Orange cake

I was going through my posts the other day and realized that I didn't have a single cake post.I bake pretty often,but both hubby and I have a sweet tooth and we mostly finish the cakes when they are hot out of the oven.I do realize that cakes taste better the next day when all the flavours set in,but we have only a very little left the next day:)This is one of the most softest and moistest cake that I have had, it has a lovely orange flavour and no butter.I found this recipe in a cook book(Heavenly Cakes) that I borrowed some time back,luckily I had jotted it down :) I've slightly tweaked the recipe for the orange flavour. I love baking with orange as it fills the whole house with a beautiful aroma. This one's also a favorite of my dad and our little cat 'Chelsee'.Now don't take that lightly,Chelsee's the most choosiest cat that I've ever come across.Right from the fish she eats to the milk she drinks ,she's very particular.She loves sweets, especially cakes .She loves the cakes from Mcrennet in Chennai and whenever we buy a box,one piece of her favorite flavour would always be there.When I first baked this cake at home,my dad told me that he's gonna have a quality test done and offered Chelsee some.I was so happy when she finished it off and asked for more.I guess most of you would be laughing by now :) but pet lovers like me would realize how important a part of life they become.I miss her a lot and I thought I should mention about her in this post :) And this is chelsee :)



So off to the cake....

You'll Need:

All purpose flour/ Maida - 225 g -  2 1/4 cups

Eggs - 3 large (at room temperature)

Fine Sugar - 225 g - 1 1/4 cup

Baking powder - 3 tsp

Salt - 3/4 tsp

Whipped Cream (cold) - 350 g

Orange zest - 1.5 tbsp (from one big orange)

orange essence - 1/2 tsp

Method :

-Pre-heat the oven to 350° F / 175 ° C

-Sift the Flour,baking powder and salt together.

-For the orange zest: Clean and scrape the skin of the orange with a grater,to get the orange zest.

The poor orange after it's zest was removed

-In a small bowl slightly beat the eggs,orange essence and the orange zest.

-In a big bowl,add the whipped cream and beat until it thickens and it form sharp tips when the beater is lifted.

-Add the egg mixture and beat just until it is incorporated.About 2 minutes.

-Then gradually add the sugar while beating the batter and beat for another 2 minutes until all the sugar is incorporated.

-Now add the flour mixture in three batches , mixing well with a big slotted ladle after each addition. Just mix until there are no traces of flour.Please don't over mix.

-Butter the sides of a pan and dust it with flour.Fill it with the batter until it fills almost 3/4 th of the pan .Bake for 25 - 35 minutes,until a toothpick or skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.The batter fills a 9 " pan,if you have any leftover batter you can bake them into small cupcakes :)

-Remove from the oven and let it sit in the pan for 5 minutes ,then remove from the pan and let it cool.

-Enjoy !

Thanks for stopping by ! Happy Baking !