orange zest Archives - Cooking Classy

Cranberry Avocado Spinach Salad with Chicken and Orange Poppy Seed Dressing

Jaclyn — Thu, 25 Dec 2014 23:18:18 +0000

Cranberry Avocado Spinach Salad is one of the best salads you'll ever eat! It's packed with bright flavor and nutritious ingredients. And you'll likely find yourself making this Orange Poppy Seed vinaigrette dressing on repeat. Who knew salad could be so good? The cranberries make this a perfect Thanksgiving green salad or holiday side dish!

Best Thanksgiving Salad Recipe

This salad is easily one of my new favorites! It has such exciting flavors that all blend so amazingly well together!

We all know that cranberry and orange were made to go together but when you add in creamy avocados, salty feta cheese, crunchy toasted almonds, and a slightly sweet poppy seed dressing incredible things just happen. I'd put this on my Thanksgiving menu, skipping the chicken and adding more autumn elements, like a butternut squash in bite-sized pieces. I think this would also be delicious with leftover Thanksgiving turkey and pomegranate seeds.

Cranberry Avocado Spinach Salad with Orange Poppyseed Dressing

Then of course I added grilled chicken because I wanted to make a meal out of this, plus I just love the flavor of any kind of orange chicken so I knew this salad needed it. Pears or cherries would make great substitutions for the fruit, and you can get creative with the nuts too (my family loves pecans on everything for Thanksgiving dinner).

You can use another type of lettuce with this salad, pretty much any mellow type of lettuce will do, I just love spinach for its' color and nutrition. This would also make an incredible Brussels sprouts salad or kale salad. Choose goat cheese if you want a milder taste, or blue cheese if you like even more tangy flavor.

Another thing I may try adding to this sometime would be bacon. I actually love the way bacon and orange pair together, plus nearly any salad (or any food for that matter) is better with bacon, right?

Let me know if this salad joins your Thanksgiving side dishes! Enjoy!

Cranberry Avocado Spinach Salad with Chicken and Orange Poppy Seed Dressing

I dare say this is one of the best salads you'll ever eat! It's packed with bright flavor and nutritious ingredients. And you'll likely find yourself making this Orange Poppy Seed dressing on repeat. Who new salad could be so good!

Dressing

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup canola oil
2 tsp orange zest
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp honey
2 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp poppy seeds

Salad

1 lb chicken (, grilled)
9 oz baby spinach
2 medium avocados (, cored and diced)
1 cup crumbled feta
3/4 cup sliced almonds (, toasted)
3/4 cup dried cranberries

Add olive oil, canola oil, orange zest, orange juice, lemon juice, honey, dijon mustard and salt to a blender. Pulse until well emulsified. Pour into a jar and stir in poppy seeds. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Add all salad ingredients to a large bowl. Pour dressing over top and toss to evenly coat. Serve immediately.
Recipe source: Cooking Classy

Salad

American

Avocado Salad, chicken salad, Spinach Salad

Cranberry Orange Scones with Vanilla Cream Glaze

Jaclyn — Fri, 28 Nov 2014 18:59:05 +0000

Cranberry Orange Scones with Vanilla Cream Glaze are a sweet and luxurious baked treat—perfect for breakfast, brunch, tea time, or just because! Flaky and buttery scone dough is dotted with tangy dried cranberries and infused with orange zest. Once baked to a golden brown crust, these scones are drizzled with a sweet glaze frosting that's worth licking your fingers.

Wow, what a day yesterday! Thanksgiving is always amazing but seriously is it a lot of work. But now it's time to just relax, do some simple baking, and dive into these easy-to-make scones! I have the feeling a lot of you might have extra cranberries sitting around, so here's a perfect use for them!

Normally I'm not a big scones fan—when I've gotten them at bakeries I think of them more as dry hockey pucks that need to be soaked in some sort of drink to become edible. These orange cranberry scones, however, are completely moist and flavorful all on their own! Party in your mouth right here :). The tartness of the berries is perfectly complimented by the sweet vanilla flavor in both the scones and the cream glaze, and I love how well the orange pairs with the cranberry. My favorite homemade cranberry sauce is made with a fair amount of orange zest and juice. The two were just meant to be together... just like you and these scones! You are going to love them!

