I love making shortbread and lately have been giving my newly created biscuits as gifts. Rather than make the traditional shortbread, I wanted to do something different.
Why not add freshly squeezed orange juice and zest to the shortbread?
I visisted Todarello’s Katoomba Village Fruit Marketto stock up on Valencia oranges to make my zesty orange shortbread. Todarello’s have a great array of fresh produce to choose from and it is my one stop place to get quality ingredients.
Yummy Valencia oranges at Todarello’s Katoomba
I used the recipe from the McKenzies Rice Flour box, but with an added twist of orange juice and orange zest.
The Valencia oranges are so juicy and sweet
INGREDIENTS
225g plain flour, sifted
115g McKenzie’s Rice Flour
115g caster sugar
1 pinch salt
225g butter, at room temperature
Juice of 2 fresh Valencia oranges
Zest of 2 Valencia oranges
Very orangy shortbread dough ready to roll out and create duck shortbread
METHOD
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C or 356 F.
Step 1: Combine flour, rice flour, sugar, salt, add melted butter, add the juice of 2 Valencia oranges as well as the zest of 2 oranges (TIP: grate the zest first and then juice the oranges). Mix ingredients into a dough.
Step 2: Roll the dough onto a floured surface, make sure you have flour ready for the rolling pin, as well to help with the cookie cutters. Carefully roll to desired thickness and using a cookie cutter, shape into whatever shape takes your fancy. I used many different shapes, stars, a duck, a dog, and also the number 7.
Step 3: Place onto a tray lined with baking paper, prick with a fork, or add any decoration that you wish before the cookies go into the oven. Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until lightly golden. Cool before moving from the tray (If you move too quickly after coming out of the oven the biscuit can fall to bits – it needs more time to cool and harden).
Dog shaped Zesty Orange Shortbread ready to go in the ovenThe baking paper where the dog shaped zesty orange shortbread wasSuper cute zesty orange shortbread about to go into the ovenThe baking paper where all the ducks were
Don’t the little shortbread ducks look cute
The zesty orange shortbread dough with a number 7 cookie cutter
Zesty Orange Shortbread 7’s for a little person’s 7th Birthday!
Number 7 shortbread waiting to go into the oven
All cooked and ready to eat!
Number 7 Zesty Orange Shortbread cooked and ready to eatCute duck Zesty Orange Shortbread all cooked
The shortbread tasted delicious and the zest added a nice texture and added to the flavour too.
The star-shaped Zesty Orange Shortbread
POST FEAST REVIEW
Shortbread is yummy but zesty orange shortbread really is wonderful. The added tang of the Valencia oranges really gave it something special.
Zesty Orange Shortbread with some orange zest for decoration – I need one now with my cup of tea
WOULD I MAKE THIS AGAIN?
Adding fresh Valencia orange juice and zest to shortbread was a great idea, it was very tasty. I would definitely make this again. For the next batch, I want to make it even more orangy and also add dark chocolate to create a jaffa shortbread.
The star shaped Zesty Orange Shortbread looking very yummy. I want one right now!
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Todarello’s Katoomba Village Fruit Marketis the best place to buy fresh produce in Katoomba. They have a bright and large store to showcase their fresh fruit and vegetables. I love visiting Toddarello’s to get all my fresh goodies for the family, as I always know that I get great quality, and the service is excellent. If you need help to get your fresh produce to the car someone will carry it for you making your shopping experience so much easier.
I visited Todarello’s to stock up on Valencia oranges to make a few things to enjoy during summer. The recipes I created don’t have to be just for summer they can be enjoyed all year round!
“Valencias are one of the most common orange varieties, and available from November to February – the summer months. They are deliciously sweet and juicy and ideal for juicing. Valencias are mainly grown in the Riverina.”
Citrus Australia.
The entry to Todarello’s at Katoomba
Yummy looking Valancia Oranges These are perfect Valancia Oranges for my recipes, thanks Todarello’s
Shopping at Todarello’s at Katoomba
The side of the Valencia Orange Sunset Pie makes me want a slice now!
I wanted to cook a pie or dessert with oranges but had no idea what to make, a Google search had many suggestions but one recipe that interested me was a Valencia Orange Sunset Pie.
The website for the recipe said it was like a Key Lime Pie but with Valencia oranges. In the recipe, I saw the crust was made with Nilla Wafers instead of Graham crackers. I however made my version with vanilla wafer biscuits.
One of the attractions of creating this recipe was to attempt a very orangy dessert and a crust from vanilla wafers rather than pastry. I really wasn’t sure about it, as I had never made a crust with wafers or crushed biscuits. I know other tarts and pies have similar crusts so it is not that different, it was just something I had never created before.
Totally impressive Valencia Orange Sunset Pie
My recipe was inspired by the All Recipes version. I made a few changes to make it my own.
INGREDIENTS
Crust:
2 cups of crushed vanilla wafers ( I used 2 packs of vanilla wafers from Woolworths)
2 tablespoons of white sugar
5 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted
Orange Filling:
5 large egg yolks, beaten
1 can of Sweetened Condensed Milk 397g
4 Valencia Oranges juiced and pureed (before you juice the oranges make sure you get the zest from each of the oranges). In the All Recipes version, they used concentrated orange juice. I thought why not have fresh juice and make it even more orangey.
Valencia Orange Sunset Pie ingredients
Decoration:
Zest from oranges – use a grater to get the zest from the oranges (do this before you use them to juice and then puree).
