Sweet potato! In a cake?! Well why not! Not much though, just ½ a cup, but it lends such richness and an earthy sweetness to this cake. But the real star is the boost it gets from the addition of the seasonally available blood orange. Only a little time left to get them, the season is so short.

This is originally from an issue of Chatelaine that my wife picked up from the Dentist office. Let me qualify, she was taking a picture of the recipe when the receptionist told her to take the magazine. They know I’m a Chef who loves to bake. My wife liked the recipe and after being my advisor for almost 35 years, has developed a knack – like me, of looking at the ingredients and imagining the taste. She imagined well!

I put a twist on it with the blood orange because I had them in the house and it is one of my favorite flavors. I think their limited availability makes the taste that much better. That’s the best reason to use it in as many recipes as possible. If you have been to any of my classes or even just read my blogs you will have heard of citrus sugar. I was surprised to see it in this recipe (although they didn’t call it that). The premise is the same – rub fresh zest (from an orange, lemon really any citrus fruit) into the sugar to add additional flavor imparted by the oils in the zest – like spreading the wealth. But there is something special about the taste of blood orange sugar. It’s like sugar for grown-ups – bittersweet chocolate. Then there is that juice which can be used in dressings and sauces and other things like blood orange curd.

The recipe called for candied orange slices. So naturally I did blood orange slices – so good. Cooking the slices in the syrup also infused the simple syrup with that incredible flavor and magnificent color. What does one do with this simple syrup? Well pour it on top of the cake of course! This is a dense cake so bring on the syrup, it can take it. I quite often speak of simple syrup – equal parts of sugar and water, sometimes more water than sugar. Boil until all the sugar has dissolved – take it off the stove. This is where you add your liquid flavorings – Grand Marnier, Calvados, jalapenos (mango jalapeno cheesecake – YUM). But if you are trying to candy stuff, like blood orange slices, then add them in when the sugar is dissolved and simmer in the simple syrup for about 10 – 15 minutes. Turn off and let cool.  I also added sliced almonds – not slivered, but sliced.  Something about the texture of sliced almonds in a cake – mmmmmmm!

This is another one of those “keeper” recipes I speak off. It is good! I don’t generally eat sweet stuff (unless it’s junk candy) but I did have this cake. I did like this cake! Something else I did with this cake recipe. After I greased the loaf pan – I didn’t use parchment by the way, I sprinkled some of the citrus sugar and moved it around by tilting the pan to coat it with the sugar. As the cake baked, it would pick the sugar and the not so intense heat would give a lovely crunchy crust – it works. Make this cake, the longest part is the baking in the oven, similar to banana bread this takes the full hour plus. But that gives you plenty of time to clean, have a glass of wine, read a book, have another glass of wine etc. As always – enjoy!

1 small sweet potato – only 1/2 cup of cooked sweet potato is needed
1 ½ cups citrus sugar – zest of 2 blood oranges mixed with the 1 ¾ cups white sugar – reserve the rest for other uses
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
½ cup sliced almonds
3 eggs
2/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup blood orange juice (from the zested oranges)

Candied Blood Orange Slices
Thinly slice the zested oranges, use a serrated knife for best results or a really really sharp knife
Add them to the boiling simple syrup (1 cup sugar and 1 cup water) and reduce to a simmer
Cook for 10 – 15 minutes – turn off the flame

Preheat the oven to 350f
Prick the sweet potato all over with a fork or the tip of a sharp knife
Microwave for 5 – 8 minutes, turning the potato over after 4 minutes
Using oven mittens transfer the sweet potato to a plate and let cool
When cool enough to handle, mash the potato with a fork and measure out ½ cup, set aside (eat the rest!)
Spray a 9”x5” loaf tin, sprinkle the inside with about 2 tbsp of the citrus sugar – shift the pan to coat the sides, set aside
You should have about 1 ½ cups of the citrus sugar (any extra, use it in your tea or sprinkle on top of the cake before you bake it, or save it for the next time you bake)
Stir together the flour, baking powder, sliced almonds and salt together – add to the citrus sugar and stir well
Mix the eggs with the oil and blood orange juice – stir
Add to the flour mixture – combine until just mixed
Empty the dough into the pan, flatten the top and bake for 55 – 65 minutes until a cake tester comes out with a few moist crumbs – mine took 60 minutes, I started testing at 55 minutes with a toothpick, then every 5 minutes or so 
While still warm, poke holes in the cake with a toothpick and pour the cooled simple syrup over the top, ensure it soaks into the cake – let cool before turning out the cake  
Garnish with the candied blood orange slices – they cut beautifully when candied – use a serrated knife here
Serve warm or cold – so good!