Alphabakes Round-up 2015: O

As we continue our journey through the alphabet this month we were baking with the letter O. Oranges made a few appearances but there were plenty of other ingredients beginning with O which showed up in your sweet and savoury recipes this month.

I got one of my own entries in first: these mini rose-shaped cakes are favoured with orange and also vegan. I love the Nordicware tin that I used to make them!

My mum Jacqueline also used a pretty cake mould for this peppermint and orange flower cake. Those are two flavours which I haven't seen in combination before so I wonder what it tasted like?

Now these two flavours are a bit more common together and ones I really like: chocolate and orange. This loaf cake is also from my mum Jacqueline.

This green veggie minestrone soup comes from Jen's Food and uses orzo pasta to make it really filling. She used ham stock in the freezer from Christmas so the meal is cheap and easy to make.

Laura at I'd Much Rather Bake Than... made this orange and hazelnut loaf cake, which she says is wonderfully soft, full of hazelnut flavour with a refreshing orange drizzle. Perfect for summer afternoons - or any time really!

Jean at Baking in Franglais sent us these strawberry and orange friands, which are similar to financiers; the combination of almonds and fruit into these bite-size morsels sounds delicious.

The name of this bake is quite a mouthful: classic chocolate chip cinnamon oatmeal cookies. And what a mouthful they would make! Thanks to Stuart at Cakeyboi for sending these in - he says they are warm and comforting with a glass of milk, which is exactly what I want now!

I've recently gotten into fennel so was pleased to see this salad from Chardonnay & Samphire which includes black-eyed beans, sweet potato and fennel with a blood orange dressing. It can be eaten either hot or cold and would be great on a bed of rocket.

 I made this olive and rosemary focaccia for a barbecue; it was really easy to make and tasted delicious!

This white chocolate, raspberry and coconut flapjack from Suelle at Mainly Baking uses Jordan's breakfast cereal containing oats, and would be a lovely treat for when you are on the go in the morning (assuming you bake it ahead of course!).

For a cute take on a trifle check out this boozy orange and strawberry trifle from Kate at the Gluten Free Alchemist. It's served in a little jar and uses up all sorts of leftovers from the kitchen and freezer (Kate's freezer broke down so she has been cooking everything that she can!).

My co-host for Alphabakes Ros, who blog at The More Than Occasional Baker, made this wonderful dark chocolate salted caramel Oreo pie - it's a no-bake recipe but takes a while as you have to wait for each layer to set in turn. It certainly looks worth the effort!

One of the best things about this lime, orange blossom and pistachio cake from Lili's Cakes is that it's sugar free! It also looks wonderfully moist and can be served with natural yogurt on the side.

And finally this month we have the 'ultimate' gooey brownies from Laura at I'd Much Rather Bake Than. You'll have to read Laura's post to find out what her secret ingredient is - but I'll give you a clue, it begins with O!

A late entry now from Dom at Belleau Kitchen - orange, blueberry, polenta and almond traybake. I've never baked with polenta before but it's a good alternative to flour if you want to make something gluten free like Dom did.

That's all for this time - head on over to The More Than Occasional Baker on July 1st to find out which letter she has chosen at random for next month!