Orange upside-down cake

I'm sure that all of you, dear readers, have some special blog in mind. Yes, that blog with which you discovered the joy of cooking, or of web site design and blogging, or both of them. Maybe it captivated you with it's breathtaking design, its almost edible shots, or maybe it was just because it was the first one. I have many of that blogs. Of course, I don't remember the first food blog I visited, but I remember the blogs that left a bigger impression on me. Mainly, I remember them because they are still a referent for me when it's about inspiration. For example, today's recipe, was inspired in a post of one of those blogs.

I'm talking about FatFree Vegan Kitchen. "But you have already talked about it!", you will think. But who doesn't talk about it? Susan's blog has become one of the most important vegan blogs, and it's impossible not to talk about it. I saw and bookmarked the recipe of the cake I have baked today more than one year ago, the 8th May 2008 (thanks, Microsoft One Note!I love that software) I was still improving my baking skills at that time (well, I am still trying to improve them now) and my first experiments were often a big failure. Nevertheless, my family encouraged me to try it again, and ate all my creations without complaining. That recipe was my first real hit. It turned out delicious! I was so happy. More than one year after, I decided to rescue it from my OneNote archives, and give it a twist. Actually, I left very few things of the original recipe, but I still must give credit to Susan's blog: without it, this cake would have not been possible.

And I took advantage to submit the recipe to (another) blog event. Madhuram's Eggless Cooking is hosting this month the Low Fat (Eggless) Baking. The rules? Very easy: bake something eggless, low fat and submit the recipe until the July 3rd. And without more delay, the recipe =)

Orange upside-down cake Actually, the first time I baked that cake I didn't follow literally all the instructions. But I did only one, although substantial, change: my upside-down cake was not made with peaches, but with apples. And the result was amazing anyway! This time, I run out of apples, but I had many kilos of oranges, so I decided to give a twist to the recipe. But this time I also changed the others ingredients: I substituted 1/2 cup of wheat flour with 1/4 cup of wheat germ and soy flour each, I used yeast instead of baking powder, I added some spices like nutmeg and vanilla-apple, added the zest of one orange, rice milk instead of soy milk and 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil (the one I talked about in the previous post) to give it more flavor. But all this changes were minor changes if we compare it with the decision to use orange instead of peach or apples. The resulting cake is completely different because of the chosen fruit. The peach/apple version is moister (like what happens when you bake an apple). The orange version has got a "sticky" consistency because the oranges caramelize in the sugar, and along with the zest give a tangy flavor that combine very well with the sweet base of the cake. The verdict of my family was that this cake was a real cake. I don't need to say anything else. Inspired in this recipe from FatFree Vegan Kitchen -1 cup wheat flour -1/4 cup wheat germ -1/4 cup soy flour -1/2 tsp ginger -1/4 tsp nutmeg -2 tsp of vanilla sugar -1/4 tsp salt -3/4 rice milk+ 2 Tbsp vinegar **any other non-dairy wil will do -1/2 tsp vainilla extract -1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil -1/4 cup warm water + 1 tsp sugar -15 g yeast -5-6 medium oranges, peeled and sliced -2 Tbsp sugar -1/4 cup sugar -2 Tbsp water -zest of one of those oranges -1 Tbsp of oil Preheat the oven at 180ºC Mix the dry ingredients, from the wheat flour to the salt. Set aside. Combine the 1/4 cup of warm water with the yeast and the sugar, and dilute it. Leave it for 10 minutes (if the yeast is "alive", it will rise and bubbles will appear) Mix the non-dairy milk, the vanilla extract and the olive oil. Peel and slice the oranges and mix them with 2 tablespoon of sugar. Heat the oil on a oven-proof sauce pan and add the 1/4 cup of sugar and the 2 tbsp of water. Be careful to don't burn it! Meanwhile, mix the wet and dry ingredients and the yeast mixture. Do not over mix. Leave the mixture to stand for 45min-1 hour: it will raise and bubbles will appear. When the sugar becomes thick, add the sliced oranges, the orange zest and turn off the heat. Pour the dough on top. Put the sauce pan in the oven and baked during 40-45 minutes. Allow the cake to cool for about 15-20 minutes, and turn down the pan with the cake over a big plate. If it doesn't fall immediately, leave it upside-down for a few minutes. At the end, it will separate from the pan and you will be able to enjoy your cake =)

Enjoy it with a strong cup of tea or coffee. I did!

What happened with the cake within 12 hours

Pastel de naranja "del revés" -1 taza de harina de trigo -1/4 taza de germen de trigo -1/4 taza harina de soja -1/2 cucharadita de jenjibre -1/4 cucharadita de nuez moscada -2 cucharaditas de azucar avainillado -1/4 cucharadita sal -3/4 taza de leche de arroz + 2 cucharadas de vinagre **cualquier otra leche vegetal servirá -1/2 cucharadita de extracto de vainilla -1 cucharada de aceite de oliva virgen -1/4 taza de agua tibia + 1 cucharadita de azúcar -15 gramos de levadura -5-6 naranjas medianas, peladas y cortadas a final rodajas -2 cucharadas de azúcar -1/4 taza azúcar -2 cucharadas de agua -1 cucharada de aceite -ralladura de una naranja Calentar el horno a 180ºC Mezcla los ingredientes secos, desde la harina de trigo hasta la sal. Reservar. Combina el 1/4 de taza de agua tibia con la levadura y el azúcar, y diluirlo. Deja durante 10 minutos (si la levadura esta "viva", subirá y aparecerán burbujas) Mezcla la leche vegetal, el extracto de vainilla y el aceite de oliva. Pela y corta en finas rodajas las naranjas y mézclalas con las 2 cucharadas de azúcar. Calienta el aceite en una cazuela resistente al horno y añade el 1/4 de taza de azúcar y las dos cucharadas de agua. Cuidado de no quemarlo! Mientras tanto, mezcla los ingredientes secos y húmedos y la levadura diluida. Deja reposar la masa durante 45 min - 1 hora: subirá y aparecerán burbujas. Cuando el azúcar se vuelva espeso, añade las rodajas de naranja, la ralladura de naranja y retira del fuego. Echa la masa por encima. Pon la cazuela en el horno durante 40-45 minutos. Deja al pastel enfriarse durante 15-20 minutos dentro de la cazuela, y dale la vuelta con el pastel sobre un plato grande. Si no cae inmediatamente, déjalo boca abajo durante unos minutos. Al final, se separará de la cazuela y podrás disfrutar de tu pastel =)

...and repite if you want to. Rember that it's almost fat-free ;)