The Amazing Orange Cake

I have been very busy in the last two months looking after my very sick elderly friend. I am sad to say that he has passed away. I now have time to bake once again which is a nice way to ease the pain.

I have made this beautifully light, moist orange cake, full of flavor from fresh orange juice and zest. The recipe is adapted from Margie Agostini's Amazing Orange Cake from Caffe Agostini in Sydney via the lovely Jill Dupleix's webpage.

I have halved the ingredients and made the 22cm cake. Serves 8

Ingredients:

250 grams unsalted butter
250 grams castor sugar
4 x 60 gram eggs
grated zest of 1 Navel orange (for the best zest)
250 grams self-raising flour
100 ml freshly squeezed orange juice
For the icing:
250 grams pure icing sugar
50 ml orange juice

Preheat oven to 170°C. Grease a 22 cm springform cake tin and line with baking paper. Cream the butter and sugar well, until it is very pale and thick - this will take 3 to 4 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the flour and zest and beat well. Slowly add the orange juice, mixing well until it is incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Leave in the cake tin for 10 minutes, then remove from the tin and leave to cool on a cake rack.

Mix the orange juice into the icing sugar. Ice the cooled cake and allow the icing to drizzle down the sides of the cake.