If you want to learn how to make a lovely cara cara lemon cake, you’re at the right location! What is a cara cara you may be asking? Cara cara oranges are a surprising fruit. They are sweet, not as tart as a regular orange and have this pleasant light taste that is hard to place. Almost as if a grapefruit met a strawberry and had babies. If you ever come across one, pick it up. They are so flavorful and you’ll be heading back for more.
Why haven’t I baked with it before if it’s so lovely, then? You may have asked this. Well, until recently, I had no idea they existed! The other day, I asked my husband to pick me up an orange. When I cut into it for my experiment on which type of pan bakes best, I was startled to find that it was bright pink! I’ve never seen such a thing and asked my friends. There was a debate between blood orange, pink grapefruit or a cara cara. A trip to the store revealed the grocery employee placed cara cara oranges in with the regular navel oranges. I may have purchased many, many more oranges to snack on as a result.
Let’s get back to baking. I decided to use my solid and trusty oil based cake and try out this fruit. I didn’t want the taste of butter over powering the delicate nature of the citrus as I wasn’t sure what to expect and oil based cakes are moister, last longer and are healthier in terms of sweets. This as a result is an easy cake to make and very pleasing. You can chose to simply use the juice in the cake and not make a glaze, but the flavor will be more subtle. Try it both ways and see which you prefer. There you have it. Now you can bake your own Lovely Cara Cara Lemon Cake.
Gather your ingredients and line or grease and flour your pan. 
Zest one cara cara orange and one lemon. Stop before you see white, like this. 
Look how beautiful cara cara oranges can be! 
Then in a large bowl, you will whisk eggs until they look like this. 
Add in your oil, then mix. 
Whisk in your sugar. 
Now add in your dry ingredients. 
It will be a smooth batter. Fold in your zest. 
Then pour in the pan. 
Finally bake. 
Drizzle over juice while still warm. 
If you like, you can also add a glaze. 
Cool before storing. 
Doesn’t it look fabulous? 
Happy baking!
Cara Cara Lemon Cake
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (225g) flour
- 4 large (200g) eggs
- ¾ cup (180mL) oil
- ¾ cup (150g) sugar
- 1 medium (130g) cara cara orange
- 1 medium (58g) lemon
- 1 ½ tsp (6g) baking powder
- ½ tsp (2.5g) salt
For the Drizzle
- ¼ cup (60mL) orange and lemon juice
- ¼ cup (50g) sugar
For the Glaze
- 1-2 tbs (15-30mL) orange and lemon juice
- ½ cup (62g) powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F (160C.)
- Grease and flour a 9×5 loaf tin (23x13cm) or line with parchment paper.
- Zest and juice the fruit, keeping zest separate from juice.
- Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat eggs and oil until smooth. Beat in sugar. Add flour mixture and beat until you no longer see lumps, about 1 minute. Fold in zest. Pour into prepared pan.
- Bake 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Center should read between 200F (93C) and 210F (99C.)
- With the remaining juice, add 1/2 cup of white sugar and stir until dissolved.
- While still warm, poke holes in the cake with a large stick such as a skewer. Pour juice mixture slowly over cake. Allow cake to sit 5-10 minutes to soak up juice. Remove to wire rack to finish cooling.
For the Glaze
- Mix together powdered sugar and 1-2 tablespoons of juice 1 teaspoon at a time until you reach a spreadable consistency.
- Spread glaze on top of cake and allow to sit 10 – 15 minutes to harden before serving.
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