Late Night Baking Session No. 562

The number is totally random.  It could be baking session number 562, 1289, or 48 for all I know.  It's my version of an inside joke (really inside), or my (sad) attempt at being funny.  I'll sometimes post a Facebook status when I get the urge to bake at night.  These are also sometimes known as 'Midnight Baking Sessions.'  The updates usually include a photo of what the late hour produces or provides a tease of what's to come.  There were a lots of those sessions around the holidays when I'd come home from the day job and decide to tackle just one more batch of biscotti.

Wednesday night turned into a late night baking session, after a lovely day off where I had lunch with the Girls, drank a latte with the best design ever, ran errands, and even made it to the gym!  It's those kind of days that get me itching to do some baking.  Like good foreplay leading into good sex.  All the right moves to put me in the mood---to find my hands covered in flour.  Wait...we're talking about baking, right?? RIGHT!

I bought a few Cara Cara oranges on the last grocery trip.  Yes, marketing by Mother Nature strikes again.  Not just any oranges, no Navels or Valencias here!  Cara Cara!  You know I was fascinated by the idea of a blushing pink surprise inside that bright orange peel.  I didn't want to hide the fruit.  It needed a showcase!  I considered a loaf cake with a layer of fruit on top, but after perusing some of the blogs I normally read, I saw a post for an apple upside down cake.  That's it!  Cake, fruit, caramelized sugar.  A little recipe searching and sorting and I decided on a David Lebovitz recipe.  If you haven't read his book, 'The Sweet Life in Paris,' you should.  He's funny, charming, and the book is filled with killer recipes.

His Upside Down Cake Recipe is just the kind of recipe I love, easy and adaptable.  The cake is amazing, moist, yet stands up to the caramelized top.  I used a 9-inch cake pan (even when making the caramel on the stovetop---tongs are helpful!) and vanilla paste instead of vanilla extract.  With the paste, you get the vanilla bean speckles.  I love that!

Find David's recipe here.  And go bake a cake.

Fresh out of the oven...Cara Cara Orange Upside Down Cake

Best latte art ever...meow!