Extra oranges for fresh orange slices
Flowers
Other options for decorating the pie can be toasted almond flakes and whipped cream or ice cream.
Full view of the Valencia Orange Sunset Pie
METHOD
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C or 350 degrees F
Step 1: Make the crust first. Stir wafers, butter, and sugar in a bowl until all are mixed thoroughly together. Take the mixture and press evenly in the bottom and up the sides of a pie tin.
Step 2: Bake crust for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool the crust while you make the orange filling.
Step 3: In a saucepan over high heat to begin with and then lower to medium heat after about 2-3 mins. Mix eggs, add condensed milk, and the pureed Valencia oranges with juice as well. Make sure all ingredients are combined well and it is slightly thickening up.
Step 4: Pour the filling into the cooled crust.
Step 5: Bake until the filling is firm to the touch and only slightly wobbly in the centre. Cooking time is about 13 minutes or a little bit more depending on your oven. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before you put your sunshine pie in the fridge to fully set.
Step 6: Now your Valencia Orange Sunset Pie has cooled down it needs to go into the fridge to set completely and not be so wibbly wobbly.
Step 7: Decorate your Valencia Orange Sunset Pie. Add the orange zest, fresh orange slices, almonds, cream, flowers, or other nuts like pistachios. You can even have flakes of dark chocolate and make it a bit like a jaffa cake, it is up to you. Be creative!
I added fresh orange zest and orange slices to decorate the Valencia Orange Sunset Pie
“Valencia oranges were originally grown in southern California, they were named after Valencia in Spain, which is renowned for growing sweet oranges. It’s a thin skinned orange and is perfect for juicing.”
Yates
Testing out the Valencia Orange Sunset Pie
POST FEAST REVIEW
Looking at a pie like Valencia Orange Sunset Pie I thought creating it would be complicated. Well, it was a lot easier and straightforward than I thought it would be, in fact, it was super easy.
The filling was so tangy and orangy, the zest on top really made it pop. I think that using fresh juice and pulp puree from valencia oranges made it taste fantastic.
The crust of the Valencia Orange Sunset Pie looks so yummy!
WOULD I MAKE THIS AGAIN?
Yes, I would make this in a heartbeat. I would change the crust to shortcrust pastry, and make little individual pies rather than one big one.
I do hope you like this Valencia Orange Sunset Pie as much as I do. It will impress guests at your next dinner party or be a great treat if you visit friends and family for dessert.
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I had such lovely Valencia oranges from Todarello’s Katoomba Village Fruit Marketand thought why not try making orange syrup? How about making it even more orangey, so that each bite just screams summer oranges, even the smell instantly makes you know that it is orange.
Looking online for recipes for orange syrup, all the recipes tell you to use the juice and not pulp. Why not use the pulp? Why not use the super fresh orange puree to ensure your orange syrup is like eating a fresh orange?
Wouldn’t this be AMAZING to have a syrup that just screams tangy fresh tasty juicy oranges?
So how did I make this extremely yummy orange syrup?
This orange syrup can be used for cocktails, refreshing drinks (plain water and sparkling), syrup over ice cream, and also sauce to bind cakes together for a creative cake creation.
INGREDIENTS
2 Valencia Oranges = 1 cup of orange puree
1 cup of water
1 and a half cups of sugar
Orange skin (Use the skin of the 2 Valencia oranges so that it infuses the orange flavour).
All the oranges before they went into the blender
METHOD
This recipe takes around 20 minutes to make. Not long to then enjoy your orange syrup.
Step 1: Cut up the 2 Valencia oranges, remove the skin and just leave the flesh of the orange. Put all the orange flesh into a blender and make sure it is thoroughly pureed. Pour out into a measuring cup, you should have 1 cup.
Step 2: Put the orange puree, water, and sugar into a saucepan. Melt the sugar and wait till the mixture thickens up a little. Depending on the amount of sugar added depends on how thick the syrup gets, if you wish to have a thicker syrup you can add more sugar. (I put my syrup in the fridge and it thickened up a bit more after a few days.)
Step 3: Add the orange rind to the mixture so that the orange flavour gets stronger. I cut up all the orange skin and added it all.
Step 4: Once cooked to your desired consistency strain the mixture and once cool put it in a jar/jug and then in the fridge. The syrup will keep in the fridge for around a month.
I added orange juice and orange to ice cubes – It made my orange syrup gin drink taste amazing!
POST FEAST REVIEW
I had no idea that fruit syrup was really easy to make. The syrup had a nice caramel taste when it was added to vanilla ice cream. I added orange zest for taste and decoration, the zest added bursts of flavour.
Having the syrup in the fridge for a few days allowed it to thicken up a little more. It was a better consistency after about 3 days in the fridge.
There is an amazing amount of uses for orange syrup, drinks, cakes, ice cream, and desserts.
Now that I know how easy it is to make, I will make different types of syrup for desserts. How about raspberry, blueberry or mandarin syrup? I am now thinking about another ingredient could be syrup.
So refreshing with fresh orange syrupYou can add a little or a lot depending on your taste
WOULD I MAKE THIS AGAIN?
Yes, I would make this again, however, I would make some changes when making it next. I would add more orange and up the sugar a bit. Creating a thicker syrup that is more like an orange concentrate from fresh oranges. Adding the zest to the syrup would be a great addition as well, this way there is a different texture for taste and it will look amazing too.
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