So, baking is not really a strength of mine. I do not have the patience to be a perfectionist and baking requires that precision. Cooking is a lot more forgiving for minor errors. I've done okay with some baking during the last years' challenges, so I have gained a little confidence to at least try. When the theme of peeling came up, I figured I wanted to try the candied fruit route again like I did for the transparent lemon tart. Plus this recipe looked so pretty, I was really hoping it would turn out! 

The recipe author (and commentators) all claimed that this was a fuss free easy recipe, so it seemed like a good one to try. Or, it'll just be all that more embarrassing when I mess it up! Last time I candied lemons, the process took an hour and required overnight drying, so I was a little surprised this one only took 15 minutes. Mine didn't produce as thick of a looking syrup as the author, so I was already a little worried. I also now realize while looking at the authors photos that I did not layer the candied oranges the same way as she did, so I'm already thinking mine will definitely not turn out as pretty 😣. 

Zesting, taking the pith off, food processing and mixing the cake all seemed to go easy, but when I went to add the food processed oranges I started to worry I may not have processed it enough since there were some gatherings of pulpy portions as I poured the cake batter in the springform pan. Too late to fix any of that since I was on a time frame to finish this before a doctors appointment, so I put it in the oven with worried hope that this may be a bust.

I'll admit I got real inpatient waiting for it to cool so I could see the finished product before I had to leave for my appointment so I may have rushed flipping it and taking a pic, so not as pretty of a pic as I would have liked. I snuck a taste of the cake from the pieces I cut off to level it, and oh my god, it tasted soooooo good! 🤤 The candied oranges were still a little bitter and tough at the peel, so next time I would try to bring the syrup to a greater boil before lowering the heat or simmer longer.

Rating: 9/10 

Original Recipe can be found here