Orange Buttermilk Cake

For a brief time yesterday, we had sun. It seemed weird when the weather forecasters had predicted snow for large parts of the country.

 

While it was cold, the morning gave that hint of the promise of spring. Our cats basked in the sun in the garden. We even had a visit from a grey squirrel, who turned 180 pretty quickly after seeing the feline population suddenly become much more alert than they had been a few seconds before.
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After the indulgence of the festive season, it seemed a good time to try something lighter. At least in taste, if not calories.

 

Citrus is always a good bet for that in my book. The zingyness of lemon, the tartness of lime, or the more gentle hue of orange. They're all refreshing and have a way of perking up your palate in the same way a glint of sunshine can lift your mood. 

  





 

This is a easy, lazy cake, with the all-in-one method as its base. The glaze is simply icing sugar mixed with a little OJ and water, then poured onto the cake and eased over the sides, so it creates falls. I used some perfectly toned sprinkles to decorate, but you could vary this and use zest, sugar flowers, or even some edible flowers.

 

Whatever you choose, if you're the slightest bit still feeling sluggish after the holidays, your tastebuds will thank you for making this cake.

 

Orange Buttermilk Cake

 

Ingredients (makes one 8" / 20cm cake)

 

155g softened unsalted butter

2 tspns finely grated orange zest (about 1 orange)

150g caster sugar

3 eggs (medium, so around 60g on average in the shell)

185g self-raising flour

60ml buttermilk

 

For the icing

160g icing sugar

1 tbspn orange juice

1/2 to 1 tbspn water

 

Preheat the oven to 160 Fan / 180 Conventional / 350F / Gas 4. Grease and baseline a deep 8 inch /20 cm cake tin.

 

 

Place all the cake ingredients into a mixer and beat on low speed until combined. Increase speed to medium and continue mixing for about 3 minutes, until the batter is smooth and is lighter in colour.

 

Spread mixture into the cake tin and bake in the middle of the oven for about 40 - 45 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
 

 

Let cool in the tin for about 5 minutes, before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the icing by sifting the icing sugar into a bowl. Add the orange juice and mix. Add a little water to bring the consistency to a thick, but pourable paste.
 

 

Put the cake onto your serving plate. Pour the icing onto the top of the cake and gently, with a spatula, ease it right to the edge. The icing will then, fairly naturally, fall in little folds down the sides of the cake.

The recipe I have used is adapted from one in an Australian Women's Weekly publication, 'Baking'. I should explain that although I did the skewer test after 45 minutes, and it did indeed come out clean, when I cut into the cake it did appear to me a little underdone in the very middle towards the bottom of the cake (you can see in the picture of the slice above). The cake is supposed to be very moist though, and it had clearly browned well on the top. I had also used for the first time one of Lakeland's new 'pushpans', rather than my normal deep sandwich pan, so I'm not sure if that had an effect. I think it might have been a bit better in a slightly lower oven for a bit longer. I may well try that next time, and revert back to my usual pan, to see if it makes any difference. There will be a next time though - I can see this little cake being one of my firm favourites.
 

As this month's theme for Tea Time Treats is citrus, I'm going to submit this to Karen at Lavender and Lovage who, along with Kate at What Kate Baked organises the challenge. Karen is hosting this month and the roundup will appear on her blog towards the end of the month. 

I'm also entering it into this month's one ingredient challenge, hosted by Laura at How to Cook Good Food, and co-organised with Nazima at Franglais Kitchen. The ingredient this month is orange, so I think this fits the bill perfectly

Enjoy,

Susie