A Kumquat Dilemma.

I have a kumquat problem. I bought them for my Thanksgiving Day fruit bowl. They looked fabulous. I ate one or two. I believe someone else ate one. Now I have almost an entire pint of kumquats left over and I don’t know what to do with them. Throwing them out is not an option.

According to Epicurious I could make a variety of cranberry kumquat relishes and compotes. Well, that is a nice idea, but I still have cranberry sauce left over so I really don’t need anymore of that kind of thing filling up the back of my fridge for the next few months. I could make a highly rated date-kumquat sticky pudding, but it only uses 6 fruit so I’d have to make about four sticky puddings and I think that might be three too many. Or what about that wonderful lemon tart I made for Thanksgiving a few years ago which was covered with candied lemons. I could make a Kumquat tart in the same vein and use up all my cute little orange fruits.

Then I remembered orange cake. Orange cake is one of my favorite things in the world - orange cake with orange frosting. When I was a child, Sara Lee® sold an amazing orange cake in the freezer section of the grocery store. I long for that orange cake. It has grown and grown in my memory over the years until it has reached a pinnacle of delicious, moist oranginess. Perhaps I could make a kumquat cake that would simultaneously use my left over fruit and give me orange cake to eat. Good plan.

Here is an unusual recipe for orange cake that I’ve made before (with an orange). This time I tried it with my kumquats. The cake is very moist and flavorful – although not exactly the cake of my memories. One bonus: the entire cake only has 30 grams of fat in it. I’m still working on a good frosting. If you use an orange, buy a navel orange so you don’t have to worry about seeds.

Fresh Kumquat Cake
(Adapted from Fanny Farmer)

1 pint Kumquats (or 1 large bright-skinned orange)
3 eggs
2 egg whites
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup corn starch
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
Confectioners’ sugar (optional)

> Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and lightly flour the baking pans (either two 8 inch round cake pans or one 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan or four mini loaf pans).

> Cut each kumquat in half widthwise and remove any seeds. Put all the kumquats in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.

> Measure flour, corn starch and salt into a small mixing bowl and mix thoroughly with a small whisk. Set aside.

> Put the eggs and whites in a mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer, using a whisk attachment, until well blended and foamy.

> Continue beating and slowly add the granulated sugar. Beat until thick and light colored, a minimum of 5 minutes.

> Using the lowest speed on the electric mixer, slowly add the flour mixture. Once it is all added let the mixer run for two seconds longer then stop it. Remove the bowl from the mixer and gently fold in any remaining drifts of the flour mixture.

> Fold in the chopped kumquats. Don’t overfold.

>Spread the batter in the baking pan or pans. If baking in a loaf pan, bake for about 45 minutes and start checking for doneness at about 35 minutes. In layer cake pans about 20-25 minutes, in the mini loaf pans about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of the cake. Turn onto a rack. Dust with confectioners’ sugar, if desired and serve.