Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 1/3 cup warm milk
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, plus additional for buttering molds
• Pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• Blood Orange Marmalade, recipe follows
• 1 cup whipped mascarpone, for garnish

Syrup:

• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup dark rum

Directions

Blood Orange Marmalade:

24 blood oranges

8 Meyer lemons

2 star anise

Water, measured according to weight of fruit, approximately 5 pints

2 vanilla beans, split and scraped

1 cinnamon stick

Sugar, measured according to weight of fruit, approximately 5 pounds

Slice the fruit very thin on a slicer or with a very sharp blade, removing all seeds as you go.

You should have approximately 2 1/2 pounds of fruit. For every pound of fruit add 2 pints of water in a large heavy bottomed pot. Add the vanilla beans and cinnamon. Bring to a boil and cook until the fruit skin is tender, approximately 10 minutes. Remove from heat, cool and refrigerate overnight.

Weigh the fruit and water mixture. You should have approximately 5 pounds. For each pound of fruit and water, add 1 pound of sugar. Bring to a boil and then continue to cook over medium heat, stirring frequently. To test, drip a small amount of the syrup onto a cool plate. When it's the consistency of honey at room temperature, it is ready (about 1 hour or more). Remove from heat and allow to cool. Leftover marmalade will keep in the refrigerator for several weeks.

Yield: Approximately 1 gallon