There are so many things to love about being a food blogger. Chief among them is all of the discoveries you make almost daily, of other bloggers, artisanal makers, baby brands, established brands you’ve never heard of. And of course the endless falling in love, over and over, with recipes, tastes, and photos. Food porn is real as you. well. know.

In the past year, I’ve discovered many delicious things going on in the UK and Down Under. You’ve all been there, you Like one thing on FB and then see something it Likes and you’re down a rabbit hole of Eat Me and Drink Me discovery. This particular journey started with the Great British Baking Show (on Netflix and then on PBS). Not only was each guest lovelier and more adorable than then next, but the judges were rigorous and the challenges significant. Plus I learned (learnt?) a lot of new terminology, including “checking the bake” which is the quality/crumb of the finished product.

From there, I somehow ran into delicious.magazine, also from the UK, that has a terrific social media presence and great recipe links/photos on FB (from which I made the Chocolate Molasses Buttons holiday cookies). And from there, I encountered Dish magazine from New Zealand – more lovely recipes for things I never heard of like Caramel Slice (aka Millionaire Shortbread) and this week’s delicious little bites.

The great thing about these orange raspberry mini loaves is how easy they are to make, which was key this past weekend because, as you likely know, we in the US “sprang forward,” losing an hour of sleep. I also always seem to crave citrus and berries on spring forward Sunday, so the recipe was perfect. The extra special bonus was that I had an excuse to buy silicone financier pans – my first time baking in silicone and in that shape. The fun never ends!

The pans were terrific to work with, the perfect little loaves just popped out. The results are delicious, wonderful with tea. I don’t normally go for glaze but it adds a nice note here. If you look at the picture accompanying the recipe via the link above, you’ll see they have a pristine white glaze. I do not know how OJ and confectionery sugar would ever be snow white. C’est la vie. They taste terrific.

Note: You have to love nutmeg. I used powdered, jarred nutmeg which might have a stronger flavor than fresh. If you do the same, I suggest you halve the amount if you’re not a nutmeg fan. Also, the poppy seeds don’t add much to the result so don’t run to the store for them if you have everything else.

Next time I make these, I’m going to try lemon instead of orange. I just love lemons and raspberries together.

Happy spring!

Raspberry Orange Cakelets

Adapted from a recipe by Dish Magazine

Ingredients

2 sticks plus 1 Tbs unsalted butter, room temperature

1¼ c granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

4 large eggs, room temperature

2 c flour

1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (or ½ tsp powdered nutmeg from a jar)

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp sea salt

2 Tbs poppy seeds (optional)

2 Tbs plain yogurt

Juice of half medium orange

Finely grated zest of one medium orange

2 cups frozen raspberries

Glaze

1½ cups confectionery sugar

Juice of 1 orange

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350. Arrange two 12-hole silicone financier pans on baking sheets and set aside.

Combine the flour, nutmeg, baking powder, salt and poppy seeds in a medium bowl and set aside.

Whisk the yogurt, orange juice and orange zest together; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar and vanilla together until very light and pale. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Stop the mixer and add both the dry ingredients and the yogurt/OJ mixture to the butter. Mix on low until just combined.

Add the raspberries and, using a large rubber spatula, gently fold into the batter. Note: if you use raspberries right from the freezer your batter will harden a bit around them.

Use a #20 ice cream scoop to drop scant scoops of batter into each section of the pans. (You’ll get 15-18 cakes.) Smooth tops with a small offset spatula.

Put the cookie sheets with the financier pans into the oven and bake for about 20 minutes. A skewer inserted into the center should come out clean.

Cool in the molds for 30 minutes before removing to a rack and cooling completely.

Glaze: Stir enough orange juice into the confectionery sugar to make a thick but pourable glaze. Drizzle over the cakes.

Store the cakes in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Makes 15-18 cakes.

 If you don’t have the mini loaf tin you can use standard muffin tins. You will probably get 14–15 cakes from the mixture as the tin capacity is smaller.

Enjoy!