Orange Cake

Grinding an orange–now there’s a technique you don’t see on the Food Network.

Historically, you’d cut the orange in half; squeeze the juice and seeds out; scrape the section membranes and some pith out of the halves; cut the remaining halves into pieces; and then grind or chop them with mechanical help, mixing in other mass to make the process easier (in this case, raisins, but nuts would work, too).

These days, we tend to just use the zest and juice to avoid the bitter white pith altogether. But there’s something about that touch of bitterness that makes cakes like this taste especially refreshing, much in the same way bitter caffeine makes colas taste “crisp.”

From a box sold in Brookfield, Wisconsin.

 

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