SUNDAY DESSERT #67: Oranjekoek
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Netherlands 🇳🇱
DIFFICULTY LEVEL: Intermediate
INSPIRATION: In Holland, the whole country celebrates the holiday Koningsdag --- or King's Day. It always occurs on the birthday of the current monarch. Since Willem-Alexander is the present-day king of the Netherlands, the celebration occurs on his upcoming birthday, April 27th. Oranjekoek (pronounced: oran-ya-kook) is one of the many festive treats eaten on this day. Fun fact: My dad's birthday is also April 27th. I always knew he had a lot in common with a king! Happy upcoming birthday, dad!🤴
RECEPTION/COMMENTARY: Oranje (orange) is a special color to the Dutch. The royal family's lineage is from the house of Oranje-Nassau. Even the flag used to have an orange stripe at the top to honor the monarchy until it was later changed to a red stripe. Because of its significance, the people wear orange and eat orange things on Koningsdag to honor their current King or Queen.
This celebration "Orange Cake" is named for the candied orange peels that are present in the spiced cake base. (Let me just tangent here a moment...I have never had candied orange peels before today, but holy smokes they are incredible! I highly recommend tasting them if you ever get a chance. And making them is easy too. Bonus!) Traditionally the top of the cake is glazed with a pink, vanilla frosting but I dyed my glaze orange and added a bit of orange extract to really get in the spirit of the holiday.
OH MY GOLLY GEE WILLIKERS!!! Have you ever had an orange roll before? You know, like a cinnamon roll but orange flavored? It's good, right? This blows it out of the water. No joke! Almond cream gets sandwiched between two dense, cookie-like cake layers that are spiced with nutmeg, aniseed, cardamom, and candied orange peels. The whole thing gets topped with a layer of that hint-of-orange glaze that gives it just that extra oomph of sweetness! It's not overly orangey or spicy. It's not too sugary or almondy. To me, it is ORANJE perfection! 10 outta 10! And just to give you the scope of its magnificence, my husband absolutely despises orange rolls. Hates them, even. But, surprisingly, he rated this a 7/10. BAM! Proof that these are phenomenal if you ARE an orange lover. Way to go Holland! 🍊
WOULD I MAKE IT AGAIN? Oh. There's no doubt about it. These are now a permanent part of our Carlson dessert table.
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