Little Portuguese Orange Cakes

Even better than all of my olive oil cakes are these little Portuguese Orange Cakes, also know as
"Bolinhos de Laranja".

They are the perfect winter dessert, made easily in a muffin tin (sans liner).

I brought them to a party and everyone went crazy. They stay super moist and are perfect for breakfast the next day, if you have any leftover.

I got the recipe from my friend Paula at My Portuguese Kitchen.
Paula is an AMAZING cook, and I have tasted her food first hand! We met in NYC last summer.

You will need 2 muffin tins, as they make 24 little cakes.

Portuguese Orange Cakes "Bolinhos de Laranja" (makes 24 little cakes)

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
grated zest of 2 oranges
4 eggs
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 cup fresh orange juice
1 cup unsalted butter, melted (2 sticks)
1 teaspoon vanilla
sanding sugar (also known as pearl sugar, not easy to find, so use turbinado sugar for the top)

Spray 2 muffin tins (24 cups) with non-stick cooking spray or butter.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs, zest, sugar orange juice and melted butter with the vanilla.

Slowly add in the dry ingredients to make a wet batter.

Pour the batter 3/4 the way up in the tin (they will not puff up, the tops will stay flat).

Sprinkle with the pearl sugar and bake 14-16 minutes, until edges are crispy brown.

Let rest in the pan for 5 minutes, then run a knife around edges and transfer to a cooling rack.

SO GOOD!