Cook the Book | The Silver Spoon Puglia's Soft Orange Cake, 'Torta Soffice All'Arancia'

Soft Orange Cake

Cook the Book | 'The Silver Spoon Puglia'

We love cookbooks around here, so much so that we read and study them like they are a novel or coffee table book.  We are fortunate that we get to see a lot of books that hit the marketn so we are excited to kick off a new series today called 'Cook the Book', where do do just that.  We are starting things off with The Silver Spoon Puglia, a book dedicated to the mouthwatering cuisine of Puglia, Italy.  Plus, you can shop the items we used in this story below.  

Inside the Book: Transport yourself to Puglia in this visually compelling cookbook that includes local recipes, beautiful scenery and a spotlight on ingredients that are key to Puglian cuisine like almonds and Aleatico wine. Quite a few recipes have been tagged like the Baked Squid and Potatoes, Almond Cakes and a Pasta and Tomato Bake.  

The Recipe: We were craving something sweet and the book offers many dessert options to choose from, many centering around various holidays.  We settled on this recipe for a Soft Orange Cake, also known as 'Torta Soffice All'Arancia', but made a few changes. Instead of pouring the zesty filling into a buttery pastry shell, we opted to use ramekins. The result? A moist cake-like finish that wasn't overtly sweet letting the flavor of the juicy oranges take center stage.    

Soft Orange Cake, 'Torta Soffice All'Arancia

4 eggs, seperated

3/4 cup sugar, plus more for ramekins 

Zest and juice of one orange, preferrably Navel

4 tablespoons extra virgin oil, plus more for greasing 

1/4 teaspoon salt

Zest of one lemon, preferrably organic

1 teaspoon of lemon juice

1 1/4 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon lemon juice 

Powdered sugar, for dusting

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generoulsy oil 4 ramekins with olive oil and sprinkle with sugar to absorb some of the oil.   Place on a baking sheet and set aside.  Place egg yolks, sugar, zests, orange j uice, olive oil and salt in bowl. Mix to combine. In a seperate bowl,  beat eggs whites and lemon juice until stiff peaks form.  Gently fold into orange batter and stir until completely combined. Divide evenly among ramkeins.  Bake for 25 minutes or until a knife can be inserted into the center and comes out mostly clean. Let cool before dusting with powdered sugar.  You can keep in the ramekins or turn onto a plate to enjoy.

Styling & Photography by Alison / Book c/o Phaidon