Upside Down Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake

Preheat the oven and prepare the pan: Place an oven rack on the center position and preheat the oven to 400°F. Use a pastry brush or your fingertips to brush the bottom and sides of the springform pan with oil. Line the bottom of the pan with a piece of parchment paper and smooth down to remove air bubbles. Brush the parchment with more oil and set the pan aside.

Prepare the blood oranges: Place a blood orange on the cutting board so that the “sticks” are horizontal and the fruit is resting on its side, not upright. Using a sharp knife, cut off one of the stalks, revealing a colorful round fruit. Then cut the fruit as thinly as possible at the widest point, cutting out circles no thicker than 2.5 cm. 3 Save the ends for squeezing out the juice. Remove and discard any pits from the slices and repeat the process until all the oranges are sliced ​​(you should have 25-30 slices in total). In a medium bowl, squeeze the reserved ends of the blood oranges until you have 2 tablespoons of juice (save the remaining fruit for juicing or another use).

Form the inverted layer in the pan: Add ⅓ cup (2.30g / 66g) sugar to the bowl with the juice and mix until smooth. Pour the slurry onto the bottom of the prepared pan, tilting in all directions to spread on the parchment. Arrange the orange slices in an overlapping manner on the bottom of the pan and set aside. (Mix the dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the cake flour, semolina, baking powder, and salt to remove any lumps.

Mix the wet ingredients: In a small bowl, stir together the Grand Marnier, orange zest, and orange flower water and set aside.

Beat Eggs and Sugar: In a food processor fitted with the whisk attachment (or in a large bowl using a hand mixer), beat the eggs and the remaining 1 cup (7 oz/200g) sugar, starting on low to break up the mixture. Add the eggs and gradually increasing on high until the mixture is very light, thick and pale and falling from the whisk or beater back into the bowl in a slowly disintegrating ribbon, about 5 minutes (with a hand mixer this will take several minutes). minutes longer).

Stir in the oil: With the mixer still on high speed, gradually pour in the oil, beating until fully incorporated and the mixture is even thicker (the volume will be slightly reduced).

Add wet and dry ingredients alternately: Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture in 3 portions, alternating with the Grand Marnier mixture in 2 portions, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. After the last flour addition, stop the mixer and use a large, flexible spatula to fold the dough in several folds. As you do this, scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to ensure it is evenly mixed. Fill the mold and bake: using the spatula, gently pour the batter over the blood orange slices, being careful not to disturb them and smoothing the surface. Transfer the cake to the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 350°F. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until top is golden brown, center is firm to the touch and a cake tester or toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Allow the cake to cool and remove from the tin: Place the tin on a wire rack and let the cake cool for 15 minutes. Run a thin knife around the edges of the cake and remove the outer ring (be careful or some juice may spill out of the cake). Turn the cake out onto a wire rack and remove the round base. Gently peel off the parchment and allow the cake to cool completely. For best flavor and texture, wrap the cake in plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for at least a day before serving.

Serving: Slice and serve with sweetened yogurt.