Authentic Florida: Celebrate the holidays with delicious Florida citrus recipes

Floridians celebrate the holiday season in slightly different ways from the rest of the country.

We experience mild and even balmy weather as winter sets in across the nation. Our activities and recreational opportunities remain outdoors, and even our festive meals center around lighter menus, with seafood often served as the main course.

Florididans are known to serve heaping platters of stone crab, shrimp, clams, oysters and freshly caught fish, while counting their blessings.

To complement our holiday fare, Florida desserts tend to incorporate the signature fruit that represents the Sunshine State: citrus.

This year, despite the blow dealt by Hurricane Irma, Florida citrus can still be found glistening in the groves and just in time for the holidays. To help you with a few holiday dessert menu ideas, we are featuring two Florida inspired citrus dishes. 

The first is the Florida Kumquat Cake and the second is the Oh, So Divine Tangerine Pudding. Kumquat, while not widely known, is a bite-sized member of the citrus family. Tangerines are the better known as the tangy, sweet cousin of the orange.

The Florida kumquat

The petite kumquat provides a flavorful, pungent sweet-and-sour taste. It can be eaten whole — skin and all — or baked into desserts, used as a glaze or to flavor main dishes. 

The kumquat, like the mandarin, is believed to have originated in China. There it has long been celebrated as a symbol of prosperity during the Chinese New Year. Two species are now cultivated in the United States, the Nagami and the Meiwa. The oval-shaped Nagami kumquat is tart and ideal for marmalades and jellies, while the round Meiwa is sweeter, making it ideal for snacking. 

Eaten whole, the kumquat is tasty with its burst of sweet and tart. But many people prefer to remove the stem, cut it into small slices, and eliminate the seeds.

The peel is the sweetest part. The sourness comes from the pulp of seeds and juice. Try it both ways, then choose what you like best. 

Florida’s kumquat season is from November through March, so now is the time to try these tasty morsels available at most grocery stores and farmers markets. 

Florida Kumquat Cake Recipe

Cooking time:  1 hour, 50 minutes

Yields: 8 servings

1 10-inch cast iron pan

2 cups (Nakami) kumquats

1 stick unsalted butter 

¾ cup light brown sugar 

Honey mixture:  

3 tablespoons honey 

½ teaspoon vanilla 

½ teaspoon salt 

Wet mixture:

1 stick of unsalted butter, room temperature 

1 1/3 cup sugar 

5 extra large eggs, room temperature 

1 teaspoon vanilla 

Dry mixture:  

1 1/3 cup flour 

1½ teaspoon baking powder

¾ teaspoon salt 

Preheat the oven to 325ºF. 

Prepare 2 cups of kumquats by removing the stem, slicing each kumquat into three slices. Remove the seeds. 

Melt 1 stick of butter in the cast iron pan over medium heat. 

Add ¾ cup of brown sugar and stir until mixed.

Remove from heat. Add 3 Tablespoons honey, ½ teaspoon of vanilla and ½ teaspoon of salt. 

Add the 2 cups of kumquats to caramel mixture — or as many as possible inside the pan over the mixture.  

Add 5 extra-large eggs (or 6 large eggs) one at a time, to a large mixing bowl, beating on high. Add vanilla.

In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. 

Add to wet ingredients and mix on low speed until combined, no more. 

Carefully spoon the cake batter over the kumquats and caramel mixture.

Place cake in oven on the middle rack. You may want to put a cookie sheet on the rack under the pan to catch any drips that bubble over.

Bake for 45 minutes, test the middle of the cake with a toothpick and if it comes out clean, remove from oven. 

If still wet, bake for another 10 minutes or up to 1 hour total. Take a butter knife and loosen edges along the pan. Put cake on a wire rack and let it cool for about 30 minutes.

Place a serving plate on top of the cast iron pan and flip over so the fruit is on the top.

