an abundance of Oranges .....
“The
Lemon groves and the Orange gardens were entirely perfect.” Oscar Wilde, on his stay in Sicily
There are around 67,000 hectares of orange groves in Sicily, 70 per cent grow blood oranges during the growing season which is January to May.
The groves in Sicily have a unique microclimate provided by Mount Etna. Warm days, cool nights and fertile volcanic soil allow Sicilians to produce what many say are the best oranges in the world.
Oranges have
been cultivated in Sicily since ancient times, and cultivation has been documented
since the time of Moorish rule. Whilst the Arabs are credited with originally planting
the bitter orange trees in Sicily, the Genovese and Portuguese crusaders
introduced sweeter varieties in the 15th century.
Having a
home in Sicily and particularly living near Mount Etna we always have an ‘abundance
of oranges’ and are completely surrounded by orange trees everywhere we go.
I can
remember on our first trip to Sicily sitting on the terrace of La Botte
restaurant in Taormina enjoying an evening meal when a rogue orange fell out of
the tree we were sitting under and hit my husband on the head, maybe it was a
sign that we were destined to return.
As with lemons friends will often arrive at our home with bags full of oranges and we always
put them to full use.
Obviously we
squeeze them in a citrus juicer to make the most wonderful juice for breakfast.
But I love to make Sicilian Orange Cake, I always use a recipe by Rick Stein
who featured Sicilian Orange Cake in his television series and book
Mediterranean Escapes.
Why not give
it a try yourself, as Rick Stein says ….. “it has to be one of the most
richest, moistest, butteriest and yet lightest orange cakes in the world”.
Sicilian Orange Cake
250g lightly salted butter at
room temperature
250g caster sugar
4 medium eggs
1 ½ teaspoons of grated Sicilian
orange zest
250g self-raising flour
85ml of freshly squeezed Sicilian
orange juice
For the
Icing: 125g icing sugar and 5 teaspoons of freshly squeezed Sicilian orange
juice
Preheat the
Oven to 170°C/Gas Mark 3. Grease and line a 22cm clip-sided round cake tin with
non-stick baking paper.
Using an
electric whisk, cream the butter and sugar together for 4-5 minutes until very
pale. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating very well between each one, if
necessary adding a spoonful of flour with the last egg to prevent the mixture
from curdling. Beat in the Sicilian orange zest. Add the flour all at once and
mix in well, then slowly mix in the orange juice.
Spoon the
mixture into the tin and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 45-50 minutes
or until a cake tester comes out clean. If it starts to brown too quickly,
cover loosely with a sheet of foil.
Leave the
cake in its tin to cool on a wire rack, then carefully remove from the tin.
For the icing,
sift the icing sugar into a bowl and stir in the orange juice until you have a
spreadable consistency. Spread it over the top of the cake and leave to set.
Buon
appetito …..
If you loved
this why not read our post “an abundance of Lemons” from December 2014 which
includes the recipe for Sicilian Lemon and Poppy Seed Loaf.
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| .... Bags of Oranges |
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| "an abundance of Oranges" |
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| Home Sweet Home |
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| Blood Oranges |
White Almond Private Sicily
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Email: WhiteAlmondSicily@Gmail.Com
SKYPE: whitealmondsicily01
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and Google +
Email: WhiteAlmondSicily@Gmail.Com
SKYPE: whitealmondsicily01
