Bake 25-33 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool cake in pan completely before icing.

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe:

•  1/4cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened 
• 1 1/2 8oz packages cream cheese, softened 
• 1 1/2 tablespoons orange juice 
• 1 tablespoon orange zest 
•  2 to 2 1/2  cups confectioners' sugar

In large bowl, beat butter, cream cheese, juice and zest with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add confectioners' sugar one cup at a time, beating until icing is light and fluffy.

Orange Sherbet

Owen has been obsessed with an idea lately.  We try to encourage any interest the boys show towards food or cooking and Owen was obsessed with making homemade orange sherbet.  We watched Alton Brown make it on Good Eats and since then Owen asked about it almost daily.

I cannot even describe how delicious it turned out.  It tastes so orange and the flavor is so clear.  As I was eating it I was thinking about how so many people and us included just don't even know what the "real thing" tastes like.  And I wondered if we sat a bunch of people down in a room and fed them the real thing if they wouldn't just instantly be converted to real food because they simply hadn't known what they had been missing?

Unfortunately for some people their taste buds have been assaulted with too much added salt, and too much added sugar, and too many artificial "natural flavorings"  for so long they can overlook real food upon first re-taste.   But I've seen my homemade chocolate pudding rock people's worlds before, and I'm going to bet that this orange sherbet would do the same.

It sure rocked mine.

Orange Sherbet Recipe

7 ounces sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons finely grated orange zest
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice, (2 to 3 pounds oranges)
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups very cold whole milk

In the bowl of a food processor combine all of the ingredients except the milk and process until the sugar is dissolved, approximately 1 minute. Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl and whisk in the milk. Cover the bowl and place in the refrigerator until the mixture reaches 40 degrees F or below, approximately 1 hour. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and process until it is the consistency of soft serve ice cream. You may serve now or transfer to a lidded container and place in freezer until firm, approximately 3 hours.

SERVES 8 (1/2 cup serving);

Cranberry Meringue Pie

 I made this cranberry meringue pie for Thanksgiving dinner.  I love this recipe because we are used to lemon meringue pies, so substituting the lemon for a different sour, tart fruit is a really clever idea that actually translated into a good thing.

 It's a Martha Stewart Recipe for mini pies that I modified into a full pie recipe.

 So delicious. . almost makes you want to eat more cranberries.  Yes, there will be more cranberries.

Cranberry Meringue Pie
(overnight for best results)

1 pie crust dough

3 1/4 cups fresh cranberries (12 ounces)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped blood orange zest, plus 1/4 cup blood orange juice (Can use any kind of orange)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of ground cloves
4 tablespoons cornstarch
3 large egg whites
Pinch of cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

 

On a lightly floured surface, roll out pie dough to 1/8 inch thick. Place in a deep 9-inch pie plate. Pierce bottom with tines of a fork. Freeze 15 minutes.  Line shell with parchment paper, and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake 15 minutes. Remove weights and parchment. Return to oven; bake until bottom is just turning golden, 5 minutes more. Transfer to wire rack; let cool 5 minutes. Remove shells from tin; let cool completely.
 

Bring 2 cups cranberries, 1 cup sugar, and 1 1/2 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat, and simmer mixture, stirring occasionally, until cranberries have burst, about 5 minutes. Pour through a coarse sieve, then a fine sieve; discard solids. (You should have about 1 3/4 cups; if you have less, add water).

Bring strained cranberry juice, 1/4 cup sugar, the zests, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and remaining 1 1/4 cups cranberries to a boil in a medium saucepan, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat; simmer, stirring occasionally, until cranberries are soft but have not burst, about 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, stir cornstarch, blood orange juice, and 1/4 cup water in a bowl; whisk into cranberry mixture. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook, stirring, until translucent, about 1 minute. into pie shell. Refrigerate until set, a few hours to overnight.
 

Preheat broiler. Put egg whites and remaining 1/4 cup sugar into the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer set over a pan of simmering water; whisk until sugar has dissolved and mixture is hot to the touch. Attach to mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; beat on medium speed until foamy. Raise speed to high. Add cream of tartar; beat until medium, glossy peaks form. Spread meringue on pie.
Set pie under broiler until top is browned, 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Cranberry Wassail

This is my mom's recipe for cranberry wassail.  The cranberry wassail is a great drink if you want something different, or are sick of the hot apple cider served all fall, but still want a festive winter drink.

We had a great time last night and were happy our friends made it out despite the blizzarding conditions outside!


Cranberry Wassail

4 Cups Cranberry Juice
4 Cups Water
2 Cups Orange Juice
1 Cup Pineapple Juice
1/4 Cup Lemon Juice
1 Cup Sugar
3 Cinnamon Sticks

Combine in a large pot and simmer 15 minutes.