Blood Orange Bundt Cake

Once again, blood orange season is upon us. Last week I picked up a bag of these little beauties at the grocery store, and today I whipped up a retro-looking blood orange Bundt cake for my dear friend Diana, along with a blood orange Madeira cake for Mike and me for New Year’s weekend. The original Bundt recipe comes from Cooking LSL, another blogger I found via Pinterest.

I debated about whether to glaze or drizzle the Bundt or just leave it plain, and I decided to go with a simple almond drizzle to complement the orange flavor. You could also use blood orange juice in your drizzle if you like, but it’ll be pink, rather than the beautiful rich red of blood orange. I had to adapt my recipe slightly because I didn’t have buttermilk, but sour milk – a combination of vinegar or lemon juice and milk, works just fine.

Ingredients

For the cake

• 3 cups flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup blood orange juice (from 3 oranges)
• Zest from 3 blood oranges
• 3/4 cup sour milk* or buttermilk

For the drizzle

• 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• About 3-4 teaspoons water

*To make sour milk, combine 2 1/3 teaspoons vinegar and enough milk to equal a total 3/4 cup liquid. Stir, then let sit for about 5 minutes before using.

Preparation 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease and flour your Bundt tin.

Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder; set aside. In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating and scraping down your bowl between each. Add orange zest, orange juice, and vanilla and mix on low to combine. Add half the flour and milk, mixing on low to combine, then add remaining milk and flour and mix on low until completely combined.

Pour into Bundt tin and bake for 1 hour to 70 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in tin for about 25 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

To make drizzle, combine powdered sugar, almond extract, and 2 teaspoons water; add enough additional water to make a drizzly icing. Spoon over the top of your cake or pipe from a piping bag (I piped mine from a bag to control it better). Allow icing to harden before storing; wrap in plastic and store at room temperature for 3-4 days. Makes about 12 servings.