Blood Orange Cornmeal Bundt Cakes

I made these little cakes for brunch over the weekend, and I definitely see more of them in my future. They were the perfect little cakes for the occasion, light, refreshing, and satisfying.  I started out making my cornmeal cake which has always been one of my go to recipes for brunch due to the fact that it's easy to put together and not overly sweet.  I wanted to make a blood orange version of the original cake, and once I started baking, it all just came together beautifully.
The first thing I did was add the zest of a few blood oranges to the cake to give it a burst of flavor.  That in itself was really good and I could have left it at that, but I wanted more.  Next I made a blood orange tequila glaze to coat the cakes.  This was definitely fueled by the blood orange margarita I had earlier in the week ;) The glaze was seriously good, and look at that color! It was sweet and syrupy, and the tequila gave it that little bite it needed to balance it out.  Plus the cakes weren't too sweet, so the glaze was just the right accessory.

Blood orange tequila glaze

While the cakes were still warm, I used a toothpick to poke holes in the tops of them.  Then I generously brushed/spooned the glaze over them.  I was very happy with the direction this was going, and even happier that the cakes took on a slight pink tint from the glaze!  Once they were all coated, I set them aside so all the flavors could mingle.

The last thing I did was make a fruit compote with blood oranges, a cara cara orange, and some strawberries.  Blood oranges are my favorite due to their bright flavor, and their vibrant fuschia color doesn't hurt either!  I also really like cara cara oranges.  They are sweeter than regular oranges and there's a little tang to them.  I tossed all the fruit together with some triple sec and more tequila.  I figured I might as well finish what I started with the glaze.  The compote finished off the dessert wonderfully, and the cake was just bursting with blood orange flavor.  The cakes were a hit, and so were the batch of blood orange margaritas I whipped up! Enjoy!

Blood Orange Cornmeal Bundt Cake

• 6oz. butter
• 1 cup sugar
• zest of 5 blood oranges
• 3 eggs
• 6 egg yolks
• 1/2t. vanilla extract
• 1T. tequila
• 3/4 cup + 1T. AP flour
• 1/2 cup + 2T. cornmeal
• 3/4t. baking powder
• 1/2t. salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease small bundt cake pan.
2. Cream butter, sugar, and zest.
3. Add eggs & egg yolk, few at a time till all combined.
4. Add extract and tequila.
5. Mix in flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt till combined.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 13-15 minutes till golden, rotating once halfway through.  Recipe yields 8 small cakes.

Blood Orange Tequila Glaze

• 1/3 cup blood orange juice
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 oz. butter
• 1T. + 1t. tequila

1. Bring juice, sugar, and butter to a boil.  Let mixture boil over medium heat for 3-4 minutes till mixture gets thick and syrupy.
2. Remove from heat and whisk in tequila.  You can also replace the tequila with Grand Marnier. 
3. While the cakes are still warm, poke holes in the tops using a toothpick.  Next brush or spoon the glaze over them.  If glaze gets too thick, just heat it up on the stove, or pop it in the microwave for 30 seconds to loosen it up.

Blood Orange & Strawberry Compote

• 3 blood oranges
• 1 cara cara orange
• 16 oz. container of strawberries
• 3-4T. sugar - depends on sweetness of the fruit
• 2T. tequila
• 1T. triple sec

1. Place segmented oranges & quartered strawberries in a medium size bowl.  Toss with sugar.
2. Add tequila & triple sec to mixture.  Allow to sit for 20 minutes for the flavors to get to know each other. 
3. Taste it to see if you need more sugar or alcohol.
4. Spoon fruit on top of the cakes when ready to serve.