I spent my birthday on the west side. The Help drove me and TheRents out for a Costco run. We had lunch at The Blue Room. I even made it in time to go to my favorite yarn store. All in all, it was a great day. But there was one thing missing: birthday cake.
OllieMama keeps raving about the carrot cake at Costco, but I did not see any when I was there. I saw some large red velvet cupcakes, but no carrot cake. It didn't matter because I didn't feel like having carrot cake anyway.
I came home from Kona, exhausted, but decided to make my own birthday cake. I felt like something citrus-y so I made orange pound cake. I made a half recipe of the mini loaf pan version. . .only because I figured I'd be expected to share some.
This cake has been adapted from the Barefoot Contessa's recipe. I leave out the orange zest, and I use large eggs, instead of extra-large eggs. Because I usually use local navel oranges, the zest is not the perfect orange color found on supermarket oranges; it is a green-gold color, which, in spite of the added flavor, does NOT look appetizing in a cake. I guess my inability to bring myself to pay the premium for extra-large eggs is why I just use large eggs. . .it's what I buy. The icing is also thicker with my recipe than with the original recipe. I like the icing to slowly ooze down the sides, not run down in a thin shell.
click on recipe title for printable recipe
2 c butter, softened
5 c sugar, divided per recipe instructions
8 large eggs
6 c flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt
2 c orange juice, divided per recipe instructions
1 1/2 c buttermilk
2 tsp vanilla
4 1/4 c powdered sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 8 mini loaf pans or 4 4 x 8" loaf pans (or 4 mini loaf pans and 2 4 x 8" loaf pans). Cut parchment paper to fit bottoms of pans. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a small saucepan, combine 1 c sugar and 1 c orange juice. Set aside. In a medium measuring cup, combine buttermilk, 1/2 c orange juice, and vanilla. Set aside. Cream butter and 4 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Divide mixture among pans. If using mini loaf pans, use 4 level #10 dishers per pan. Bake 42 minutes for mini loaf pans or 55 minutes for 4 x 8" loaf pans. While cakes are baking, heat orange juice & sugar mixture until sugar dissolves. Set aside. Let cakes cool 10 minutes in pan. Remove loaves to wire rack set over a shallow pan. Pour warm syrup evenly over each loaf. When completely cool, make icing by combining powdered sugar and 6 tbsp orange juice. Pour over cakes and allow icing to dry and harden before wrapping or serving.
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