Soaked orange cake

"I'm bored," I said.

Pete said nothing.

"I'm BOOOOORED," I whined again, louder.

Pete said nothing.

"Now I'm in a pissy mood," I said.

Pete looked up.

"Why dont you bake a cake?" he said. "And I'll get you some wine, without the h."

(The wine without the "h" helped get rid of the whine. The man knows me!)



And yes, I baked a cake. A very orangey, moist, delicious orange cake decorated with candied orange slices. If you like the taste of fresh sweet juicy oranges, this is the cake for you. It certainly was for me. Oh yeah, for Pete too.

Recipe for: Soaked orange cake



For the cake:

2 large juicing oranges
2 tbsp finely grated orange zest
Juice of one orange (1/3 cup)
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter, softened
3 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla extract

For the soaking syrup:

Juice of one orange (1/3 cup)
3 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp lemon juice

For the candied oranges:

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
Two small unpeeled eating oranges (I used clementines), sliced into thin circles



Method:

Soaking syrup:

In a small pan, heat the orange juice, lemon juice and sugar till the sugar is completely dissolved. Reserve.

Candied oranges:

Put the sugar and water in a medium pan and bring to a boil over high heat, ensuring the sugar is dissolved. Place the orange slices in the syrup and let it simmer for 30 minutes. Remove the slices carefully one at a time, letting them drain, and put them on a plate till required.



Cake:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 170C (325F), and grease a 9" square baking pan.

2. Put the sugar, vanilla extract, zest and butter into a large bowl and beat until soft and fluffy.

3. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well between additions.

4. Add the baking powder and salt and beat it in.

5. Now add the flour, about 1/3 cup at a time, alternating it with the orange juice, until it is all incorporated. The batter will be thick.

6. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and level with the back of a spoon dipped in water.

7. Bake till done - a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the middle should come out clean. (This should take about 45 minutes in a fan-assisted electric oven like mine.)

8. Cool the cake in the pan. When the cake is just warm to the touch (rather than very hot), poke about 36 evenly spaced holes in it with a skewer, making sure that the holes go all the way through the cake.



9. Pour the soaking syrup, one tbsp at a time, over the cake, ensuring that no part of the cake's surface is left untouched.

10. Let the cake sit for 15-20 minutes to absorb the syrup. Then turn it out from the baking pan onto a serving plate and decorate with the candied orange slices.