Blood Orange, Semolina & Almond Upside-Down Cake

By ltrodrigu

Ingredients

• 2 organic lemons
• 3 organic blood oranges
• 2 cups semolina flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 cups almond flour
• 2 1/2 sticks butter, at room temperature
• 2 1/3 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon Solerno or Grand Marnier

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-inch non-stick springform pan with a round of parchment paper.

Grate zest of 1 lemon and 2 oranges and set zest aside. Peel oranges and remove any remaining pith. Cut oranges into ¼-inch-thick slices. Arrange slices on parchment in bottom of springform pan. Slices should touch but not overlap. (If you have slices remaining, enjoy them as a snack.)

Combine semolina flour, baking powder and almond flour in a bowl and whisk to combine.

Use an electric mixer to cream butter with 1⅓ cups of sugar until pale and fluffy, 6-7 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and reserved citrus zest and beat well to fully combine. Fold in flour-baking powder mixture and beat until no streaks remain.

Pour batter over oranges and bake in middle of oven 1 hour.

While cake bakes, prepare syrup: Place remaining sugar in a small saucepan with 2 tablespoons water. Zest and juice remaining lemon and orange, and add both to sugar water. Add Solerno. Bring to a simmer over low heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Continue to cook until liquid has reduced by half. Turn off heat, but leave saucepan on burner to keep warm.

When cake is done, transfer to a cooling rack. Use the tip of a sharp knife to pierce cake all over. Drizzle with half the warm syrup and set aside for 10 minutes. Invert cake onto a platter and drizzle with remaining syrup. Cake can be served warm or set aside for several hours and served at room temperature.