Ombre Citrus Upside Down Loaf Cake Recipe

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moist almond lemon upside cake loaf cake with ombre citrus slices

This tender, moist Ombre Citrus Upside Down Loaf Cake is made with almond paste, lemon zest & topped with citrus slices & tangy blood orange syrup. It’s the perfect dessert to show off all the delicious citrus fruit that are in season.

Moist almond lemon upside cake loaf cake with ombre citrus slices

This time of year, our Meyer lemon tree is laden with plump, ripe lemons, prompting me to incorporate them into my recipes whenever possible. Meyer lemons, with their delicate balance of tartness and floral notes, are particularly well-suited for desserts. Furthermore, as a fan of almond-infused treats, I find the combination of almond and lemon flavors in this loaf cake perfectly balanced. The almond paste ensures an exceptionally moist and delicate texture, while the addition of lemon zest provides a subtle citrus kick. Additionally, I love to use poppy seeds in the batter for a bit of texture. What truly makes this Ombre Citrus Upside Down Loaf Cake special, is the beautiful rainbow “ombre” effect of the citrus, plus a sweet, tart blood orange glaze, which gives the loaf a wonderful shine and locks in the moistness of the cake.

Ombre citrus slices

Ingredients and Tips

Loaf Pan Size: This recipe calls for a 9×5 loaf pan, but can be made in any size pan. If using a different size, make sure to keep on an eye on the loaf as it bakes. At the halfway mark you may need to put foil over the top if it’s browning too quickly. Everyone’s oven is different. Continue checking at 45 min, every 5-10 min, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Citrus: Use a variety of citrus for the most beautiful ombre effect. Blood oranges often have different hues, some are dark purple, while others are a red-ish pink color. For this recipe I use two blood oranges (one light and one dark), one cara cara orange, one navel orange, one regular orange, and one meyer lemon. I pick the smallest ones the grocery store carries of each.

Pastry Flour: Pastry flour tends to produce lighter, more delicate textures in cakes due to its lower protein content and reduced gluten formation, which is why I prefer to use it in this Ombre Citrus Upside Down Loaf Cake recipe.

Almond Paste: It’s best to use an almond paste that is soft in texture, as it will be easier to cream it with the sugar. Odense Almond Paste is readily available at most grocery stores.

Caster Sugar: Caster sugar is finer than regular granulated sugar, making it easier to cream with the almond paste. However, you can substitute caster sugar for regular sugar, it will just take longer to incorporate.

With the extra citrus, make lemonade! You will probably have a lot of extra citrus, in which case, you can make a refreshing pink lemonade.

Citrus lemonade

Ombre Citrus Upside Down Loaf Cake Recipe

Step 1: Cut the Citrus

Cut the citrus horizontally into about 2mm-2.5mm slices. If they are too thin, they will break apart in the syrup. If they are too thick, they can impart too much moisture into the cake. Then cut the citrus slices in half.

Citrus slices

Step 2: Make the Upside Down Citrus Syrup

In a medium saucepan, add the sugar, water, and orange juice and bring to a boil. Add the citrus slices, except for the blood orange, and reduce the heat. Simmer for 12 minutes until the citrus softens and candies. Avoid stirring as this could break up the delicate citrus. Turn the heat off.

Citrus slices cooking in syrup

Step 3: Make the Cake

Arrange the citrus in the loaf pan

Preheat your oven to 350 F and prepare a 9×5 loaf pan by buttering it and lining the bottom and sides with parchment paper. Stick a little butter on the sides of the pan to help the parchment paper stick. Then dip the blood orange in the syrup and arrange the blood orange and candied citrus in a decorative pattern on the bottom of the loaf pan. Start with the lightest color (meyer lemon) and work your way up to the darkest (blood orange). Meanwhile, wipe away excess liquid from the citrus and excess syrup. Too much liquid can result in an undercooked loaf. Set the pan aside.

Ombre citrus slices in loaf pan

Prepare the dry and wet ingredients

Over a medium bowl, sift together the pastry flour, baking powder, and salt, twice. In another small bowl, beat the eggs and vanilla extract with a whisk until well combined and set aside.

