05 Feb Orange Juice, Olive Oil & Ricotta Breakfast Cake
Cake, biscuits or pudding for breakfast was not new to me when I moved to Italy. In England, I often began the day with trifle, crumble, rice pudding, tiramisu, all eaten covertly and cold from the fridge. But a proper breakfast cake, in a context where it was totally accepted and even expected, was indeed a novelty. It remains a part of Italian food culture I adore. So much so that I dedicated an entire book to it. (here)
I think the best way to start the day is with something sweet. I hate eggs in the morning. I like eggs at lunchtime or in the evening, but at breakfast their intense sulphurous whiff makes me gag. Also, as most of the marvel of the morning meal is how its liquid/solid components complement each other (cake and coffee, tea and toast) where exactly does the egg fit in? Washed down with acidic fruit juice? A hot, bitter coffee chaser on your fatty fried egg? Strong tea, maybe, but I still wouldn’t say it’s a natural match.
Now I understand this is a specifically subjective (and potentially contentious) attitude. One of the great things about personal taste it how personal it is. My father spent his summers whilst he was studying working on a battery chicken farm, and consumed a 12 egg omelette every day for breakfast. I love my father and his twelve-egg breakfast omelette. I do not judge breakfast egg lovers, in fact, I celebrate them. I just don’t count myself amongst them.
No, give me a soft, snow-dusted cake and a hot coffee to wash it down with. Even better if the cake is scented with citrus. Maybe some yoghurt and fresh fruit alongside, when it’s warm. Maybe some porridge beforehand if it’s not.
The idea of putting orange juice into a cake is one I have toyed with before. Adding juice can affect the rise, so you need to be cautious. Of course, it adds to moistness and brings a wonderful fragrant flavour alongside the zest. It’s also satisfying to use the juice of the oranges you have presumably zested for the batter. And it makes this cake seem even more appropriate for breakfast.
It would also make a very good loaf cake, if you felt so inclined. You could use gluten-free flour, or sub some of the normal flour out for semolina, polenta or ground almonds. I added some polenta because I like the extra yellowish hue it gives to the cake, and the grittiness is especially pleasing at breakfast. I have written a recipe for an orange ricotta olive oil cake before, but it was more of a fancy affair with a caramelised topping, and required a little more faff. This version is supremely low maintenance, but arguably just as good.
Eat with coffee.
Makes an 8inch tin, serves 8-10
250g of ricotta
Zest and juice of 3 medium orange
3 eggs
250g sugar
120ml olive oil
Half a tsp of sea salt
2 tsp baking powder
150g plain flour
100g polenta
Preheat the oven to 180°. Grease and line your tin (8inch).
Beat the ricotta until smooth, and then whisk in the orange juice and zest. Whisk in the sugar, salt, eggs, olive oil and then the baking powder, flour and polenta. Taste the raw batter, it should be delicious and well seasoned. Add a pinch more salt or a squeeze more zest if needed.
Scrape into the prepared tin and bake for 45-50 minutes or so, until risen and golden (it might crack a bit, but that’s fine) and until a skewer comes out clean.
Allow to cool in the tin completely. Turn out and dust with icing sugar.
Notes!
I added the zest and juice of a Seville orange (in total two sweet oranges and one bitter) as I had one lying about. They are extra fragrant and wonderfully sour which I liked to think added some extra acidity. You could use two or three Sevilles to make this cake, maybe just taste it for sweetness and add a touch more sugar if necessary. Or keep it tart.
I used fresh sheep’s ricotta because that’s what I had. It is denser than the tub stuff. If you use tub ricotta – which is wetter – add another heaped tablespoon of flour to the batter.
You can use a 9 inch, it will just be a little more flat, I can’t find my 9inch(!) and find I prefer a slightly higher cake anyway.
You can use 250g plain flour if you don’t have polenta.
I used a raw cane sugar that was unbleached, which also adds extra colour, but normal white sugar is good too, whatever you have to hand.
