Manila Spoon

Nov 9, 2012

Portuguese Style Orange and Olive Oil Cake

Moist and so delicious, this orange and olive oil cake is bursting with fruity flavors from fresh orange juice!

About 2 years ago I found this lovely Orange Cake from Leite's Culinaria and immediately set out to make it! Often mistaken as a Chiffon or Pound Cake - it is not - it's denser but really moist and super-delicious. The Olive Oil used in this cake really made a lot of difference in the taste. When I can find it, I use the Extra-Virgin Olive Oil Fruity Version - not the regular EVOO - the label should state - Fruity. If you can't find it, you may also use the lighter variety.

The verdict? It was as good as promised in the recipe. I just fell in love with this cake - my ultimate favorite!

Unfortunately, I didn't have a big enough bundt pan to accomodate the entire recipe as stated in the website. It overflowed when I baked it (and yes I thought my bundt was already big enough for it!). Of course, the easiest solution would have been to just get a bigger (the largest) Bundt pan that I can find but no, I decided to take the hard way and adjust the recipe so it would just about fit my Bundt pan. Honestly, it took me nearly a year to get it right! Baking is always a precise business so when I was making this I reminded myself constantly - practice makes perfect! Eventually I got the right ratio for each ingredient - they seem to have magically worked together. I am so glad that all the effort in making it many times finally paid-off. In the end the result is well worth it. Not only did I manage to make the measurement fit my bundt I was also able to experiment on using two loaf pans and they both came out great! So don't despair if you don't have a bundt pan for this, two regular loaf pans are good to use for this cake as well.

Most of all, when Thanksgiving and Christmas season arrive - I just add a cup or so of chopped cranberries and then it's my perfect Thanksgiving/Christmas/Holiday treat!

Ingredients

4 large navel oranges (finely grate the orange rind and set aside the zest then squeeze all the oranges to get about 1 cup of juice)

3 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder (add 1/2 tsp more if using 2 loaf pans)
1 1/2 tsp salt
4 eggs
2 1/2 cups sugar (white)
1 cup olive oil (if you can find it get the fresh and fruity kind - see photo below or use the light olive oil)
1 to 1 1/4 cup coarsely chopped cranberries (optional)

Procedure

Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly grease a bundt or tube pan (at least the 10-12-cup one) and set aside. You can also use two loaf pans (9x5). Do make sure that you use light colored bundt/tube or loaf pans as the dark ones don't work well for this. The cake gets too dark.

Mix the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Set aside.

A stand mixer would be quite handy for this though a handheld one will also do (use a large mixing bowl). Beat the eggs in the mixing bowl on medium speed for about 1 minute or until combined. Get the sugar and slowly pour it in and continue to beat for about 3-4 minutes until the mixture thickens and becomes a pale yellow. Adjust the speed to low and then alternately mix in the flour mixture and the olive oil – begin and end with the flour. I divide the flour mix into three parts when I do this and then pour olive oil in between.

Pour in the orange juice and beat the batter quickly just until everything is combined. Stop the mixer. Fold in the zest. Use a spatula to scrape the batter on the sides of the bowl and incorporate it with the rest then beat again, just for a few seconds, to ensure an even mix.

Transfer the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 55-60 mins or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with only a few crumbs on it. For the loaf pan, about 45-50 mins. Check after about 40-45 mins in either case to see if the top is browning too much. If that happens simply cover lightly with a foil and continue to bake until the cake is done.

Remove from the oven and place in a cooling rack. Cool for about 30-40 mins in the pan before removing it to ensure that the cake does not break when you transfer it. Cool completely in a rack. Dust with confectioner's sugar, if desired.

Note: Patience is a virtue --- do not even think about touching it (I know it's tempting but don't!) or eating it until at least after a day. Second day, if you can wait, is even better. This cake is worth the wait. I just leave the cake in the kitchen for the waiting period (and pretend it's not there so I am not tempted to eat it!) but in the Philippines where the weather is warmer, perhaps it's better to place it in the fridge though you may want it to reach room temp before you eat it.

If you wish to print the recipe, there's a print-friendly icon at the end of the post. Click on the "remove images box" for easy printing.

If you like what you see and would like to receive new recipe updates, we'd love you to subscribe to our posts via email or through our feed or join our site. Needless to say, we'd love you to like us on Facebook or follow us on Pinterest where you can get more recipes and updates. Thanks and happy browsing!

Sauteed Butternut Squash with Ground Beef/Pork (Ginisang Kalabasa)

When I was still in the Philippines and living with my family, this dish was on our table every week. We truly love squash in the Philippines and this particular dish can be found in any cafeteria or canteen all over the country. It's a favorite for lunch or dinner! It's also pretty cheap to prepare yet quite nutritious.

I am glad that I am not the only one who enjoys this dish. My husband who I thought would not enjoy this Filipino dish at all absolutely love this! My kids, especially William, love to eat this too.

