When life bestows lemons upon one, lemonade is the generic item of production.
When life gives you oranges, you can make freshly-squeezed orange juice - or get a little creative with a zesty cake.

​Admittedly, the pairing of a shallow pan and delicate crumb was not a good combination for stability. Like Cooking Tree, I should probably invest in a proper bucket-like version for more visually appealing creations.

Ingredients
​​(Recipe inspired by and adapted from Cooking Tree)

Chiffon Cake
- 4 egg yolks
- 24g (approx. 1/4 cup) granulated sugar *
- 1 g (pinch) salt
- 52g (approx. 1/3 cup) vegetable oil
- 70g (approx. 1/2 cup) milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 72g (approx. 0.53 cups) cake flour
- zest of 1 orange
- 1 tsp corn starch *
- 4 egg whites
- 50g (approx. 1/3 cup) granulated sugar
​
Candied Orange Slices
- 1 orange, cut into thin slices
- 1 cup granulated sugar

Frosting
- 2 cups whipping cream
- candied orange syrup *
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 4 drops green food colouring (opt.)
- 2 drops red food colouring (opt.)

Directions:

i) Chiffon Cake

1) Preheat the oven to 170 C / 340 F. Grease a chiffon cake or angel food cake pan.
2) In a large bowl, beat egg yolks, sugar, and salt until pale yellow ribbons form.
3) Add in vegetable oil. Mix well to incorporate.
4) Add in milk and vanilla extract. Mix well to incorporate.
5) Obtain zest from 1 orange, then cut the remainder of the fruit into thin slices. Set aside the slices.
6) Add in majority of orange zest and mix well. Set aside a small portion of zest to use in the frosting.
7) Sift in cake flour and baking powder. Fold dry ingredients into mixture.
8) In a medium bowl, beat egg whites to soft peaks. Gradually add in sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks form.
7) Transfer to cake pan, and smooth out the surface.
8) Bake for 35-45 minutes. Observe as the surface of the cakes turns golden brown; surface cracking is a good indication of doneness, however using a toothpick to check for rawness in the centremost region is vital.
9) Let cool and remove from pan.
10) Set aside while preparing other components.

ii) Candied Orange Slices

1) Preheat the oven to 240 F.
2) Combine orange slices and sugar In a medium saucepan over high heat.
3) Stir constantly to prevent burning. It is essential to use a gentle hand to prevent breakage of the slices.
4) Continue to stir and flip slilces as sugar melts down to a sticky simple syrup.
5) Turn off heat when slices have softened and are evenly coated in the syrup. Transfer slices to a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
6) Add a small amount of water to the remaining sugar syrup in the saucepan. Mix well and set aside.
7) Allow orange slices to dry for several minutes. Should they be too damp for one's liking, allow them to dehydrate in the oven for 10 minutes on each side.

iii) Frosting

1) Beat whipping cream in a large foam until foamy.
2) Add in orange simple syrup (obtained from making Candied Orange Slices) and granulated sugar once soft peaks begin to form. Beat again.
3) Add in food colouring (optional) and orange zest saved from Part i). Beat until stiff peaks.
4) Halt beating when the consistency reaches one akin to whipped butter.

iv) Assembly

1) Slice top of chiffon cake to ensure a level frosting surface.
2) Transfer cake to turntable and cover in entirety with cream frosting.
3) Garnish with Candied Orange Slices as desired.
4) Refrigerate for a minimum of 1.5 hours before slicing.
5) Serve and enjoy!


Notes
- The original recipe by Cooking Tree utilized metric units (ie. grams), though these amounts have been converted to cups and/or tsps for improved clarity.
- While the initial recipe called for both baking powder and baking soda, the latter was omitted in this rendition and a greater amount of baking powder was added to compensate. Texture-wise, there were no distinct deviations from the sample (as far as I could perceive).
- Feel free to adjust the amount of granulated sugar to one's liking in all components of the cake. The listed amounts yielded an optimal degree of sweetness for my preferences.
- Cooking Tree's original recipe utilized matcha powder as a highlight flavour. As matcha powder was swapped for orange zest, an ingredient possessing a higher moisture content, a small amount of cornstarch (dry ingredient) was added to compensate. Alternatively, one could also use glutinous rice flour, tapioca starch, or a small portion of cake flour.
- The leftover simple syrup was added into the frosting for enhanced citrusy flavours. One can also choose to add in orange-flavoured extract and/or powdered sugar in this step to suit one's palate.
- Food colouring is optional in this recipe, though contributes greater visual appeal to the final product.

​Lately, I've been a fan of toast-and-iced-latte breakfast combos. Peanut butter, banana slices, Nutella, Matcha Jam - I've tried them all. Though, an absence of orange marmalade in the household instigated a sudden urge for jam.

​Once methods have been derived to create a similar product without the assistance of additional appliances, this space shall be updated accordingly. Frozen berries and other seasonal fruits may also be considered, though repeatable results cannot be confirmed at this point in time.

​Directions:

i) Strawberry Jam

1) Familiarize oneself with the Breville BBM800XL (or your bread maker of choice), paying special attention to safety precautions and operating instructions.
2) Secure the paddle in the mixing compartment and ensure that the mixing compartment is secured within the machine.
3) Combine strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice in the compartment.
4) Close the lid of the appliance and connect it to a power source. Commence the jam-making process by selecting the "Jam" function.
5) Allow the machine to pulverize the contents of the mixing container while providing heat.
6) Once done, verify that the softened berry mixture has reached the desired consistency. Should the ideal jam-like consistency be attained, let the mixture cool before chilling.
7) If the berry mixture remains relatively watery, transfer to a medium saucepan and cook over medium-high heat.
8) Thoroughly mix glutinous rice flour with cold water, then add into the saucepan while stirring.
9) Reduce the mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Remove from heat once the surface appears shiny and the desire consistency has been achieved.
10) Let cool then refrigerate.
11) Serve and enjoy with toast or in beverages!​

​ii) Strawberry-Blackberry Jam

1) Familiarize oneself with the Breville BBM800XL (or your bread maker of choice), paying special attention to safety precautions and operating instructions.
2) Secure the paddle in the mixing compartment and ensure that the mixing compartment is secured within the machine.
3) Combine strawberries, blackberries sugar, and lemon juice in the compartment.
4) Repeat Steps 4 to 11 of Strawberry Jam recipe.

​Notes
- This recipe utilizes a Breville BBM800XL breadmaking machine that includes a "Jam" setting. Please note that not all bread makers are equipped with this function, and one should check beforehand to ensure when using specialized mechanical devices in cooking.
- A Strawberry Coulis recipe from the Breville manual from was modified to create a thicker, more spread-able jam. I did not adhere to the original recipe exactly, thus the addition of a stabilizer was deemed necessary for the selected fruit-to-sugar ratio.
- Depending on the size of one's machine's mixing compartment, the quantities (and varieties) of fruit can be increased for a greater jam yield. Be aware that modifications have yet to be tested, and thus results are not guaranteed.
- A fruit-to-sugar ratio of 4:1 resulted in commerical standard Smucker's-like sweetness. Feel free to reduce the amount of sugar to suit one's preferences, though, be warned that less sugar may lead to a runny final product.
- Glutinous rice flour was the stabilizer of choice in this recipe, though alternatives such as corn starch, tapioca starch, or plain flour can also be used.​