I don’t think it is possible to count the ways in which confectionary can be decorated. High on that list would be fruit. Berries seem to be the pack leader. They tick all the boxes – small, pretty, easy to place, delicious, colourful and so on. Lemons and oranges feature from time to time but not as much as they deserve to. Some hesitation may arise from the fact that they are quite juicy and perhaps a little tangy. Oven roasting these citrus circles takes away the excessive moisture and the addition of sugar neutralises the acerbity.
Making decorative orange or lemon slices are very easy to do as the oven does all the work. These slices can be made in advance and keep well in an airtight container placed in a dry and cool area. Arrange them on cakes, cupcakes, cookies and desserts and their vibrant colour can rival berries any day.
These slices can also be eaten and are quite pleasant to the palate.
Ingredients
- 2 oranges or lemons
- 1/2 c sifted icing sugar
- Preheat oven to 100 degrees celsius.
- Arrange rack in the middle of the oven.
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Using a sharp knife, cut even slices of lemon or oranges, about 1 mm thick. Remove any seeds.
- Try and keep the slices the same thickness. Thinner sized slices will bake quicker and brown faster.
- Sift about 1/4 c of icing sugar on the tray.
- Lay slices on the icing sugar.
- Sift the rest of the icing sugar over the tops of the slices.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes.
- Halfway through, turn slices over.
- Slices will start to darken/caramelise slightly, but do not let the colour become very dark. The slices must still retain a shade close to the original colour. Should some thinner slices deepen in colour too quickly, remove from the oven.
- Some slices may still appear a little moist but will dry out further at room temperature.
- Store when cooled in an airtight container, in a cool, dry place.