Often butternut squash is considered more as a dessert ingredient or a side dish usually spiced with cinnamon and sweetened with syrup or brown sugar. However, butternut squash is actually a wonderful accompaniment to meat especially with pork or beef. It's natural sweet flavor complements the meat and marries well with seasonings such as soy sauce or fish sauce. The squash provides some sweetness to an otherwise very savory dish.

I use my Giniling Recipe (Ground Pork Sauté), a basic foundational recipe for a lot of Filipino dishes, for this one. Once you have made it, all you need to do is add the prepared squash and then cook it until tender. A very simple yet truly flavorful dish.

Ingredients

1 butternut squash (peeled, seeded and cut into inch-long chunks)

1 Recipe for Giniling (Ground Pork Sauté). Link here.

Procedure

If you plan to use the entire butternut squash, then I suggest using the entire recipe for Ground Pork Sauté. But if you plan to use only half of it, then half the Ground Pork Sauté should be enough. Adjust the amount of the ground pork recipe to how much butternut squash you wish to use.

To the cooked Ground Pork Sauté, add the butternut squash. Cook by simmering until the squash is tender about 10-15 minutes.

Another vegetable that complements squash is green beans or Asian long beans. If you wish to make this combo - cut the beans to about 2 inches in length and then cook it with the squash. Cook until the beans are tender but not mushy. Alternatively, you can opt to just use the beans on its own. The beans are an excellent accompaniment to the Ground Pork Sauté too!

Enjoy with steaming hot rice!

This is featured at Wednesday Extravaganza. and Weekend Potluck.

If you like what you see and would like to receive new recipe updates, we'd love you to join our site and like us on Facebook. Happy browsing!

Easy Steak Casserole

It's that time of year again when we can use our ovens a lot! That means lots of yummy casserole dishes to serve. When I am craving some beef for dinner but do not fancy going through all the trouble of making an elaborate beef burgundy (though it's always worth the effort, let me emphasize!) or I simply do not have much time to prepare it - this is my go to dish - a very simple yet flavorful Steak Casserole. You can prepare this in a matter of minutes (the only difficult part, if ever, is the cutting up of the steak but a very sharp knife would be tremendously helpful!). After a little browning of the beef, throw all the ingredients in a casserole dish and then to the oven and wait as the aroma of that delicious Steak cooking wafts through your house. Before you know it, it's time to sit down and enjoy your delicious meal!

I used green peppers and celery here but feel free to experiment on your favorite veggies. Next time I'll replace one of the veggies with mushrooms or mix all three!

Ingredients

2-3 Tbsp olive oil and 1 Tbsp Butter

6 garlic cloves, crushed

1 kilo/ 2.2 lbs chuck steak, cut into thin strips (or bite size cubes)

1 1/2 Tbsp flour seasoned with salt (I use about 1 tsp) and pepper, to taste

2 Green bell peppers, cut into strips

3 Celery sticks, chopped diagonally

3/4-1 cup red wine (I love the deep red wine taste so I go for more!)

¼ cup water
8 oz Button Mushrooms, washed and sliced (optional but encouraged!)

Tip: For extra flavor and moisture, when the beef is already fork tender, add some 8 oz sliced mushrooms and bake again in the oven covered with foil for another 15 minutes or until the mushrooms are tender and have released their juices! So good!

Procedure

Preheat oven to 325F. Grease a casserole dish with a little oil. Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Melt the butter in it.

In the meantime, coat the steak with the seasoned flour. Sauté the garlic in the pan briefly, just until aromatic, about a minute or less. Quickly brown the beef strips in butter.

Transfer the browned beef tips (and garlic) on the greased casserole. Place all the veggies on top. Pour in the wine and water.

Cover the casserole dish with foil (double the foil) and transfer to the oven. Bake for about 1 1/2 hours or until the beef is tender. Serve with rice or mashed potatoes! Beef heaven!

If you wish to print the recipe, there's a print-friendly icon below the post. Click on the "remove images" box for easy and convenient printing.

If you like what you see and would like to receive new recipe updates, feel free to join our site and like us on Facebook. Happy browsing!

Thanksgiving and Global Cuisine - Recipe Round-up

Frikadelles (South African Braised Meatballs)

Yesterday we had a celebration in our Manila Spoon Facebook Page featuring Thanksgiving and International Recipes. What a happy day it was for we received so many lovely recipes! I love all the Thanksgiving dishes and the exotic and delicious global cuisine samples we got. I am sure that some of you would like to see these lovely recipes again, perhaps to try them yourselves or to use them as inspiration to create your own dish but it can be quite difficult to access them on the Facebook page itself. It's certainly not going to be much fun scrolling down the page just to find the recipes you want so I thought I'd make a post of all the recipes we received with their corresponding photos and the links to the blogs they came from. I have posted these recipes according to the order I have received them. Hope you find this post helpful and do check out these lovely blogs. Many thanks again to all of you for making our Foodie Party a success!

Please note: To get the recipe, find the photo below of the yummy sweet treat you are looking for and then click on the link underneath. That should lead you to the recipe. This is a collection of recipes from our blog and other amazing food bloggers.