Topped with “roses” fashioned from dried apricots, these glazed petite cakes are bursting with delightful orange notes.
To make dried apricot roses: using a rolling pin, roll out dried apricot slices until thin and pliable. Using a sharp knife, cut each apricot slice into very thin strips. Roll a short strip into a tight circle or “bud.” Add apricot strips around the bud, building a small rose. Repeat with remaining dried apricot strips to create desired number of roses. Store roses in an airtight container until needed.
Orange Poppyseed Tea Cakes
Serves: approximately 24
Ingredients
- 1⁄2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3⁄4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh orange zest
- 2 large eggs
- 3⁄4 teaspoon orange extract
- 1⁄8 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons cake flour
- 1⁄2 tablespoon poppyseeds
- 1⁄8 teaspoon baking powder
- 1⁄8 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1⁄16 teaspoon baking soda
- 1⁄4 cup heavy whipping cream
- Orange Glaze (recipe follows)
- Garnish: 24 dried apricot roses
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°. Spray a 24-well mini muffin pan with cook- ing spray with flour.
- In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugar, and orange zest with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy, approximately 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in extracts.
- In a small bowl, whisk together cake flour, poppyseeds, baking powder, salt, and baking soda until combined. Add to butter mixture alternately with heavy cream, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating at medium-low speed.
- Using a 2-teaspoon levered scoop, drop 2 scoops batter into prepared wells. Lightly tap pan on countertop to settle batter and release air bubbles.
- Place pans in oven and immediately reduce oven temperature to 350°.
- Bake until edges are light golden brown and a wooden pick inserted in centers comes out clean with a few crumbs sticking to it, 7 to 9 minutes. (Don’t overbake, or tea cakes will be dry.) Carefully transfer tea cakes to wire cooling racks. Let cool completely. Store in an airtight container with layers separated by wax paper until ready to glaze.
- Quickly dip tea cakes into glaze, and transfer to wire racks. Serve within 4 hours, or place in an airtight container, refrigerate, and serve within 2 days.
- Just before serving, garnish with a dried apricot rose, if desired.
Notes
Make-Ahead Tip: Unglazed cakes can be placed in an airtight container with layers separated by wax paper and frozen for up to 2 weeks. Let thaw completely before dipping in Orange Glaze.
Orange Glaze
Serves: approximately ¾ cup
Pulp-free fresh orange juice is essential to create a glaze that will uniformly coat our Orange Poppyseed Tea Cakes.
Ingredients
- 3⁄4 cup fresh orange juice, strained of pulp
- 3⁄4 cup castor sugar*
Instructions
- In a small bowl, stir together orange juice and sugar until sugar dissolves. Use immediately.
Notes
*Castor (extra-fine granulated) sugar dissolves quickly and easily. To make a castor sugar substitute, process granulated sugar in a food processor until finely ground.