Orange Chiffon Cake with Orange Filling and Meringue

Jaclyn — Sun, 02 Feb 2014 21:58:20 +0000

This Orange Chiffon Cake is made up of three soft and fluffy layers of orange chiffon cake, which are layered with a creamy, zesty orange filling. It's finished off with a delicate, sweet meringue that's been toasted to golden brown perfection. This is a cake not to be forgotten!

Creating This Orange Chiffon Cake Recipe

This recipe is dedicated to a special couple that I wish I could meet. I had a reader named Allee send me this e-mail last week (and I just couldn't resist making it, so I had to fit it into my schedule). And with her permission I share a portion of her e-mail:

"I visit an elderly couple who are living in a nursing home here in Stillwater, OK at least once a week. Their names are Evan and Bethel [last name withheld], and they have been married for 71 years. Bethel is 92 years old, and Evan in 95.

They are still so in love with each other, and they are the most precious people I have ever met! Bethel was famous for her orange chiffon cake when she was younger, and she won a blue ribbon for it at the state fair (she was very proud of this cake)!

She described it to me as an orange chiffon cake with an orange frosting/filling between the layers, and the whole cake was topped with a meringue and (I think) slightly browned in the oven.

While she was telling me about this cake, I immediately knew I wanted to bake it for Bethel and Evan to deliver it to them on Valentine's Day as a little piece of nostalgia :) I have searched for recipes online and can't seem to find what I'm looking for.

All of Bethel's recipes were lost during the moving process into the nursing home. I was hoping I could present you with this little mission to recreate something that would be so special for two people who have been an incredible blessing to me."

So, how could I say no? First to such a sweet girl, second to such a loving couple (not to mention this cute lady who no longer has her recipes. I can't imagine losing all my recipes!), and third to this cake that sounded unbelievably delicious.

Allee, here are the results of what I've come up with. I hope it's close!

What is Chiffon Cake?

This elegant cake is simply divine. It's made up of three soft and fluffy layers of orange chiffon cake, which is given its bright, vibrant orange flavor from both plenty of fresh orange juice and fresh orange zest.

Then, it is layered with a creamy, zesty orange filling that is very similar to a curd but not quite as tart and thick.

Lastly it's finished off with a delicate, sweet meringue that's whipped into those lovely peaks and swirled over the entire cake and toasted to golden brown perfection. This is a cake not to be forgotten!

Orange Chiffon Cake Ingredients

This show-stopping orange chiffon cake requires quite a few ingredients, but I promise it's worth the effort! Here's what you'll need for this cake:

For the orange filling:

Granulated sugar
Cornstarch
Salt
Orange juice and zest
Lemon juice
Eggs
Butter

For the cake:

Granulated sugar
Baking powder
Salt
Cake flour
Canola oil
Eggs
Orange zest and juice
Vanilla extract
Cream of tartar

For the meringue:

Egg whites
Cream of tartar
Granulated sugar

How to Make Orange Chiffon Cake

Make the orange filling first. To do so, simply heat the orange juice and zest, lemon juice, cornstarch, salt, and sugar in a saucepan before stirring in the egg yolks and whole egg. Finally, add the butter to the hot mixture and let that set in the fridge for a few hours.
Make the cake next. This orange chiffon cake batter is fairly straightforward to make, but you'll need to fold whipped egg whites into the batter before baking it. (Otherwise, this is a totally normal cake!).
Bake the orange chiffon cake layers 17 - 19 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Make the homemade meringue frosting. If you've never learned how to make meringue, don't worry! It's super easy. Simple heat egg whites and sugar in a heat-proof bowl over boiling water. Then beat with cream of tartar until stiff peaks form.
Assemble the cake. When you spread the meringue frosting onto the cake, don't try to smooth it out. The peaks give the toasted meringue the most incredible texture.

Can I Use Store-Bought Orange Curd in This Cake?

Yes, although the flavor of this orange chiffon cake won't be quite right. Orange curd is slightly thicker and more tart than the orange filling used in this orange cake recipe, but store-bought will work if you're in a real time crunch.

How to Store Orange Chiffon Cake

This layer cake should be served immediately or stored covered in the fridge. When you're ready to serve this cake, let it first come to room temperature before slicing it.

