Orange Cake

In another post I talked about how exciting it was to have been published in Vintage Life magazine and that I was looking forward to being published again.  The new issue was released on 28th of this month and I was really excited to see my next recipe in print.  Sadly, there was a bit of a mix up with the articles I had provided them with so what you've got in this months magazine isn't quite right...  What you should have got was a red velvet cake.  What you actually got was my orange cake with the red velvet photographs.  Oops!  Hopefully, everything will be rectified for the next issue I'm in (December), but what I thought I would do is give you the orange recipe with the correct photos in this blog.  Hopefully you have gone out and bought the magazine (and I can't thank you enough if you have) so you can still make a delicious gluten-free version of an original 1933 recipe and hopefully, the method gives you enough direction for decorating your finished bake.  I also hope you enjoyed the article itself.  I do love a bit of social and food history!!


Apologies for any confusion caused and I do hope you'll subscribe to the magazine for more of my work.


So, here is the recipe:

KC ORANGE CAKE

INGREDIENTS:

​For the Cake:
125g unsalted butter, at room temperature
240g caster sugar
125ml orange juice
Zest from 1 orange
4 eggs
340g gluten free self-raising flour
40g cornflour
1 teaspoon gluten free baking powder
½ teaspoon course sea salt (if using table salt use a ¼ teaspoon)
125ml milk of your choice, at room temperature

For the Filling:
4 tablespoons cornflour
60ml cold water
250ml orange juice
Juice of half a lemon
160g caster sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon butter
¼ teaspoon course sea salt (use a pinch if using table salt)

​METHOD:

• Preheat the oven to 180c / 160c fan / gas mark 4
• Grease and either flour or line 2 x 20cm / 8-inch round cake tins
• Separate the eggs, saving all the yolks in one bowl and the whites from 2 eggs in another.
• Beat the 2 egg whites until stiff and set aside.  Start off slowly and build up the bubbles gradually, this will ensure that more air is trapped and give the cake more rise

• Sift the flour with the baking powder and salt and set aside; this is a very important step as it creates more air to help with the rise of the cake
• In the bowl of a freestanding mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or using a wooden spoon or hand whisk, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy
• Mix in the orange juice and zest – don’t worry if the mixture looks curdled, this is simply the acid in the oranges reacting with the fat solids in the butter, it will come back together as you add in the rest of the ingredients

• Add in the egg yolks, beating thoroughly to make sure everything is combined
• Alternate between adding the milk and flour mixture, beating thoroughly in between each addition.  You will need to periodically scrape down the bowl to ensure everything adheres
• Finally fold in the egg whites by hand using a rubber spatula or metal spoon.  Do this carefully and slowly to ensure you do not knock out any of the air you have whipped into the whites.  Make sure everything is mixed together and you don’t have any large white specks of egg white in the batter

• Divide the batter equally between your prepared tins and bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean

• Leave to cool for about 10 minutes in the tin then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely
• Meanwhile, make the filling
• Mix the cornflour with the water in a small bowl and then add this to a medium saucepan along with the juices and half the sugar (80g).

• Cook over a medium-high heat until it becomes very thick.  Make sure to sir continuously so it doesn’t stick.  It does take a little while and you may think it is not working, but it will thicken suddenly, so keep persevering
• In a separate bowl, mix the beaten egg with the remaining 80g of sugar
• Add some of the hot sauce into the egg mixture and mix through, then add all of this back into the saucepan on the heat, stirring constantly until the egg is cooked – this should take about 2 minutes.
• Take the pan off the heat and add in the butter and salt, stir thoroughly to ensure it is all combined

• Transfer to a bowl and cover with clingflim (make sure it touches the surface of the curd) to ensure a skin does not form as it cools
• To assemble the cake, sandwich the two cakes together using half to ¾ of the cooled curd, then use the remainder to spread over the top.  Decorate with orange slices, orange zest and even some candied peel if you have some handy

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