The other day I was prepping for a shoot, and needed to find Key Limes. I finally found a store that had them and ran in to grab them and intended to just run back out, but in the corner of my eye I saw this beautiful orange color with leaves. Satsuma Oranges!
Satsumas are a type of mandarine orange, related to tangerines and clementines. They are very flavorful and full of juice, and super easy to peel.
If you food style often, whenever you can find fruits with the leaves still on, you’ve scored!
It makes them feel organic and fresh and adds so much texture to a photo.
I stopped and loaded up all the nicest Satsumas they had, and threw in some extra leaves, just for good measure.
I got them home and carefully put them on the counter, but couldn’t give them any attention because of the shoot I was working on.
A couple of days later, the shoot was over and I immediately starting thinking about a recipe.
So many ideas, but I went with a cake…another cake! There’s just something so majestic about a three or four layer cake. Plus, it’s an opportunity to be creative. How will I decorate it?
Hmmm, what flavor would go well with that orange-tangerine flavor? Ginger, yes, ginger! Okay, this is getting good.
It needs a filling, more Satsuma flavor, a Satsuma curd!
I quickly came up with a recipe and started baking.
It worked surprisingly well, the first time. Yes!
I frosted the cake and put it in the refrigerator to keep overnight until I could shoot it the next day, as it was late by this time.
I got up the next morning excited to take pictures of my beautiful cake….and, the Satsumas were DEAD! They looked terrible. The leaves were dried and crunchy. I thought, “I can make this work!”…ummm, no I can’t.
Ugh, I just spent half a day making this cake and I don’t have the most important part, the inspiration for this whole endeavor.
“Should I run out and buy more? No, they’re just going to have the same old ones that you already have… Just go! What do you have to lose?”
I ran into the store and….the produce guy had just brought out a new box and was restocking them. I got the pick of the crop. They were in even better shape than the previous ones. Yay!
The shoot was a success, just as this cake is. The cake is dense with a mid orange-ginger flavor, but then you get a burst of orange from the Satsuma curd, and again with the buttercream.
You won’t regret making it, I promise!
I also included the ingredients weighed in grams, I know so many of you bake that way.
