Blood Orange Cornmeal Upside Down Cake
Serves 8
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 3 Tbsp butter
- 1 large blood orange, thinly sliced and seeds removed
- ½ cup milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp orange zest
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- ¼ cup + 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ cup cornmeal (preferably coarse ground)
- 1 ¼ cup flour
- ½ cup whipping cream
- ¼ cup mascarpone, room temperature
- 2 Tbsp honey
– Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
– In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt.
– In a larger bowl, mix together the olive oil, sugar, eggs, orange zest, and vanilla.
– Add half the flour mixture to the olive oil mixture, followed by the milk, and the rest of the flour mixture, stirring just to blend after each addition.
– To make the topping, heat a 9-inch cast iron pan over medium heat. Melt the butter, then add the brown sugar and cinnamon stirring to mix well. Cook 1-2 minutes, until hot and bubbling. Remove from heat and arrange sliced blood orange rounds in an even layer on top of the caramel. Pour the cake batter over and spread evenly over top.
– Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 -35 minutes – cake should be golden and a toothpick inserted into the cake should come out clean.
– Immediately after removing from the oven, place a plate over the pan, and carefully invert cake out of the pan and onto the plate (make sure to wear oven mitts – the pan will be very hot!)
– To make the mascarpone cream, whip the heavy cream with a whisk or mixer until peaks form. Beat in the mascarpone and honey until smooth. Serve cake warm with a dollop of mascarpone cream.