Orange Rosemary Bundt Cake

A delicate cake is the very best summer dessert. This lovely orange rosemary bundt recipe comes from the New York Times. I’ve made it several times now and I can’t begin to tell you how much we enjoy it. Taking it gluten-free has been a bit of a challenge, but I’m always up for a challenge. I’m giving it you straight, and with the GF instructions, so everyone can enjoy. YUM!

Ingredients

For the crystalized rosemary:

  • 10 small rosemary sprigs, no more than 1 inch/3 centimeters each in size (see note)

  • 1 egg white, lightly whisked

  • 2 teaspoons granulated or superfine sugar (caster sugar)

For the cake:

  • About 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, for greasing the pan

  • 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

  • 1/2 cup plus 1 teaspoon superfine sugar (I just put regular sugar into the Cuisinart)

  • 1.5 tablespoon finely grated orange zest (from about 2 oranges)

  • 2 tablespoons packed finely chopped rosemary leaves

  • 2 large eggs

  • 1/2 cup sour cream

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour (plain flour), plus more to flour the pan (GF: 2 1/2 cups almond flour and 1/4 cup GF flour)

  • 2 teaspoons baking powder

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

For the orange icing:

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice

  • 2 1/2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

  • 1 3/4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar, or 1 1/2 cups sifted icing sugar

Directions

  1. At least 6 hours before you plan to ice the cake, prepare the crystallized rosemary. Brush rosemary on all sides with a little of the egg white and then dip it in the sugar, so the needles are lightly coated on all sides. Set aside on a wire rack to dry. Repeat with remaining rosemary.

  2. Heat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Generously grease a 9-inch Bundt pan with half the butter and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

  3. Add superfine sugar, orange zest, chopped rosemary leaves, and olive oil in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. I like to add the rosemary and orange zest to the sugar first, then add the oil.

  4. Whisk on medium speed until combined, then add eggs, one at a time. Whisk for another minute, until thick, then add sour cream and mix until combined on low speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the whisk.

  5. Sift flour, baking powder and salt together into a small bowl. (GF/Almond Flour doesn’t need sifting.)

  6. Add the dry ingredients to the olive oil mixture and mix until combined. Increase speed to high and whisk for 1 minute. (GF: Let the batter settle. The cake rises better if you wait for at least a couple of minutes before pouring into the pan.)

  7. Remove chilled pan, butter again, generously, and then flour it, tapping away the excess.

  8. Scrape batter into the Bundt pan and smooth the top with a small spatula.

  9. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until cake is baked and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

  10. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate. (You may want to trim the cake at this stage, if it rises unevenly, to allow it to sit flat on the plate.)

Prepare the icing:

  1. In a small bowl, whisk together orange juice, lemon juice and confectioners’ sugar until smooth.

  2. When the cake has cooled, drizzle icing on top, allowing it to drip down the sides of the cake, then top with the crystallized rosemary and serve.

Note: For the rosemary, you want small, decorative clusters of needles. The simplest way to do this is to pull the smaller, bottommost clumps off of large sprigs, or trim off the very tops of several sprigs. The cake is just as tasty without the decorations…

DessertsJ.T. EllisonComment