Cream the almond paste and sugar

In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, add the almond paste and mix on low to medium-low speed, while very gradually adding the sugar until they are creamed together. If you add the sugar in all at once, it will be harder to incorporate into the almond paste. The key to making this cake batter smooth is incorporating the almond paste completely and this can take a while. At first it will appear chunky and hard, but the longer it mixes, the more it will break apart. Finally, if the almond paste and sugar are still not creaming together, add 1-2 tsp of orange juice and/or a cube from the butter.

Creaming almond paste and sugar together

Cream the almond paste and sugar with butter

While the stand mixer is running, slowly add the room temperature butter, cube by cube. Then cream everything together until light and fluffy (3-4 minutes, not including scraping the sides down). Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed to make sure everything is incorporated. It’s important the butter is at room temperature, 65-70°F. At this temperature range, butter is still solid but easily spreadable and malleable and can properly cream with the sugar/almond paste.

Creaming butter and sugar/almond paste

Add the beaten eggs and vanilla to the butter mixture

On medium speed, gradually add the beaten eggs to the butter mixture. Scrape the sides as needed to ensure everything is incorporated. The batter may look like it’s broken, but that’s normal.

Loaf cake batter and whisk

Stir in the poppy seeds and lemon zest

Loaf cake batter with poppyseeds and lemon zest

Gently fold in the flour

With a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, gently fold in the dry ingredients until just combined, being careful not to overmix.

Poppyseed and citrus loaf cake batter

Step 4: Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake

Pour the batter over the arranged citrus slices in the loaf pan, smoothing the top with an offset spatula. Bake at 350F until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 55-60 minutes. Check the loaf cake halfway, if the top is starting to brown, place a piece of foil over it. Everyone’s oven is different so keep checking on the loaf every 5-10 min at the 45 min mark. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 20 minutes before inverting it onto a serving platter to reveal the citrus slices on top. If your batter seeps through the citrus, gently remove the crumb to reveal the beautiful citrus ombre.

Almond citrus batter in loaf pan Baked almond citrus loaf cake in pan

 

Step 5: Make the blood orange glaze

While the cake is cooling, prepare the glaze. In the same saucepan, add the sugar and blood orange juice to the remaining syrup. Simmer for 5 minutes. Then turn off the heat and let it cool slightly.

Blood orange syrup

Step 6: Flip the loaf cake and glaze the citrus

Carefully remove the parchment paper from the Ombre Citrus Upside Down Loaf Cake and glaze it with a brush while the syrup is warm. The syrup will thicken once cooled completely.

Moist almond lemon upside cake loaf cake with ombre citrus slices

Step 7: Make the whipped cream and serve

Optionally, beat the cold heavy cream in medium bowl until medium peaks form. Add the sugar and vanilla extract and beat until stiff peaks form. To serve, cut the loaf into slices and top with a dollop of whipped cream and a drizzle of syrup. Garnish with extra candied citrus.

Moist almond lemon upside cake loaf cake with ombre citrus slices

Ombre Citrus Upside Down Loaf Cake Recipe

A stunning, tender and moist almond-lemon loaf cake decorated with ombre citrus slices and blood orange syrup.
3.13 from 116 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 10 servings

Ingredients
  

For the Upside-Down Citrus Syrup

  • 5 Small oranges of different variety - Blood orange, cara cara, navel, orange, meyer lemon
  • 1/3 Cup Sugar
  • 1/2 Cup Water
  • 2 Tbsp Orange juice

For the Cake

  • 95 Grams Pastry Flour
  • 1/2 Tsp Baking powder
  • 1/8 Tsp Salt
  • 5 Large eggs, room temp
  • 2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 3/4 Cup Almond Paste, room temp - (200 grams)
  • 1 Cup Caster sugar
  • 1 Cup Unsalted butter, room temp, cut into cubes
  • 2 Tbsp Poppy seeds
  • 2-3 Tsp Lemon Zest - From an unwaxed lemon.

