Moist Orange Cake with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

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A had requested an orange cake for his birthday, and this is what I came up with. As I am typing this, I realize exactly how far behind I am with my blog entries. This cake wasn’t made last year, but the previous! I have no excuse, other than I have been lazy and doing other things.

… back to the cake. I had envisioned a simple orange layer cake with frosting. I took a Victoria sandwich sponge recipe, and added orange juice and orange zest. The cake needed a bit more time than that stated in the recipe, and I took it out of the oven when the cocktail stick inserted into the centre of the cake came out clean. I left it to cool on a wire rack and came back after an hour or two, only to find that the center had collapsed. I was hugely disappointed. It was the morning of A’s birthday!

I popped the cake back into the oven and tried cooking a bit more, but got concerned that the outer edge of the cake would dry out, so I stopped. I decided to cut out the “wet core” using a round cutter, and decorate the cake as a “bundt” cake. Disaster averted.

Once frosted, the cake looked good. The cream cheese frosting went amazingly well with the moist orange sponge cake. Phew!


MOIST ORANGE CAKE WITH ORANGE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

makes one 20 cm (8 inch) cake

cake adapted from bbc good food: classic victoria sandwich

frosting adapted from food.com: orange cream cheese frosting


Ingredients

for the cake

  • 200 g (1 cup) turbinado sugar
  • 200 g (3/4 cup and 2 tablespoons) softened butter
  • 4 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 200 g (1-1/3 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
  • 1-3/4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
  • 1 tablespoon grated orange zest

for the frosting

  • 228 g (8 oz package) cream cheese
  • 60 g (4 tablespoons) softened salted butter
  • 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
  • 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 360 g (3 cups) icing (powdered) sugar


Method

1. Line the bottom and sides of one 20 cm (8 inch) round cake tin with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 190 C (375 F).

2. In a large bowl, beat the cake ingredients together to reach a smooth and soft batter.

3. Pour batter into prepared tin and smooth the top with the back of a spoon, and bake in the middle of the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes, until a cocktail stick inserted into the center comes out clean, or the cake springs back when pressed.

4. Turn the cake out onto a wire rack to cool, and let cool.

5. For the frosting, beat together the cream cheese, butter, orange juice, orange zest and vanilla until smooth. Add the sugar and beat until light and creamy.

6. Frost the cake, as desired, and set in the fridge. Slice and enjoy!

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