This Orange and Cardamom cake is a delightfully refreshing bake. It is a light sponge (so easy to eat lots of) and has a citrus-y tang that reminds me of #summer. The cake itself is lightly flavoured with cardamom as I find that sometimes it can be a bit overpowering if you add too much. Another great thing about this particular recipe is that it is simple to make so can be whipped up for a #teaparty, summer #BBQ or a last minute coffee morning in next to no time. The method is simple and you will not be disappointed in the outcome! The cake is also lactose free so good for people with lactose intolerance. In this recipe I have used buttercream to decorate, however you can replace the butter with plant-based margarine or decorate with a drizzle of icing sugar and orange juice (much like you would decorate a lemon drizzle cake) if you want to keep it lactose free. As always feel free to let me know your thoughts on the recipe in the comments section.
Happy baking! X
Recipe
Serves: 12-16
Total Time: 1 ½ hours Prep: 15 mins Baking: 30-35 mins Decorating: 40 mins
Equipment
Baking tins
Grater
Frying pan
Electric whisk
Ingredients
For the cake
250 g self-raising flour
200 g granulated sugar
180 ml sunflower or vegetable oil
4 eggs
Juice and rind of 1 large orange
2 tsp ground cardamom
2 tsp baking powder
For the candied orange
1 large orange+ juice of another
50 ml water
150 g sugar
½ tsp cardamom
For the buttercream
Marmalade
200 g butter (or alternative margarine) at room temp
350 g icing sugar
Juice of 1 large orange
Water (if needed)
Method:
1. Line and grease 2 cake tins and turn on your oven to 180°C.
2. In a large mixing bowl whisk together the sugar and eggs. Slowly add the oil and continue whisking until light and airy. Add the juice and rind of one large orange.
3. In a separate bowl sift your flour and baking powder and add the cardamom. Gradually add the wet ingredients to the bowl and whisk until just combined.
4. Separate the mixture into your cake tins and bake for 30-35 mins or until a fork comes out clean when inserted into the centre of the cake.
5. Whilst your cake is in the oven add the water and sugar to a frying pan and heat on a medium-high heat until the sugar has dissolved.
6. Slice up your orange (about 1 cm thick) and add them to the sugar syrup. Sprinkle over ½ tsp cardamom and bring to the boil.
7. Turn down the heat once bubbling and simmer on a low heat until the flesh of the oranges looks see-through and the skin is soft.
8. Remove the oranges from the pan and set aside (at this point you can add some extra granulated sugar on them if you like).
9. With the syrup, add the juice of another orange to thin it out and heat gently until incorporated. This will be used to drizzle over your cake.
10. Remove the cakes from the oven and leave to cool slightly in the tins (5-10mins).
11. Use a fork to prick holes in your cake and spoon your orange syrup mixture over the cakes. Leave the cakes to cool completely.
12. While your cakes are cooling you can make the buttercream. Cut your butter into cubes and add to a bowl with your icing sugar.
13. Squeeze in the juice of an orange and whisk until light and fluffy with an electric whisk.
14. To assemble, trim your cakes so they are flat. Add a layer of marmalade to the first cake followed by the buttercream (I piped this on but you can spread it too). Add the top cake and coat in a thin layer of buttercream.
Note: I decorated this as a ‘Naked cake’ which just means it is not completely covered in buttercream. For this you need a thin layer, slightly thicker than a crumb coat’. If you want to completely cover your cake I recommend doing a crumb coat first then a thicker layer on top. You may also need more icing for this.
15. Pipe decorations on top of the cake and top with your candied orange. To do this I cut the orange pieces in half and then used the left over pieces to decorate around the sides.
Slice the oranges and boil in sugar and water
Use the syrup from the candies oranges to soak into the cake
Add marmalade and buttercream to the middle layer
Decorate with a thin layer of buttercream, piped icing and candied orange
Finish off by adding any leftover orange around the sides
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