Blood Orange - Bloody Butcher Cornmeal Cakes with Créme Anglaise

These decadent little cakes are made for romance—perfect for Valentine’s Day or as a stunning finale to an elegant dinner party. Bloody Butcher cornmeal adds delicate pink and red flecks to a light, tender sponge, topped with a jewel-toned slice of caramelized blood orange. Level up this dessert with a silky crème anglaise—think rich, melted vanilla ice cream—poured generously over each cake just before serving. This recipe is adapted from Melissa Clark's Upside-Down Blood Orange Cake originally published by NYT Cooking. 

Yield: 5 individually portioned cakes

Total Time: 90 minutes

Ingredients

For the caramel:

• 3 Tablespoons (42 g) unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup (65 g) light brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon blood orange juice

For the cake: 

• 1 medium-sized blood orange
• 60 g Janie's Mill Bloody Butcher Cornmeal
• 33 g Janie’s Mill All-Purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon (4 g) baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
• zest of 1 blood orange
• 1/4 cup (4 T or 56 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup (50 g) olive oil
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 38 g sour cream or ricotta, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Créme Anglaise: 

• 1 cup + 2 Tablespoons whole milk
• 1/3 cup (67 g) granulated sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

Instructions

For the Créme Anglaise (prepare and chill before making the cake): 

1. Heat 1 cup of the milk and half of the sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. If using, add the vanilla bean and scraped seeds. Bring the milk to a simmer, then turn off the heat, cover and let the vanilla infuse for 20 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean pod if using. 
2. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks and the remaining half of the sugar in a small bowl until slightly lightened. Whisk in the remaining 2 tablespoons of milk. 
3. Bring the milk mixture back to a simmer, turn off the heat, and quickly whisk the hot milk into the egg mixture. Return the mixture to the saucepan over low heat. Stir constantly until you feel the mixture start to thicken and the temperature reaches between 165-180 degrees. 
4. Immediately strain the mixture into a bowl set in an ice bath. Stir the mixture occasionally until it has cooled to 60 degrees. Once cool, cover tightly and refrigerate until ready to use.

For the cake: 

1. Heat the oven to 350°F. Grease the bottoms and sides of five ramekins with softened butter. 
2. Prepare the blood orange: Zest the entire surface of your blood orange and set aside the zest for mixing into the cake later. Use a knife to slice off the poles of the orange and then the remainder of the rind and white pith until you have a naked globe of orange. Slice the orange crosswise into 1/4 inch thick slices. Set aside five of the prettiest slices for arranging in the bottom of your ramekins later. Squeeze 1 tablespoon of juice from the remaining blood orange slices. 
3. Make the caramel: In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, light brown sugar, and blood orange juice together until the sugar is fully dissolved, about three minutes. Evenly divide the caramel among the five greased ramekins. Place one blood orange slice in each ramekin and set aside. 
4. Make the cake: Whisk together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. 
5. Measure the sugar into a medium-sized mixing bowl, add the zest, and rub the zest into the sugar until the sugar is the texture of wet sand and very fragrant. 
6. Add the butter and olive oil to the sugar and cream until pale and fluffy using the paddle attachment of a stand mixer or a handheld mixer.
7. Add the eggs, sour cream or ricotta, and vanilla and mix until evenly combined. 
8. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and fold until no dry spots remain. Evenly divide the batter among the five ramekins. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet, transfer to the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until lightly golden brown on top. 
9. Let the cakes rest for five minutes before carefully inverting them onto individual plates. Move quickly to avoid the caramel solidifying and sticking to the bottom of the pan. 
10. Let cool for five minutes, then serve warm with a generous drizzle of créme anglaise.