Wednesday, September 09, 2015

What to do with a glut of oranges? Orange Cake of course #orangecake


So it is the end of winter, with a glut of oranges and lemons.  What to do? This display of oranges and lemons on the kitchen bench would be about 1/100th of what is left on mum's trees.  So what to do with oranges and lemons?  We've already made vats of orange marmalade and orange and lemon marmalade.

Scrub the truckload of oranges well.

This orange cake recipe calls for a whopping 2 whole oranges!  At this rate, I'll be making orange cake every day for the next year. But maybe I'll have to preserve them first? I'm also trying out preserved lemons.  I'll let you know how they go in a few days.  I'm channelling Elizabeth David.


Boil oranges on the stove for 2 hours. I had to add water a couple of times because of evaporation.


Puree whole cooked oranges once they have cooled to room temperature.

I'm very fond of this Sunbeam Super Freeway.  It was given to me by my brother Ralph as a wedding present back in 1983. Wow, it has performed well.  I may have lost a few of the attachments over the years but as a blender, it has been wonderful.


See.. they're pureed.

Crack six eggs and 250 gm or 2 cups of caster sugar into blender or mixer.

Blend together sugar and egg mixture with pureed orange and 250gm  or 2 cups of SR flour
 For those of you who are gluten intolerant you could use 2 cups of almond meal and 1 teaspoon of baking powder instead of the flour. My daughter is allergic to almonds, and knowing that her and her friends will likely hoe into the cake on their next visit, I chose the wheat option. I try my best not to harm her.



Pour into a baking-paper lined spring form tin. I find with this teflon tin, I only have to line the base.
Good. I don't do fiddly.

Cook for an hour to an hour and a quarter at 150 degree celsius (300 farenheit)
Test with a skewer.
Okay.. I forgot to set the timer.. but good enough!

You can sprinkle the cake with caster sugar, or even put many holes into it with a skewer and pour in a
nice orange liqueur like cointreau.
However, I chose to make butter and orange marmalade icing, using my 3 generations marmalade.
Very cool.

Butter and marmalade icing

For the icing you need to blend:
3 cups of icing sugar
2 teaspoons of marmalade
1/2 cup of butter
small amount of water to ensure a thick spread.



There you go.  Two more oranges used up.  Anyone have other suggestions?


Postscript:  My husband says this is the best cake I've ever made! Wow. That's a compliment. While I don't make cake a lot.. I've made my fair share, so to say "best ever" is a big call.  What I'm amazed at is that the cake is so moist, even days after it has been made, and yet there is no oil or butter. I must be the oil from the orange skin that helps to keep it moist. Not sure.  But I will definitely be making this again! The orange/ citrus flavour is devine.

2 comments:

  1. This looks like a great cake. Thanks for sharing it. Do you know whether it freezes well?

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Christine. It is a wonderfully moist cake.
      Re freezing it, I haven't tried freezing it, so I can't say.
      But next time I make it, I'll try freezing a portion and let you know.

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