The Houstonian’s Pastry Chef, Catherine Rodriguez, tells me Italy was the inspiration for this delicious Cointreau Tea Cake. Include it when planning your next party either at your place or at the Houstonian.
For Tea Cake:
Cream butter in kitchen aid using paddle attachment, add canola oil, sugar, salt, honey, vanilla paste, and orange zest. Add eggs then the sifted flours. Add Cointreau and candied orange peel. Pour into loaf pan and bake at 300° F for about 40-45 minutes. While still hot soak cake with orange Cointreau syrup. Once cake has cooled glaze the cake with orange glaze. Decorate with candied orange slices, chocolate leaves and transfer sheet curls.
For Orange Cointreau Syrup:
Bring the first three ingredients to a boil. When the mixture cools, add the orange liqueur.
For Orange Glaze:
Mix all the ingredients.
For Candied Orange Slices:
Mix sugar and water together in a sauce pot and bring to a boil. Add orange slices. Let boil for about 10 minutes, be sure to turn the oranges. Reduce heat to a low simmer and continue cooking and occasionally turning for 30 minutes until oranges turn translucent and syrup thickens.
Tempering Dark Chocolate:
Place small pieces of chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and melt in microwave at 30 second intervals stirring between each interval. The temperature of chocolate should be 120° F. Stirring continuously slowly add tempered piece of chocolate to your melted chocolate to help cool down the chocolate and add new crystals. When chocolate reaches 90°F, stop adding more chocolate so you don’t create lumps as the chocolate is cooling and just continue to stir till chocolate reaches 84°F. As soon as chocolate reaches the proper temperature put back in the microwave and heat for 10 seconds to 89 -90°F for working temperature. Be sure not to heat chocolate above 90 °F or you will have to temper the chocolate all over again.
Ingredients
Tea Cake
- 6.6 oz Unsalted Butter, room temperature
- 6.6 oz Canola Oil
- 13 oz Sugar
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1.6 oz Honey
- ½ tsp Vanilla Bean Paste
- 2 T Orange zest
- 9 Large Eggs
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- 13.1 oz Pastry Flour
- 1.6 oz Cointreau
- 10.5 oz Candied Orange Peel, chopped
Orange Cointreau Syrup
- 10.6 oz Water
- 5.3 oz Sugar
- .8 oz Orange peel
- 1.4 oz Cointreau
Orange Glaze
- 22.1 oz Confectionary Sugar
- 2.75 oz Cointreau
- 2.75 oz Water
- 1 ½ T Orange zest
Candied Orange Slices
- 1 ½ cups Water
- ½ cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 Orange, cut in ¼” slices
