Blood Orange Bread with Cream Cheese Icing:

Sorry again for the lack of posts in February. The shortest month somehow zoomed by rather quickly; I’m still finishing up on my book, and my children have been taking turns each week being sick. The common cold, the flu, and now strep throat has knocked down our door. But we are surviving, one day at a time.

‘A kind of light spread out from her. And everything changed color. And the world opened out. And a day was good to awaken to. And there were no limits to anything. And the people of the world were good and handsome. And I was not afraid any more.’ -John Steinbeck

Here’s hoping March has such an ending.

This quick bread is another baking recipe for the Pulse Pledge. The United Nations has declared 2016 the International Year of the Pulse, and I’ve taken the Pulse Pledge, committing to eat pulses once a week for the next year. Pulses are beans, chickpeas, lentils and dried peas; leguminous crops that are good for your health and good for the environment. I’ll be posting recipes involving them periodically this year, incorporating pulses not only in my savory cooking, but baking recipes as well. I’d love for you to join me! If the Pulse Pledge sounds interesting to you, you can read more about it here. It’s a 10 week commitment, and it doesn’t require elaborate baking: a serving of hummus and a bowl of soup are good ways to take them in, too.

This post was sponsored by USA Pulses & Pulse Canada. All opinions are my own.

Blood Orange Bread with Cream Cheese Icing

blood orange bread with cream cheese icing: the year of the pulse

Adapted from Martha Stewart Living. Regular oranges can be used in place of the blood oranges. Chickpea flour is flavorful, so I feel less is more in this application. It has a slight grassy flavor, and I found toasting the flour helped tame the earthy taste. Chickpea flour does not taste great raw, so the raw batter will not be one to taste test. However, the baked bread have a unique, delicious flavor.

Sarah Kieffer

4.75 from 4 votes

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Ingredients

For the bread

• 1/2 cup 50g chickpea flour (also called garbanzo bean flour)
• 1 1/4 cups 178g all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup 198g granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon blood orange zest
• 1/4 cup blood orange juice
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 3 large eggs
• 2/3 cup canola oil olive oil will work, too

for the icing

• 6 ounces cream cheese room temperature
• 2 tablespoons blood orange juice
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon blood orange zest
• Pinch salt
• 1 1/2 cups 171g powdered sugar

Instructions

For the bread

• Place the chickpea flour in a small skillet and toast over medium heat, until the flour turns light golden brown and begins to smell ‘toasty’, 3-5 minutes. Take off the heat and set aside to cool.
• Preheat the oven to 350, and adjust an oven rack to the middle position. Grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan, or a 9 x 4 x 4 inch Pullman pan (without the lid, which is what I used).
• In a small bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
• Combine the sugar and zest together in a large bowl. Use your fingers to rub the sugar and zest together well. Add the juice and buttermilk, and whisk to combine. Add the eggs and oil, and whisk again to combine.
• Add the flour mixture to buttermilk mixture, and whisk until smooth. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, and bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, 40-50 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Turn the loaf out on the rack, and let cool completely before applying the cream cheese icing.

For the icing

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium-high until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides, and add the orange juice, vanilla, orange zest, and salt. Beat again until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and mix on low until combined. Increase the speed to medium, and beat until light and fluffy. Spread the icing on the cooled bread.

The copper cooling rack is from Williams-Sonoma, and the stainless steel fry pan is from Le Creuset.