It’s that time again: the end of the kumquat season is here on the Gulf Coast! These dandy little citrus fruits are still weighing down trees all over the place, last year’s hurricanes and this year’s Arctic blast be damned. My friend Gina messaged me yesterday and said she had a bunch of kumquats she’d picked, and did I want them? As you know, I am powerless in the face of local produce (well, except for collards or turnip greens), so I readily agreed to drive out and pick them up.
Though kumquats are an Asian import and not native to the New World, kumquats have long been a fact of life along the Gulf Coast. Introduced in the mid- to late-19th century, they must have been wildly popular. It seems like everybody’s grandparents had a kumquat tree in the yard. I was in elementary school in the 70’s, and during recess we were NOT to play in the gully, nor the vacant lot next door, and under NO circumstances were we to climb trees. I have a crystal clear memory of being perched WAY up in a HUGE kumquat tree on the vacant lot, picking ripe kumquats and tossing them down to my friends. (This may have happened more than once.)
Last year I made candied kumquats and kumquat relish. I also did some pickled kumquats, but they were a little tart for my taste. This year I have been looking forward to tackling a kumquat cake. And I’m happy to report that it’s a Gulf Coast classic waiting to happen.
I adapted this recipe from one for a traditional Sicilian Whole Orange Cake. Like it’s Italian inspiration, Fresh Kumquat Cake uses the whole fruit, minus the seeds, which is perfect since the tastiest part of a kumquat is the rind. I’ve swapped in our buttermilk for their yogurt, and I’ve made it in a bundt pan with a simple stir-together glaze. It really doesn’t need a heavier icing, but you probably won’t want to skip the glaze. Fresh Kumquat Cake isn’t an overly sweet cake, but it’s moist and dense with a citrus tang, and is just the thing with a cup of coffee. It also keeps and travels well; in fact it’s even better after a day or two. And, yes, if you don’t have kumquats, you can use regular oranges.
PRO TIP: The easiest way to get the seeds out of kumquats is to cut them in half across the middle and squeeze each half. The bitter seeds pop right out.
Fresh Kumquat Cake
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups halved and seeded kumquats (you can substitute the same amount of chopped whole orange if you don’t have kumquats)
- 1 t. vanilla extract
- 4 eggs
- 1 2/3 cups sugar
- 1 stuck butter, melted
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 2 2/3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 T. baking powder
- 1 1/2 t. baking soda
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3 T. cream, or 2 T. orange juice or lemon juice (more if you prefer a thinner glaze
- orange zest or candied kumquates, optional, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease and flour a bundt pan.
- Put the kumquat halves in a food processor and pulse several times until they are the consistency of chunky applesauce. Add the vanilla. Pulse once or twice more. Set aside.
- Cream together eggs and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the butter and buttermilk.
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Add ⅓ at a time to the wet ingredients and mix until combined after each addition.
- Stir in the kumquat purèe. Pour into the prepared bundt pan and bake for 60 minutes or until a toothpick tester comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool for 5 minutes before removing it from the pan. Whisk together the powdered sugar and cream or juice and pour on the top of the warm cake, allowing it to run down the sides. Zest an orange over glaze if you like.
This looks so yummy and actually easy enough for me to give it a try with the kumquats I have. Thank you so much for sharing such a great variety that even those of us who don’t cook very often can create your recipes with ease and the entire family can enjoy:) 😊
Burton, I’m glad to hear you’re enjoying the recipes! Thank you for saying so. And I really do try to keep things easy and accessible. I am tickled to have the opportunity to help a bit toward preserving our food
culture/heritage here on the Gulf Coast.
It tastes as good as it looks. It even smells good
I think so, too!
I had already pureed and frozen the kumquats.
Hiw many cups of the puree should I use?
Thank you
Hi Ann–I think I’d use about 2 1/4 cups of puree.
From Sabe–she said I could post it:
I made it in two loaf pans so I could take one to a friend and the other to dinner with some of my family. I snitched a slice, and it is out of this world. I think it could have used three to five minutes more in the oven, but it tested done and tastes wonderful. I made the glaze with powdered sugar, fresh orange and lemon juice and a bit of finely grated satsuma rind. Licked the bowl and the spoon.
Thank you!
Sabe, you are an awesome reporter! Thanks!