Gratin of Oranges

Chef Kate's Note:

Simpler than it looks, really luscious, yet light. Do try to add at least one blood orange--not for taste, but for the beautiful color. By way of the LA Times.

• Total Time: 40 mins
• Prep Time: 40 mins
• Cook Time: 0 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 8 navel oranges (or combination of navel, blood and pink Cara Cara navels)
• 3 egg yolks
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons orange juice
• 1 tablespoon rum
• ¼ teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• 2 tablespoons whipping cream
• 2 teaspoons powdered sugar
• 1⁄3; cup sliced almonds , toasted

Directions:

1. Peel and slice the oranges: Using a sharp paring knife, slice off the bottom and the top of each orange, exposing the flesh underneath; following the curve of the fruit, cut a one-half to 1-inch wide vertical strip of the peel; repeat, working your way around the orange until you've cut away all the peel; trim any white pith.
2. Slice the orange into quarter-inch slices and place in a baking dish (a 12-inch round dish works well).
3. Repeat, using all of the oranges.
4. In a small heat-proof bowl, combine the egg yolks, sugar, orange juice, rum, lemon juice and orange zest and stir to combine with a whisk.
5. Place the bowl over a small pan of simmering water, like a double-boiler, and continue stirring with the whisk; the mixture will foam a little, then turn pale and finally thicken after about 3 to 5 minutes.
6. When the mixture is thick enough that the whisk leaves tracks in it, remove the bowl from the heat, whisk rapidly to cool it down, and pour it through a fine strainer into a clean bowl.
7. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate (the dish can be prepared to this point up to 8 hours in advance and refrigerated separately).
8. When almost ready to serve, beat the whipping cream with a balloon whisk until it forms stiff peaks.
9. Stir the egg mixture to loosen it, adding any orange juice that has collected in the bottom of the baking dish.
10. Gently fold the egg mixture into the whipping cream.
11. Sprinkle the oranges with the powdered sugar and stir to combine.
12. Spoon the egg mixture over the oranges in a haphazard pattern (there won't be enough to completely cover the fruit, so don't worry).
13. Sprinkle with the slivered almonds and place the baking dish under a cold broiler as close to the flame as possible.
14. Turn on the broiler and heat just until the gratin puffs and browns, about 4 to 5 minutes.
15. Alternatively, you can brown the top with a creme brulee torch. Serve immediately.

Reviews

[evelyn/athens]

Oh my! My new favourite !WOW! dessert. Definitely not as complicated as it might sound too some (the first 3 instructions are for peeling the oranges properly). I used 4 naval oranges and 4 blood oranges, as Kate suggested and it was gorgeous even before I completed the dish. I loved the citrusy-sweetness of the oranges and creaminess of the gratin. The almonds were the perfect topping - adding their flavour and crunch. A delight in every way - texturally, visually and definitely full marks for flavour. This really should get more stars.

[kiwidutch]

I liked this... I'm the fruit fan of the family and enjoyed this a lot. I was however expecting the gartin topping to puff up a lot more in the oven and to be lighter in texture, Ii was heavier than I expected and I'm not sure if it is meant to be the way it turned out for me or not. Either way , although it wasn't quite what I expected it did taste delicious and I liked it a lot. I used blood oranges that were a lop sided mix of orange on one side and red on the other, but they had deep flavour and were juicy not dry, so, all in all this was a successful dessert. Please see my rating system: 4 lovely stars for a fruity dessert that I will keep as a treat becuase a small portion is hard to keep to. Thanks!

[Chef #355072]

When I saw this I thought it would be great and it was. A different kind of dessert and it's nice to have a dessert with oranges. Followed the recipe except I about doubled the whipping cream which worked fine. I also did not strain my egg mixture, I like the look and texture of zest. I used the zest from a blood orange as well which made the custard look great.