Monday, May 22, 2006

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.

15 comments:

Alanna Kellogg said...

I hope you get 'bored' at my house some time, too!

Anonymous said...

Hi Applept, Sure you can use white sugar only. I like brown sugar as it has a more mellow taste than white, and (I think) gives a nicer colour.

AK: I'll be happy to do that next time I'm in the USA :D

Mika said...

I love orange cakes. Looks like you spent a lot of time making the cake. Especially making candied oranges. BTW, how do home made candied oranges taste? I hate the candied orange zest they sell at the stores. Plzz tell me they taste better:-)

Ashwini said...

Hey I didnt know you were back. I dont know about jet lag, coz you seem to have stepped right off the airplane into the kitchen and cooked up a storm :-)
Happy blog anniversary. I love citrus fruits and desserts so I def want to try this.

Kitchenmate said...

Oh my..my Shammi, I missed your coming back.. Welcome back! Happy Blogiversary, looks like long way and hope to see you with lots of recipes for us!!
I wish i get bored quite often too :) and the cake looks deadly!!

Krithika said...

Orange cake looks so good. Just want to reach out and grab a piece.
Welcome back.

Anonymous said...

Mika: Let me reassure you, home-made candied orange is yummy! :) No artificial taste whatsoever, obviously!

Ashwini, Kitchenmate, Krithika - hey, thanks, guys :) By the way, I dont get bored that often, really ;)

Anonymous said...

Hi Shammi,
Missed u loads...came by ur blog every other day hoping to see a "I/m back" post...hehehe...
Wonderful recipe ...I can taste the tanginess of the oranges just by looking at the pics.. :-)
Welcome Back

Menu Today said...

Hi Shyamala,
Your cake is inviting me!!

Unknown said...

Very luscious cake. Well done.

Anonymous said...

I am happy to see you back :). Your cake looks sooo yummy.

Nabeela said...

looks yummy...if only i had some right now

R T said...

Hi Shammi,
Your food blog is inspiring, I love it. Thanks for sharing all your yummy recipes...
Don't stop posting...
Aarti

Anonymous said...

Tried this cake, it was simply amazing. wow ...

Anonymous said...

I just made this cake in a round tin - wow it is so easy and yummy. Next time I will double the recipe I think thank you very much. regards M