Orange Cake

I have ignored my blog for the past few weeks. Call it a writer's block, lack of time, anything else. But I have missed writing on the blog.


Citrus season here, and you can safely assume, I am baking, making everything citrus at the moment. First there was the Citrus rice, then there is this cake, there were cupcakes (which I'll tell you about), and there was even a pudding(oh, that is a story for another time). It is so tempting, all those even, intensely orange - oranges; which as it turns out, are not always oranges, but kinnows.

Correspondingly I don't see anything orange in the local bakeries. There are no tarts, cakes, cookies, souffles - nothing. That is the reason I am cooking/baking so much with oranges (or so I am telling myself).



So this Orange cake. A long long while ago I had posted an Orange Madeira cake - a loaf cake with no icing. That cake is what really got me into this thing of making orange cakes. At the party that I went, my natural choice (which would have been chocolate something) was this cake. Orange cake with Orange icing. The orange flavour and the tang of the citrus fruit is something that really stands out in an otherwise lightly flavoured cake. I wasn't too sure about people's reaction to it. Again - that thing with the bakery/no orange baked goods, etc. But I was surprised, the people really liked this cake. I had made a lot - and I did not have any leftovers to take home. So the flavour was approved. Yes, as if I need another excuse

Orange Cake
Makes 1- 8 inch round cake.

Adapted from Rachel Allen Bake (Yes again) - although I made it twice, so have made some changes especially cutting back the sugar.


You need:

110 gm plain flour
100 gm powdered sugar
110 gm soft unsalted butter
1 tsp Vanilla essence
2 eggs
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp fresh orange juice
Grated zest of 1 orange

For the Glaze -

1/2 cup icing sugar
1-2 tsp fresh orange juice


1. Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius and line your cake tin with butter paper. Sift the flour with the baking powder and set aside.

2. Squeeze the orange juice (best used fresh) and set aside.

3. In a bowl, cream the butter until pale and soft (should take about 5 minutes). Then add the sugar and grate in the orange zest. Beat for another 5 minutes, until the mixture is light.

4. Add the eggs, one at a time, then add the vanilla to the butter mixture and mix until you have a smooth batter.

5. To this batter, add the sifted flour and fold gently using a wooden spoon or a spatula, then gently stir in the orange juice to this batter

6. Spoon this into your cake tin and bake in the oven for 20 -30 minutes. Keep an eye on the cake, and test for doneness. Some ovens are much hotter than the indicated temperatures, especially if you don't have a digital display on your oven.

7. To make the glaze, add 1 tsp orange juice to the sugar in a bowl and mix slowly. You may not need all the juice. Mix until you get a dropping consistency. Drizzle this over the cake once it is baked and cooled.