It's chilly out there and as we slog through another day with a shiver in our bones, it can seem like a very long season.
Yet it can also be very kind. Witness the abundance of citrus fruits tumbling off the trees and shelves. Bright yellow lemons, oranges glowing like little rising suns, limes bursting with tangy juice. It feels positively tropical out there.
Then the tart zip of flavour hits the tongue and suddenly we're lying on a beach considering our sunblock options.
Citrus has a way of warming us up, just by looking at it. Then the tart zip of flavour hits the tongue and suddenly we're lying on a beach considering our sunblock options.
Of course, there's no denying that we are still at the tiny end of the temperature readings, so we do need to consider our comfort options. This is not the time for adding zesty lemon and lime to a sorbet or cocktail (though by all means, you can absolutely do that). Instead, bake some of that citrus sunshine into a cake and warm yourself up properly. Any of these cheerful recipes will soon see you smiling.
Hailing from Sweden (where they know a thing or two about warming up), this divine cake punches layers of lemon curd through a sponge-like yoghurt cake. A cream cheese icing adds a layer of sharp creaminess that balances the citrus flavours perfectly.
The Dutch are also partial to a citrus cake, and chef Geert Elzinga shares his recipe for the perfect one. Dark chocolate chips add richness to balance the orange notes. A simple sugar syrup keeps things light, much like your spirits after devouring a slice of this treat.
The flavour of yuzu is like a strong hybrid of grapefruit, mandarin and lime; and that smells every bit as fragrant as it sounds. Using yuzu citrus tea, this classic buttercream cake is given a welcome zesty boost. Known as yuja cha in Korean, the tea comes in a jam-like form and can be found at Korean and Asian supermarkets.
You throw three entire mandarins (yes to pith and skin, no to pips) into this gluten-free number. The result is a dense and moist cake that tastes and smells exactly of sweet, sweet mandarin.
If an orange lamington cake doesn't brighten your day, the day isn't over yet. Adding a citrus note to the standard lamington sponge punches up all the flavours to a new level of yummo. Watch the video of Poh making the cake for an added dose of cheer.
A boozy limoncello sauce adds extra warming oomph to this zesty little number. It's an easy-to-make, delightfully light and fluffy cake, with an excellent texture from the polenta.
Fresh bay leaves and extra-virgin olive oil cut through bold mandarin flavours in this easy loaf. It's the perfect pick-me-up on a drowsy Sunday afternoon, served with a strong cup of tea.
If you make this lemon curd cake once, you'll make it again and again and again. It's so easy and so good. Shortbread dough is pressed into the tin, followed by freshly cooled lemon curd, then more dough is dotted on top before into the oven it goes. It's that simple, but the result is a crunchy-in-parts, soft-in-others cake that oozes with a wickedly zingy lemony curd.
Chocolate has had a long love affair with many citrus flavours, but grapefruit has surely stolen its heart. Sharp-but-sweet ruby grapefruit meets dense-but-rich fudge cake, and both are all the happier for the pairing.
If you can get your hands on some tangelos - at their peak from now until October - then this creamy/tangy cheesecake is exactly what to do with them. Not least because of the Campari-soaked tangelo pieces that sit oh-so beautifully on top.
Would a list like this be complete without including an orange and poppyseed cake? No, it would not. Here a citrus-flavoured icing backs up the orange rind in the cake itself. Just the ticket for a cup of tea with friends.
If a tropical holiday was a cake, it would be this cake. Bonus points for the fact that it contains no refined sugar - which is very helpful for when our next real tropical holiday beckons. Until then, let's bunker in and eat cake.
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