For the top Glaze

  • Remaining syrup
  • 1/4 Cup Sugar
  • 1/4 Cup Blood orange juice

For the Whipped Cream to Serve (Optional)

  • 3/4 Cup Heavy whipping cream - Straight from the fridge
  • 3 Tbsp Powdered sugar
  • 1/2 Tsp Vanilla extract

Instructions
 

For the Upside-Down Citrus Syrup

  • Cut the citrus horizontally into about 2.5 mm slices. Then cut them in half.
  • In a medium saucepan, add the sugar, water, and orange juice and bring to a boil. Add the citrus slices, except for the blood orange, and reduce the heat. Simmer for 12 minutes until the citrus softens and candies. Avoid stirring as this could break up the citrus.
  • Turn the heat off.

For the Cake

  • Preheat your oven to 350 F and prepare a 9x5 loaf pan by buttering it and lining the bottom and sides with parchment paper.
  • Dip the blood orange in the syrup and arrange the blood orange and candied citrus in a decorative pattern on the bottom of the loaf pan. Start with the lightest color, meyer lemon, and work your way up to the blood orange. Make sure there is not too much liquid on the bottom of the pan, otherwise the loaf will not cook properly. Wipe off any extra liquid and set the pan aside.
  • Over a medium bowl, sift together the pastry flour, baking powder, and salt, twice. Set aside.
  • In another small bowl, beat the eggs and vanilla extract with a whisked until well combined. Set aside.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, add the almond paste and mix on low/medium-low speed, while very gradually adding the sugar until they are creamed together. * This can take a while. If the almond paste and sugar are still not creaming together, add 1-2 tsp of orange juice and/or a cube from the butter.
  • While the stand mixer is running, slowly add the unsalted butter, cube by cube, and cream together until light and fluffy (3-4 minutes). Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
  • On medium speed, gradually add the beaten eggs to the butter mixture. Scrape the sides as needed to ensure everything is incorporated.
  • Stir in the poppy seeds and lemon zest.
  • With a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, gently fold in the dry ingredients until just combined, being careful not to overmix.
  • Pour the batter over the arranged citrus slices in the loaf pan, smoothing the top with an offset spatula.
  • Bake at 350F until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 55-60 minutes depending on your oven. Check the cake halfway, if the top is starting to darken, place a piece of foil over it.
  • Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 20 minutes before inverting it onto a serving platter to reveal the ombre citrus slices on top. If the batter seeps through the citrus, gently remove the pieces from the citrus.

For the top Glaze

  • While the cake is cooling, prepare the glaze.
  • In the same saucepan, add the sugar and blood orange juice to the remaining syrup. Simmer for 5 minutes.
  • Turn off the heat and let it cool slightly. Meanwhile, carefully remove the parchment paper and glaze the upside-down loaf cake while the syrup is warm.

For the Whipped Cream to Serve (Optional)

  • Beat the cold heavy cream in a medium bowl until medium peaks form.
  • Add the sugar and vanilla extract and beat until stiff peaks form.
  • To serve, cut the loaf into slices and top with a dollop of whipped cream and a drizzle of syrup. Garnish with extra candied citrus.

Notes

*If you add the sugar too quickly, the paste won't break up as well. 
Keyword almond, blood orange, cake, citrus, lemon, loaf, loaf cake, moist, ombre, orange, poppyseed, upside down
@thecottagefawn

Ombré citrus upside down loaf cake with blood orange glaze. The loaf is made with poppy seeds, lemon zest, and almond paste, which makes the crumb super moist and tender. The full recipe is on thecottagefawn.com 🍋 • • • • #citrus #loaf #loafcake #recipes #recipeideas #ombré #ombrecake #lemonloaf #lemonpoppyseed #cottagecore #oldways #oldfashioned #slowliving #slowlife #moistcake #almondcake #meyerlemon #bloodorange #bakingfromscratch #cozy #cozycooking #baking

♬ Les Madeleines – Andrea Vanzo

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