Orange cake

Soft, fluffy, yet sturdy, fragrant , melt in mouth , and bright orange flavor  !!! This Orange cake is a delectable cake with a delicate and tight  crumb and easy to put together. It has a perfect balance between sweet and tangy. You can enjoy this plain but glaze enhances the citrus notes of cake .   It is divine with fresh blueberries, strawberries and a scoop of ice cream too.

For a perfect orange flavor, I used orange zest, orange peel in batter as well as glaze...and a generous drizzle of orange glaze on warm cake adds another citrusy dimension to cake.

While using zest and peel , ensure you avoid the white layer of peel ...

Butter adds richness and buttery flavor to compliment the tanginess of the cake.

Ingredients

All purpose flour                     3 cups

Baking powder                        1 tsp

Baking soda                             1/2 tsp

Butter                                         230 gms

Sugar *                                      2 cups

Eggs                                           4

Orange zest                              1 tbsp

Orange peel                             2 tbsp

Milk                                           1 & 1/4 cup

Curd                                          2 tbsp

Vanilla essence                       2 tsp

For glaze 

Powdered sugar       1/2 cup

Orange peel               1 tbsp

Lemon juice               2 tbsp

Orange juice              2 tbsp

Mix everything and keep aside.

You can use orange marmalade too .

Method

• Preheat oven to 170° C.
• Grease a 10 inch tube pan and dust with flour .
• Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
• Add one egg at a time , beat well after each addition.
• Add essence, zest and orange peel.
• Whisk together flour, baking powder and baking soda , add to creamed mixture along with milk and curd.
• Beat well to get a smooth batter.
• Pour in prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for 50-55 minutes.
• Once done, remove from pan and allow it to cool.
• Poke holes in slightly warm cake using skewer and pour the glaze over cake .

 * To get maximum orange flavor , pulse the sugar with orange peel  .

To remove cakes easily from pan, use solid butter to grease the pan and dust flour.

Add more milk if you find the batter  thick, batter should be of dosa batter consistency.