Have oranges, want dessert. Help!

November 28, 2015 9:09 AM

I have too many tangerines, and I'm hoping to convert them into a tasty dessert for my dinner party tonight. I've got most other dessert basics (flour, sugar, eggs, butter, etc) on hand, but I'm doing a grocery run anyway. What will wow my guests? Skill level: Martha Stewart and Bree Van De Camp's lovechild.
posted by BuddhaInABucket to Food & Drink (13 answers total)

Best answer: There's always Nigella's Clementine Cake. You'd need some almonds or almond flour. I added orange oil and used evaporated cane juice and demerara instead of white sugar. The comments give some good adaptations. My non-dessert eating family actually liked it.
posted by monopas at 9:17 AM on November 28, 2015 [5 favorites]

Best answer: This cake is very good.
posted by phunniemee at 9:18 AM on November 28, 2015

I came to suggest the same recipe as monopas. I used the cake to make a chocolate orange trifle (cake layered with chocolate pudding and whipped cream - not a traditional trifle I know). It was awesome.
posted by guster4lovers at 9:20 AM on November 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Creamsicle panna cotta?
I'm envisioning vanilla panna cotta (base recipe from the Kitchn) with a tangerine juice/segment gelee (similar to the grapefruit layer here). For a more complex flavor profile, either ginger or cloves would likely work well in the panna cotta layer (start the panna cotta by pouring all of your dairy into a pan, add fresh sliced ginger or whole cloves, heat until just starts to simmer, then remove from heat & let it cool down to room temperature before proceeding with the gelatin).
I love panna cotta for dinner parties since it's super simple & can be made well in advance, but has a disproportionately large wow factor.

Alternatively, tangerine curd served over a vanilla or almond flavored pound cake?
posted by staraling at 9:28 AM on November 28, 2015 [2 favorites]

came here to suggest the clementine cake.
posted by JPD at 9:40 AM on November 28, 2015

Best answer: There is nothing like the scent of a fresh tangerine as you peel it, knowing you are going to eat it immediately. If it were me, I'd be strongly tempted to serve the tangerines whole, with an elegant little serving dish containing one scoop of perfect vanilla ice cream, lightly sprinkled with cardamom and/or cinnamon; a hot drink (some kind of herbal tea, regular tea, or not-sweet hot chocolate) accompanying.

It's simple, but oh, the tangerine is so so lovely on its own.
posted by amtho at 9:47 AM on November 28, 2015 [7 favorites]

Response by poster: OK, the plan, based on a mix of your suggestions: this cake, garnished with orange curd and whipped cream. Maybe candy some wedges and layer them on top of the cake.

That panna cotta looks good and I'll be experimenting with that later- I've got plenty of orange to mess around with. Woo! I'll post pictures after!
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 10:07 AM on November 28, 2015

Response by poster: (monopas that cake looks good too, I'll make it another night!)
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 10:28 AM on November 28, 2015

Sounds like you're set, but I made this orange tart for thanksgiving, and it was fantastic. It would be great with tangerines.
posted by newpotato at 10:36 AM on November 28, 2015

Looks like you've made a good choice.

I'll still make my recommendation anyway. One time I made a clementine and raspberry trifle, using the clementines to flavor the custard and clementine segments on top. The combination was delicious.
posted by mister pointy at 11:44 AM on November 28, 2015

Another option for the archives: clementines cooked in red wine and spices, ideally served with vanilla ice cream.
posted by HeroZero at 11:55 AM on November 28, 2015

Also: Mrs Beeton's orange fritters
posted by kmennie at 12:52 PM on November 28, 2015

Response by poster: I, uh, don't have pictures because we ate it all.

It was good.
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 7:58 AM on November 29, 2015 [1 favorite]