Each year around this time, my hubby and I try to come up with a plan for Valentine’s Day and usually it winds up being an overpriced meal out because we’re both too tired to cook. But this year, we are staying in and I am honored to have been asked to be a part of a Virtual Valentine’s Party to celebrate the release of Sarah Copeland’s new cookbook, The Newlywed Cookbook: Fresh Ideas and Modern Recipes for Cooking With and For Each Other.  We won’t be able to be together on the actual day, so we decided to celebrate a week early with a delicious meal and finished it off in the best way we can, with cake.

There were all the obvious finishes to the meal which pretty much all revolved around chocolate, chocolate cake, chocolate soufflé, chocolate dipped strawberries, but I decided instead to take it in a whole different direction and baked Sarah’s Olive Oil Cake with Tangerine Marmalade. It was so simple to make and tasted just divine.

The marmalade was just tangerines and sugar, which boiled on the stove until the rinds were soft and the juice syrupy. The most difficult part was probably dealing with the millions of seeds that tangerine’s have. The olive oil cake was a cinch to make and could easily be prepared in under 20 minutes.

The resulting cake was moist and really flavorful. The marmalade on top gave it a nice punch of flavor and added some additional texture. I have to admit, I even ate some of the leftovers for breakfast the next morning!

So, this year for Valentine’s Day, I urge you, rather than going out to an expensive dinner, why not try cooking a romantic meal together!

 

To help you do that, Chronicle has generously provided me with a copy of the book to giveaway to one of you!  While the title tells you its aimed at Newlyweds, don’t let the title fool you. This book is aimed at everyone with simple recipes you can make for yourself, your significant other, or your family!

 

How to enter:

Leave a comment telling me what your favorite Valentine’s Day dessert is. (My comments are moderated, so please be patient if they don’t show up immediately.)

 

For extra entries:

Like Dessertolicious on Facebook and come back to tell me you did so.

Follow Dessertolicious on Twitter and come back to tell me you did so.

 

Who can enter:

Open to US residents 18 years of age and older.

 

Giveaway open until February 16^th 11:59 PM EST. Winner will be chosen by random.org and notified via email, so please make sure to provide your correct email address. You have 48 hours to respond, or a new winner will be chosen.

 

This Giveaway is now closed!

Congratulations post #3! Lucy you have won a copy of The Newlywed Cookbook!

 

And now for the recipe:

Olive Oil Cake with Tangerine Marmalade from The Newlywed Cookbook.

(Reprinted with permission from Sarah Copeland and Chronicle Books)

Serves 8

Olive Oil Cake:

4 large eggs

3/4 cup/150 g sugar

2/3 cup/165 ml of your favorite extra-virgin olive oil

1/3 cup/75 ml melted unsalted butter

Finely grated zest and freshly squeezed juice of 1 tangerine, orange, or lemon

1 1/2 cups/175 g all-purpose/plain flour

1 tbsp baking powder

3/4 tsp fine sea salt or iodized salt

 

Tangerine Marmalade:

4 large tangerines, Minneolas, lemons, Meyer lemons, or Temple oranges {about 1 3/4 lb/800 g}, or a mix

1 cup/200 g sugar

 

Crème fraîche or whipped cream/double cream

 

Make the Cake: Preheat the oven to 325˚F/165°C/gas 3. Lightly butter a 9-in/23-cm springform pan with a removable bottom.

Combine the eggs and sugar in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer on high speed until the eggs are thick and pale yellow, about 3 minutes. Drizzle in the olive oil and melted butter and continue to beat. Fold in the citrus zest and juice.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl. Add the dry ingredients gradually to the egg mixture and stir until evenly combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula to make sure there are no dry bits at the bottom.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until the top is lightly brown, and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes, rotating once during baking to make sure it cooks evenly. Cool the cake on a wire rack for about 10 minutes. When cool enough to handle, remove the pan sides and cool the cake completely on a rack.

Meanwhile, to make the marmalade: Scrub and dry the tangerines and trim off their tops and bottoms.  Slice 2 of them as thinly a possible while still keeping their shape, about 1/8 to 1/4 in/3 to 6 mm thick, discarding the seeds as they appear. Place tangerine slices in a small pot with a heavy bottom. Juice the remaining 2 tangerines {you should have a scant cup/240 ml of juice} and pour the juice over the sliced fruit. Set aside for 20 minutes.

Cook over medium-high heat until the liquid comes to a boil. Decrease the heat slightly and simmer until the tangerine peel is soft, about 20 minutes. {Don’t stir, which will destroy the pretty round shape of the citrus.} Add the sugar and continue cooking until the sugar is dissolved. Cook until thickened and the juice has gelled slightly and is syrupy, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let it cool to room temperature.

Arrange the candied citrus slices over the top of the cake, overlapping to make beautiful jeweled tiles of fruit. Drizzle some of the citrus syrup over the slices and allow it to drip down the sides of the cake. Slice and serve with crème fraîche or whipped cream/double cream.

PS, if you love the flavor of this citrus marmalade, make a batch or two using chopped citrus and keep it in jars in the fridge to serve with toast and biscuits.