This delicious cake is rich and full of flavours.  Perfect snack or afternoon treat!

Orange Cake, a deliciously moist cake!

Ingredients
Serves: 12
250g cake (plain) flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
200g caster sugar
125ml milk
125ml orange juice
125ml vegetable oil
3 eggs, beaten
1 ½ teaspoons grated orange zest

Orange butter icing:
6 tablespoons butter, softened
250g icing sugar
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated orange zest

Method:
Preheat oven to 180C. Grease and flour two 20cm round cake tins.
In a measuring jug, combine milk, 125ml orange juice, oil, beaten eggs and
1½ teaspoons orange zest. Set aside.
Sift flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Mix in sugar. Make a well in the centre and pour in the milk mixture. Stir until thoroughly combined.
Divide cake mixture between the two prepared tins. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool.

To make Orange Butter Icing:
Cream butter until smooth. Gradually beat in icing sugar. Beat until light and fluffy. Beat in 2 tablespoons orange juice to bring to spreading consistency. Stir in vanilla and 1 teaspoon orange zest. Spread over cooled cakes.

ENJOY!!

Orange cakes are especially delicious in winter when citrus is in season

COOK’s TIP FOR BAKING A PERFECT CAKE:

When making a cake it is important to follow the recipe  exactly.  If you try to skip a step you  may have less than desirable results.   Skip the sifting step and your flour will be heavier than it should,  creating a heavy, dry cake.  Over-mix and  your cake will be tough and chewy, more like a good bread.

First, use the right ingredients and measure carefully.

Beat the liquid ingredients well before combining with the  dry ingredients.  Once the dry ingredients  are added, the cake should be stirred gently, unless the directions tell you  otherwise.  If your cake is course and  dry, or has tunnels, you have probably over-mixed.

Preheat the oven as directed.  Starting in a cold oven, or too hot an oven  will affect the rising and browning of the cake.  A cake started in a cool oven will not allow  the cake to rise sufficiently before the crust forms and the cake may  fall.  Too hot an oven may cause a crack  to develop, and the crust to harden and overbrown.   The cake should be placed in the center of  the oven for best heat distribution.  Be  aware of your oven, if there are hot spots in your oven you may need to  adjust.

The cake is done when it is lightly browned and it springs  back when lightly pressed with the fingertip in the center or when a toothpick  inserted into the center comes out clean and dry.  The cake will have begun to shrink away from  the sides of the pan.

Ensure your ingredients are room temperature before starting your cake.