Orange Love Blitz Recipes

ORANGE BLINTZES

Steps:

• Mix 2 tablespoons of sugar, 1 teaspoon of orange zest, salt, and flour in a small bowl. Combine milk and yogurt in a separate bowl. Stir in olive oil and mix until smooth. Beat 4 eggs in a large bowl, then add orange juice. Stir in the yogurt mixture followed by the flour mixture. Beat until smooth. Allow batter to rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
• Beat 1 egg with 3 tablespoons of sugar, then add butter and cottage cheese, mixing until smooth. Stir in the bread crumbs and 1 tablespoon of orange zest. Refrigerate until the batter is ready.
• Lightly butter a 6 inch skillet, and heat over medium heat. For each crepe, pour 1/4 cup of the batter into the skillet, and immediately rotate the skillet until the batter evenly coats the bottom in a thin layer. Cook until the top of the crepe is no longer wet and the bottom has turned light brown. Run a spatula around the edge of the skillet to loosen; flip the crepe, and cook until the other side has turned light brown. Stack the crepes in a clean kitchen towel, placing waxed paper between each.
• Place 2 to 3 tablespoons of the filling onto the golden side of the crepe. Roll the crepe up and repeat until all the blintzes are made. Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet and fry 4 to 5 blintzes at a time until golden brown, about 2 minutes on each side.

ORANGE LOVE BLITZ

Steps:

• If Italian soda is hard to find in your neck of the woods, substitute with orange and grapefruit juice with the addition of either Pellegrino or seltzer.

CHEF JOHN'S CHEESE BLINTZES

Steps:

• Place 3 eggs, flour, milk, water, vegetable oil, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract in a blender. Blend until completely smooth, 1 or 2 minutes, scraping down sides as needed. Let batter sit at room temperature 30 minutes.
• Whisk together ricotta cheese, cream cheese, lemon zest, egg, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl. Mix together thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate.
• Heat a 10-inch, non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Spray or brush lightly with vegetable oil. Pour in about 1/4 cup batter. Immediately swirl batter around to coat bottom of pan. Cook until surface looks dry, about 1 minute. Flip crepe over to briefly cook other side, about 30 seconds. Remove to a plate. Repeat with the rest of batter. Stack crepes.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly butter a baking dish.
• Spoon 3 to 4 tablespoons of filling onto the crepe, about an inch from edge nearest you. Fold edge over filling and flatten slightly. Fold in both sides, then roll up crepe into a small filled rectangle, ending with the seam on the bottom, creating a blintz.
• Melt butter in skillet over medium heat. Cook the blintzes until golden brown on both sides, turning gently, about 2 minutes. Transfer to buttered baking dish.
• Bake in preheated oven to firm up the filling, about 12 minutes. Cool blintzes 10 minutes before serving. Dust lightly with confectioners' sugar.

BLITZ TORTE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter two 9-by-2-inch round baking pans. Dust with flour, tapping out excess. Set aside.
• Make the cake: Place butter, sugar, salt, and egg yolks in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until combined. Reduce speed to low. Beat in flour, buttermilk, vanilla, and baking powder, until well blended.
• Divide batter between prepared pans (the batter will barely cover the bottom of the pans).
• Make the meringue topping: In a clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form. While continuing to whisk, gradually add 1 cup sugar and whisk until meringue is smooth, glossy, and somewhat stiff, but not holding a stiff peak.
• Spread the meringue on top of the cake batter, and sprinkle evenly with almonds, cinnamon, and remaining tablespoon sugar. Bake cakes until lightly browned, about 30 minutes. Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes. Loosen the edges with a knife or offset spatula, gently remove cakes from pans, and return the rack to cool completely. If some of the almonds fall off during this process, sprinkle them back on top.
• Make the filling: Whisk together sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium saucepan. Whisk together milk, orange juice, and egg yolks in a glass measuring cup. Add milk mixture to the saucepan, along with butter. Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a simmer. Continue to cook until it comes to a boil. Let boil 1 minute. Remove from heat and add vanilla.
• Strain pastry cream through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Stir in orange zest and cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface of the pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours or up to 2 days. Just before using, whisk until smooth.
• Place one of the cake layers, meringue-side up, on a serving plate. Spread with pastry cream. Top with second cake layer, meringue-side up. Serve immediately or refrigerate until serving, up to 3 hours.