Today, 8 March, is International Women’s Day (IWD) and this year’s theme focuses on equality with #EachforEqual whereby an equal world is an enabled world. The IWD website explains that, “we can actively choose to challenge stereotypes, fight bias, broaden perceptions, improve situations and celebrate women’s achievements”. Together, we can work towards creating a gender equal world – not just in the work place, but within sport, in society and also in wealth.
Here is Italy, IWD is a big celebration, with the Mimosa symbolising this important day. Unfortunately, this year, the main celebrations has had to be cancelled due to the ongoing Coronavirus situation, however, individual families will still come together, eat and dedicate the day to the women in their lives.
I therefore dedicate this recipe to all the women who continue to fight for an equal place at the table, to be seen the same as their male counterparts, the be respected by their employers and rewarded based on merit rather than gender. Above all, I dedicate this to the women closest to me who do amazing things every day, with one woman in particular who never fails to show me her courage and fight – my oldest friend Devkee. You may remember from a previous recipe that Devkee ran the NYC marathon in November, raising money and awareness for MRF. She is now part of the incredible THIS GIRL CAN campaign and I am just constantly in awe of everything she conquers.
I therefore dedicate this recipe to all the women who continue to fight for an equal place at the table, to be seen the same as their male counterparts, the be respected by their employers and rewarded based on merit rather than gender. Above all, I dedicate this to the women closest to me who do amazing things every day, with one woman in particular who never fails to show me her courage and fight – my oldest friend Devkee. You may remember from a previous recipe that Devkee ran the NYC marathon in November, raising money and awareness for MRF. She is now part of the incredible THIS GIRL CAN campaign and I am just constantly in awe of everything she conquers.
This loaf cake is deliciously light and moist and you really get the flavour of the blood orange through! The season for these beautiful blood oranges is almost over, but honestly, there is nothing stopping you doing this with everyday oranges, but if you can get hold of them I recommend you do. You will also find that if your orange segments are super dark, your glaze will have a deeper pink colour which is just stunning!
15
minutes45
minutes1
hourIngredients
260 g Plain Flour
1 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Bicarbonate Soda
1/4 Tsp Salt
150 g Unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
250 g Golden caster sugar
3 Eggs, room temperature
1 Tsp Vanilla extract
3 Blood oranges, juice + zest
120 g Greek Yogurt (0% Fat)
- Glaze
250 g Icing Sugar
3 Tbsp Blood orange juice
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 160℃ Fan/ 180℃, grease and line a 30x10cm / 12x4in loaf tin. In small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy using an electric whisk on medium speed – around 5 minutes. Scrap down the sides where necessary.
- Add eggs one-by-one, whisking on low until well combined. Add vanilla, the zest of 2 oranges and whisk again to combine. Finally, pour in 1/4 cup (60ml) of freshly squeezed blood orange juice. Whisk once more to combine.
- Add half the dry ingredients and half of the yoghurt and gently fold until almost combined. Pour in the rest of the dry ingredients and yoghurt and fold again until just combined – don’t over mix!
- Carefully pour into the lined loaf tin and bake for 45 minutes. Check to see if it is cooked through using a toothpick in the middle of the loaf. If needed, put back in the oven for 5 minute intervals until the toothpick comes out clean. Remove and leave in the tin for 10 minutes before removing to a cooling rack to cook completely.
- For the glaze, sift half the icing sugar in a bowl and add 2Tbsp orange juice. Whisk to combine, if it is took runny, add more sugar. If you cannot taste the orange, add more juice (but be warned it will make it more runny). Continue slowly adding sugar/juice until you have a thick consistency – pour all over the cake, zest some more orange over the top and allow to set before slicing.