Recipe adapted from AlexandraCooks.com's Kumquat Upside Down Cake  

2018 Kumquat Festival

If you get hooked on this tasty little fruit after trying the recipe, don’t miss one of Florida’s most charming Festivals, the 2018 Kumquat Festival. The event will be Jan. 29 in Dade City, northwest of Tampa. This unhurried, laid-back Florida town annually hosts its Kumquat Festival honoring its distinction as the world’s leading supplier of the tasty petite fruit.  

Thousands of visitors join in the fun. Held in downtown Dade City, the Kumquat Festival is a homegrown family event that provides fruit tastings of every imaginable combination including kumquat pies, cookies, smoothies, ice cream, marmalade, marinades, vinaigrettes and salsa. 

And there is plenty of fruit to purchase for creating your own signature dishes at home. 

Local entertainment kicks up the celebration, giving the event a special homespun atmosphere with an arts and crafts exhibition, car show and downtown storefronts decorated in what else, but “kumquat themes.” 

Tangerine pudding

Tangerines, originally from China, arrived to Europe in the 1800s by way of Morocco’s port of Tangier in North Africa. The fruit was also exported to the Americas through Tangier, thus fruit became known as the tangerine.

While tangerines are often peeled and eaten as a snack, this recipe uses the fruit as an ingredient for a tasty holiday dessert. 

Florida’s sweet and “tangy” tangerines make this recipe a perfect complement to any meal.

Oh, So Divine Tangerine Pudding

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Refrigerator time: 2 hours

Yields: 4 servings

Note: If possible, use fresh tangerines with this recipe, but if you have only fresh bottled juice, it can work as well.

10 tangerines, or 2 cups tangerine juice plus 2 whole tangerines (for peeling and using as sections)

3 large eggs, room temperature

3 tablespoons butter

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice (1/2 lemon)

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

¼ teaspoon salt
 

Juice the tangerines to create 2 cups of juice. Set aside.

Next, with an extra tangerine, using a vegetable peeler, slice ½ inch of the outer tangerine peel.

In a separate bowl, beat 3 eggs until frothy, 3-4 minutes. Set aside.

Add sugar, cornstarch and salt to a sauce pan.

Place pan over medium heat and slowly add of tangerine juice. Whisk mixture until smooth, about 15 minutes, eliminating any lumps. 

Add ½ inch tangerine peel into the warm mixture. Continue heating mixture stirring occasionally, 2-3 minutes.

Next, bring mixture to a simmering boil and whisk constantly for around 3-4 minutes. Mixture should become thick and bubbly.

Remove from heat. It will become thick and pudding-like, coating the back of a spoon. (If it takes longer, continue stirring until thickened.)

Take ¼ cup of the hot mixture and add to the egg mixture. Whisk for about 2 minutes to temper the eggs.

Pour the egg mixture into the hot pan. Turn heat on low to medium and stir constantly for 2 more minutes.

Pour the custard into a medium-sized bowl. Stir in 3 tablespoons of butter, 2 teaspoons of lemon juice and ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Place plastic wrap directly on the warm pudding, so no film is created. Chill for at least 2 hours. If desired, remove peel from the pudding.

Meanwhile, take the remaining two tangerines, peel and cut into sections to add to the pudding later.
 

Whipped Cream

 

1 pint heavy whipping cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

2 tablespoons sugar

Beat heavy whipping cream on high speed with sugar and vanilla.

Assemble the dessert in individual glass bowls by layering the pudding, whipped cream and tangerine sections. Top with whipped cream and sprig of mint.
This recipe was adapted from Southern Living.

Dade City Kumquat Festival

Learn more at:

  • www.kumquatfestival.org
  • www.visitpasco.net

Florida native Robin Draper is a columnist, author and owner of the award-winning “Blog of the Year” and “Best Travel Blog” website, AuthenticFlorida.com, a travel and lifestyle blog devoted to the simple and delightful pleasures for Florida living. 


 

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