Orange cake, a modern version of Pan D’Arancio

Do you know the Sicilian Pan D’Arancio? It’s a moist orange cake made with whole oranges. Yes, you read that right. We add both the flesh and the peel with albedo to the cake. The cake is sweet, moist, but also slightly bitter due to the use of orange peel. My version of the Sicilian cake is without it, but I don’t completely give up on it. I add it on top of the cake. This way, the cake gains a new dimension.

Plan:
Day 1 – baking the cake, making the cream
Day 2 – icing, finishing the cake.

Cake:
Blend peeled oranges to obtain a uniform, smooth (as much as possible) mass. Remember to check if the oranges have seeds. It’s best to chop them into small pieces and remove any seeds you find.
Break eggs into a mixer bowl and add sugar. Mix on medium speed for about 5 minutes. The mixture should be light and fluffy. After that, gradually add oil while mixing the mixture continuously for about 2 minutes.
Reduce the mixer speed and add the blended oranges. When they combine with the eggs, add flour and baking powder. Continue mixing on low speed until the dough combines and becomes uniform.
Line a 12×30 cm loaf pan with baking paper. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (top and bottom heat). Transfer the dough to the pan and put it in the oven. Bake for about 45-50 minutes (until a toothpick comes out dry) until the cake is golden brown on top. Remove it from the oven and let it cool completely.

Frosting:
Break the chocolate into small pieces and place them in a metal or glass bowl. Melt the chocolate in a water bath. When the chocolate is melted, add the oil and mix well. Before pouring the frosting over the cake, make sure it’s at about 45 degrees Celsius.

Cream:
Pour the cream into a saucepan and bring to a boil. At the same time, pour the gelatin into water to swell. If you’re using powdered gelatin, pour it into 30 grams of water. When the cream is hot, add the swollen gelatin to it and mix well. Then, add the chopped chocolate and mix well. You can blend everything to make sure your cream is free of any lumps. Cover the finished cream with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 12 hours. After that, take out the cream and transfer it to a mixer bowl. Whip it until it doubles in volume. Transfer the finished cream to a pastry bag.

Orange peel (if you have any left over from the holidays):
Wash the peel of 6 oranges thoroughly. Cut it into small pieces. Put 100 grams of sugar and 200 ml of water in a saucepan and bring to a boil until the sugar dissolves. Add the chopped peel and cook for about 20 minutes. Then add another 100 grams of sugar and cook for another 20 minutes. The orange peel should be thick and sticky. The sugar should not be noticeable. Cool the finished peel. Blend it gently when it’s lukewarm. You don’t want to obtain a smooth mass, orange pieces should still be noticeable.

Assembly:
Place the blended orange peel in a pastry bag and spray long stripes on top of the cake. Smooth it out with a pastry spatula to remove any irregularities. Put the cake in the refrigerator for at least an hour (the peel should harden and not be warm).

Take the cake out of the refrigerator and place it on a pastry rack. Pour the prepared frosting, which should be at a temperature of about 45 degrees Celsius, over the top of the cake. Make sure the sides are covered in chocolate. If you notice that not everything has been covered by the frosting, use a knife/spatula to “paint” the missing parts.