Gluten-free orange pound cake with a drizzle of homemade orange cheong syrup and a dehydrated orange slice.

???? I made a Magnolia Mixes orange pound cake (I emailed them today to ask if they're still in business because I can't find their products anymore.) These mixes are INCREDIBLE - you'd never know they were gluten-free. They're also incredibly flavorful. I'm going to be so mad if I find out that they're out of business now that I've baked through my stash of their mixes.

????How to make cheong:

The orange cheong is just equal weights of thinly sliced oranges and sugar in a lidded, glass container.

I used a meat slicer to make sure the oranges were thin and uniform. I then put them into the jar, alternating orange slices and sugar until full, making sure the top layer is sugar.

I used a fermentation weight on the oranges and let it sit at room temperature for a year (minimum 3 months to make the syrup.) Sugar acts like a preservative and turns into a syrup from the water in the orange slices.

I then separated the candied orange from the syrup and stored in the refrigerator. The candied oranges can be chopped up for desserts or eaten on their own as a treat (they're addictive.)

???? For the orange garnish:

I simply used my meat slicer to make uniform, thin slices of orange and then dehydrated them in my Excalibur Dehydrator for a day or two until dry.