Tips for the Best Orange Chiffon Cake

If you don't want to do all the work in one day (because it is a slightly lengthy recipe), what I did was make the cake portion and orange filling the night before (be sure to cover the cake in an airtight container so it doesn't dry), then I made the meringue and assembled it the next day.
Be careful not to let a single drop of egg yolk into the meringue. If any egg yolk sneaks into the egg whites, the meringue frosting won't whip up properly.
Make sure to temper the egg mixture before adding it to the hot orange filling, otherwise the eggs will scramble. I've explained exactly how to do this in the instructions below.

More Orange Desserts You'll Love:

Congratulations Bethel and Evan to both a long, prosperous life and marriage!

Orange Chiffon Cake with Orange Filling and Meringue

This three-layer Orange Chiffon Cake is layered with a creamy, zesty orange filling. and is finished off with a delicate toasted meringue frosting.

Orange Filling

2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp grated orange zest
2/3 cup fresh orange juice
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
4 large egg yolks ((reserve whites for meringue))
1 large egg
4 Tbsp unsalted butter (, diced into 1 Tbsp pieces)

Cake

1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1/2 cup canola oil
5 large eggs (, yolks and whites separated)
2 Tbsp orange zest
3/4 cup fresh orange juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Meringue

6 egg whites
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

For the orange filling: In a medium saucepan, whisk together sugar, cornstarch and salt. Stir in orange zest, orange juice, and lemon juice. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently, and allow to boil about 1 minute (mixture should thicken slightly and become translucent).
Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk together egg yolks and egg until very well blended. While mixing egg mixture, slowly pour 1/4 cup of the hot orange juice mixture over eggs and stir until well blended.
Remove saucepan from heat (once it's boiled as listed above) and while stirring mixture in saucepan, slowly pour egg mixture into saucepan. Reduce burner temperature to medium-low heat and return saucepan to burner and cook, stirring constantly (and whisking rather vigorously to prevent curdling) until mixture thickens well, about 4 minutes.
Remove from heat, add butter and stir until combined. Pour into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap pressing directly against surface of filling, and chill 2 hours.
For the cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour three 9-inch round cake pans (lightly butter sides), set aside.
To the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or using a bowl and electric hand mixer), add 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar, baking powder, salt and sift cake flour into bowl. Pour in canola oil, egg yolks (while reserving the whites in a separate mixing bowl) and orange juice. Blend mixture on medium-high speed until smooth, about 3 - 4 minutes (slightly less if using a paddle attachment that has the scraper), occasionally scraping down sides and bottom of bowl. Blend in orange zest and vanilla extract.
In a large mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer (or if you have two stand mixer bowls you can use your stand mixer with the whisk attachment), whip 5 reserved egg whites with 1/2 tsp cream of tartar on moderately high speed until stiff (but not dry) peaks form.
Add half of the whipped egg whites to the batter and fold until partially combined, then add remaining half of the whipped egg whites and fold just until combined (be careful not to overfold and deflate the eggs).
Divide batter evenly among prepared baking pans and bake in preheated oven 17 - 19 minutes until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Allow to cool in cake pans 10 minutes, then invert onto wire racks to cool completely before frosting with meringue.
For the meringue: Add 6 egg whites (don't allow one drop of egg yolk) and sugar to a very clean heatproof bowl and set over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Heat mixture, stirring constantly, until it registers 160 degrees on a candy thermometer, about 3 - 5 minutes.
Remove bowl from saucepan, add 1/4 tsp cream of tartar and beat mixture with an electric stand mixer on medium-high speed until stiff glossy peaks form, about 7 - 9 minutes (possibly longer in a humid environment).
To assemble cake: Trim tops of each cake off to form an even layer. Spread half of the chilled orange filling over 1 layer of the cake (crumb/top side up, drop in a large dollop and spread outward so it doesn't get all crumby), leaving about a 1/2-inch rim of cake uncoated (because once the other layers are added the weight will slightly push the filling outward). Top with another layer of the cake (crumb/top side up), followed by remaining half of the orange filling, leaving a 1/2-inch rim of cake uncoated. Top with last layer (crumb/top side down) and spread meringue over entire cake.
Toast meringue with a culinary torch until golden brown (and keeping a close eye making sure to blow any little flame out).

Recipe Source: Filling is from Cooking Classy, chiffon cake is adapted with slight changes from Southern Living, and the meringue is adapted from many different sources I've learned how to make meringue from, ratios are my own.
Serve cake immediately or store covered in refrigerator and bring to room temperature before enjoying.