Tangerine Vanilla Loaf Cake

It's fall and many food blogs are featuring recipes made with apples and pears. While I too find apples and pears worthy inspiration at this time of year, autumn also brings to my mind other seasonal fruit -- citrus.

You see, we lived in Florida for five years and October marks the start of the state's citrus harvest. Large trucks filled with juice oranges become a common sight on the highways and fruit stands are stacked high with several varieties of just-picked, juicy citrus. We luckily lived near a small private citrus grove, where we picked oranges, grapefruit, tangelos (a delicious cross between a tangerine and a grapefruit) and, my favorite, tangerines.

Tangerines, also known as mandarins, are smaller and sweeter than oranges, with a distinctive flavor. They also have looser skin than oranges, making them easier to peel -- and easier to eat.  Freshly squeezed tangerine juice is totally luscious, great on its own or mixed with champagne (tangerine mimosa anyone?) I also like to use the juice in cooking. For example, a spritz in an Asian stir fry provides a nice twist.  

So when I saw this recipe for a quick bread using clementines, I instantly thought tangerines. I used five tangerines in total, but more may be needed depending on the size of the tangerines. I also substituted one vanilla bean (I only had one on hand) for a teaspoon of vanilla extract and it worked out fine. The bread, which I'm calling a loaf cake, is moist and full of tangerine flavor; a great afternoon snack with a cup of tea.

Tangerine Vanilla Loaf Cake

Adapted from Martha Stewart Living

1 tablespoon tangerine zest

3/4 cup freshly squeezed tangerine juice, divided

2 tangerines, supremed* (for zest, juice and supremes about 5-6 tangerines total)

3/4 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 cups all purpose flour, plus extra for dusting the pan

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 stick (8 tablespoons or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing pan

1-1/4 cups sugar

2 vanilla beans, split and scraped

2 large eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an flour 9-by-5 inch loaf pan.

2. Mix together 1/4 cup tangerine juice, heavy cream and vanilla extract in a medium bowl.  In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking poder and salt.

3. With a mixer on medium, combine tangerine zest, butter, 1 cup of sugar and vanilla seeds (about 4 minutes). Add eggs one at a time. With mixer on low, add about a third of the flour mixture, then half of the cream mixture, another third of flour, the remaining cream and then the last of the flour.

4. Fold in tangerine supremes and pour batter into loaf pan. Gently smooth top.

5. Place loaf pan on rimmed baking sheet and bake 55-65 minutes or until tester comes out clean from center of loaf.

6. While loaf is baking, put 1/2 cup of tangerine juice and 1/4 cup of sugar in small sauce pan and bring to boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer forthree minutes.

7. Remove loaf from oven. With a skewer, poke holes all over the top and brush with half the tangerine syrup. Allow loaf to cool about 15 minutes, remove from pan, and cool completely.

8. Brush the rest of the tangerine syrup onto the sides and top (again) of loaf.

* To supreme the tangerines, use a small paring knife and slice off the top and bottom, to expose the pulp. Starting at the top, where the pith (white part) meets the pulp, slice off the skin following the curve of the fruit. When all the peel is removed, slice out each segment by cutting in towards the center of the fruit along the membranes. Remove the now supremed segments.

Fresh Peach Ice Cream

The "season" may be over here on Long Island, but as far as I'm concerned summer doesn't end until September 21. So, I'm still churning out ice cream (as if it needs to be summer to make ice cream...I think not.)

My latest ice cream inspiration is the fresh local peach.  These local peaches -- still available at farm stands -- are so juicy and sweet that I've been looking for any excuse to eat them.  I eat them with yogurt and honey for breakfast.  I conjured up a kind of upside down caramelized peach cheesecake and actually attempted to reproduce this dream dessert, which is, how can I say this, still a work in progress. And I made a few batches of peach ice cream.

I made a few batches, because I wanted the ice cream to be really peachy.  Several recipes I reviewed didn't use very many peaches or obscured the peaches with other flavors. I wanted pure peach and this recipe I concocted delivers.

Fresh Peach Ice Cream

2 cups cream
2 cups whole milk
1 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 pound peaches
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon rum
Juice of one lemon

1. Whisk the the cream and milk together with the sugar in a saucepan and heat just until bubbles form around the edges.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks thoroughly. Temper with about a cup of hot cream mixture. Whisk then add back to the rest of the cream mixture.

3. Cook over medium heat, stirring steadily, until the custard reaches 170 degrees F and coats the back of a spoon. Do not let it boil. Stir in the vanilla, cover and put in the fridge to cool overnight.


4. Remove pits from peaches and peel. Chop the half of the peaches into 1/4 inch pieces and puree the other half in a food processor or blender. Combine the pureed and chopped peaches, and stir in the 1/4 cup of sugar, rum, and lemon juice. Put in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until it comes to a boil. Simmer for about 5-7 minutes, until slightly reduced and shiny. Refrigerate overnight.


5. Run the cream mixture through the ice cream machine for about 30 minutes. Toward the end, pour in the cold peach mixture or fold in by hand, if necessary. Freeze for at least four hours before serving.

Makes about 2 quarts.

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

My ice cream maker sat idle for years, stuffed in the far back corner of one of my kitchen cabinets. But this summer, I've become obsessed with making ice cream. It's my husband's fault. We were watching an episode of Top Chef, the one where the challenge was to make a "final meal" for a celebrity chef, and I turned to him and asked, "what would you choose for your final meal?" Without hesitation he answered "ice cream." So, I thought, geez, I really should make some ice cream.

My first attempt, a salted butter caramel ice cream, was, sadly, a failure; the mixture tasted great but refused to freeze (I do plan to attempt this recipe again). Next, inspired by just-picked strawberries from my CSA, I made a really successful batch of fresh strawberry ice cream. Encouraged, I made nutella ice cream, which was great but a bit rich for my taste.

My latest effort is mint chocolate chip ice cream. A confession: It's not my husband's favorite, it's mine. Plus I happen to have a nice patch of mint in my herb garden, so I searched the web -- accepting some ideas, rejecting others (no green food coloring please) and came up with the following recipe:

3 cups fresh mint (leaves only)

2 cups whole milk

2 cups cream
1 cup sugar

Pinch salt

4 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon rum (*optional)

6 ounces good quality dark chocolate

Whisk the milk, cream, sugar and salt in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Heat just until it begins to bubble around the edges, then remove, add the mint leaves, and cover. Let steep, covered for at least an hour - preferably two. Strain out the mint leaves and reheat cream mixture to just under a simmer.

Whisk the egg yolks in a small bowl and slowly mix in a cup of the hot cream to temper the eggs. Whisk eggs back into the saucepan and cook, stirring, until the custard reaches 170-174F (coats the back of a wooden spoon). Stir in the vanilla and rum, if using. Pour into a bowl, cover, and refrigerate overnight. Chop the chocolate into chunks and flakes. Refrigerate chocolate.

Freeze the custard in your ice cream maker the next day according to directions. Add the chocolate bits about halfway through. Transfer ice cream to a bowl or plastic container, cover, and freeze for at least four hours before serving.

*The addition of rum (or perhaps a mint liquor?) helps keep the ice cream soft.