A zesty delight: Mastering the art of the perfect orange cake
Orange cake without artificial flavours, but with the natural taste of real orange, is a delight for the palate. Its aroma is so divine that you might feel tempted to drop everything just to savour it. Additionally, it impresses with its fluffy and moist texture. Guests will be delighted, but if you fancy keeping the orange pleasure to yourself, share it only with your nearest and dearest.
When preparing the batter for the orange cake, adhere to the recommended amount of juice in the recipe. Much like a lemon cake, too much fruit juice can cause a soggy result. For decoration, use orange slices, candied peel, nuts, or coconut flakes.
Ideas for serving orange cake
Even one delightful addition is enough to turn a simple orange cake into a masterpiece. One idea is to place a few orange slices on top of the cake. If you lay them out in thin slices on the batter before putting the cake in the oven, they will not only look fantastic as they bake into the cake, but also add a touch of interesting bitterness.
If you prefer to stick with sweet flavour combinations, drizzle the cake with orange glaze. To make the frosting creamier, add melted white chocolate to the glaze. Another idea is to layer orange jelly on top – you can make a homemade version by mixing gelatine dissolved in warm water with orange juice. The cake also tastes excellent when accompanied by orange mousse.
Orange cake recipe
An hour in advance, take all the ingredients out of the refrigerator and allow the eggs and butter to come to room temperature.
Ingredients:
- 200g butter,
- 200g powdered sugar,
- 4 eggs,
- 1 orange,
- 250g flour,
- 2 teaspoons baking powder,
- optional: 200g powdered sugar for orange glaze.
Instructions:
- Thoroughly wash and scald the orange. Grate the peel and squeeze the juice.
- Sift the flour into a separate bowl and mix with the baking powder.
- Beat the room temperature butter with the powdered sugar using an electric mixer until it's fluffy and white.
- Gradually add the eggs, constantly mixing the batter. Add the orange zest – you can reserve some for the glaze if you plan to drizzle the cake with sweet glaze.
- Mix in the flour and baking powder. Add 85ml of freshly squeezed orange juice and mix again.
- Transfer the batter into an 20cm diameter springform pan lined with parchment paper.
- Place in an oven preheated to 180°C for 60 minutes. Before taking the cake out, check with a skewer to see if it's cooked through. If it is, remove and set on a rack to cool.
From the remaining orange juice and powdered sugar, you can make cake glaze. Add the juice to the sugar and mix until you achieve the desired consistency. Add the reserved orange zest to enhance the glaze's aromatic flavour.
