Bolo de laranja
Bolo de laranja is one of Portugal's favourite home-baked cakes, and it is at its best in winter, in orange season — for instance with oranges from the Algarve. A fluffy oil-based ring cake with orange juice and zest, soaked while warm with orange syrup. Oil instead of butter keeps the cake moist for days, the syrup intensifies the citrus flavour, and the zest adds aroma. It is made in one bowl, and the mixer is only needed to whisk the eggs with the sugar. The key is zest grated from the orange part only — the white pith beneath is bitter.
Your own work in that: 10 min.
- Zest and juice 15 min
- Batter 10 min
- Baking 45 min
- Resting in the tin 10 min
- Syrup 5 min
- Cooling 60 min
Step by step
0 / 8 donePrepare the tin and oranges
Heat the oven to 180°C. Butter a 22–24 cm ring tin and dust with flour. Wash the oranges in hot water, grate the zest of two and squeeze the juice of three — you need about 200 ml.
Ingredients: 3 pcs oranges (zest of 2, about 200 ml juice) · 4 pcs eggs · 250 g sugar · 120 ml sunflower oil · 250 g plain flour · 2 tsp baking powder · 10 g butter and flour for the tin
Only the orange part of the peel — the white is bitter.Whisk eggs with sugar
Whisk the eggs and sugar until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
Ingredients: 3 pcs oranges (zest of 2, about 200 ml juice) · 4 pcs eggs · 250 g sugar · 120 ml sunflower oil · 250 g plain flour · 2 tsp baking powder · 10 g butter and flour for the tin
Add oil and juice
Still whisking on low speed, pour in the oil in a thin stream, then the orange juice and zest.
Ingredients: 3 pcs oranges (zest of 2, about 200 ml juice) · 4 pcs eggs · 250 g sugar · 120 ml sunflower oil · 250 g plain flour · 2 tsp baking powder · 10 g butter and flour for the tin
Fold in the flour
Sift in the flour with the baking powder and fold in with a spatula just until combined. The batter will be quite thin.
Ingredients: 3 pcs oranges (zest of 2, about 200 ml juice) · 4 pcs eggs · 250 g sugar · 120 ml sunflower oil · 250 g plain flour · 2 tsp baking powder · 10 g butter and flour for the tin
Bake
Pour the batter into the tin and bake 40–45 minutes, until golden and a skewer comes out dry.
Ingredients: 3 pcs oranges (zest of 2, about 200 ml juice) · 4 pcs eggs · 250 g sugar · 120 ml sunflower oil · 250 g plain flour · 2 tsp baking powder · 10 g butter and flour for the tin
A thin batter — that is right.Make the syrup
Towards the end of baking, warm the orange juice with the sugar until dissolved, about 3 minutes. Do not boil it long — the syrup should be thin so it soaks in.
Ingredients: 1 pcs orange, juice (about 100 ml) · 50 g sugar
Turn out and soak
Cool the cake in the tin 10 minutes, then turn it onto a plate. Prick it all over with a skewer and spoon over the warm syrup a spoonful at a time, slowly, giving it time to soak in.
Ingredients: 1 pcs orange, juice (about 100 ml) · 50 g sugar
Warm cake, warm syrup — it soaks right through.Cool
Leave the cake to cool completely, about an hour. Serve with coffee or tea.
Ingredients: 3 pcs oranges (zest of 2, about 200 ml juice) · 4 pcs eggs · 250 g sugar · 120 ml sunflower oil · 250 g plain flour · 2 tsp baking powder · 10 g butter and flour for the tin
Before you start
The best oranges
Choose juicy, thin-skinned oranges. If they are very sweet, add a spoonful of lemon juice to the juice — the cake gains character.
With butter
You can replace the oil with 125 g of melted butter. The cake tastes more buttery but dries out sooner.
Storage
Under a cover the cake keeps 4 days, and on the second day it is even moister than fresh. It also freezes well in slices.
