Pure Orange Oil for Gourmet Pastries And Dessert Sauces
Pure Orange Oil
Pure orange oil is highly aromatic and has an intense flavor. It provides a bright, predominant citrus taste to gourmet pastries and dessert sauces. It can be used with yeasted and non-yeasted enriched dough. It is well paired with vanilla, cardamom, and chocolate, as well as orange liqueur.
Pure Orange Oil for Repeatable Recipes
Using pure orange oil achieves repeatability in baking versus fresh orange zest, especially when flavoring dough. Year-round consistency does not depend on seasonal fruit.
Pure Orange Oil and Orange Liqueur
An excellent combination for a gourmet dessert is to use pure orange oil in an enriched dough and orange liqueur in fillings or sauces for the dessert. The combination provides a unique depth of flavor. The best orange liqueur to use is Grand Marnier, a French orange liqueur of excellent quality, well-suited for dessert fillings and sauces.
Creating An Emulsifying Mixture With Pure Orange Oil
You'll need to be careful when using orange oil in baking, as it is very concentrated. Most enriched dough recipes may require only a 1/4 tsp to 1/2 tsp to impart a predominant orange flavor.
Pure orange oil is not water-soluble; it can be introduced into a dough if it is first blended with vegetable shortening. Vegetable shortenings typically contain emulsifiers that will bind oils and water together. Mixing the orange oil with shortening creates a mixture ready to emulsify into the dough, allowing it to combine with the other wet ingredients.
When creating recipes to use pure orange oil, adding 1/4 tsp per 1 tbsp vegetable shortening works well. The shortening can be melted in a small ramekin in the microwave oven, then the pure orange oil is stirred in. It typically only takes about 15 -30 seconds to melt one or two tablespoons of shortening in the microwave. After adding and stirring in the pure orange oil, the mixture is allowed to cool before adding it to your dough.
Using Pure Orange Oil in Yeasted Doughs
For yeasted enriched doughs, pure orange oil can inhibit the yeast growth rate. It is best to introduce the orange oil and shortening emulsion after the dough has been mixed for some minutes. This allows the yeast to thrive for some time. It is not recommended to exceed 0.5% pure orange oil in baker's percentages in a yeasted dough recipe. For non-yeast leavened dough or batter, the maximum baker's percentage for orange oil is 1.5%. Above this percentage, the orange flavor may become overly intense.
Yeast Quantity For Enriched Doughs With Pure Orange Oil
It is also advisable to increase the amount of yeast used in the recipe by a few percent. A good rule of thumb when using pure orange oil at about 0.5% is to increase the yeast quantity by 25% as a starting point.
If you're using active dry yeast, for example, if the recipe typically calls for 2 tsp active dry yeast, use 2-1/2. Or if the recipe calls for 3 tsp active dry yeast, use 3
If you are using fresh yeast in an enriched dough, you should be at about 6% or 7% weight of fresh yeast in baker's percentages. For example, an enriched dough recipe with 480 grams of flour might use about 34 grams of fresh yeast.
Pairing Pure Orange Oil With Other Flavorings
There are a few good pairings that stand out for pure orange oil that create a complementary flavor profile.
Pure Orange Oil and vanilla, using orange oil and vanilla paste for cakes and pastries, provides a satisfying, mellow flavor complement.
Pure Orange Oil and cardamom provide an intense, spicy, bright, warm, savory complement for pastries, cookies, and cakes.
Pure Orange Oil with chocolate is a way to take advantage of the well-known pairing of these two flavors.
If your are interested to try a recipe with pure orange oil, our After Dinner Dessert - Orange Coffee Cake recipe pairs the flavors of orange oil with vanilla.
