Although I do agree that fruit cakes must be baked and had at Christmas time, they are not my favourite kind. So I try to work around that by making fruit cakes but with only one fruit. That counts, right? Oranges are super flavourful and making a cake with oranges is just, a good idea you guys! Orange rind, which can be added to anything flour-based really, makes this cake that much better. While most orange cake recipes I have seen uses orange juice in the batter, this one doesn’t have that. You can make a glaze with orange juice and icing sugar or go the route of this toffee sauce (recipe below) I have used. Either ways, this orange cake is delicious. Christmas baking is probably my favourite activity and I usually make some brownies, bars, and a cake with some type of fruit action going on. While my eggless fruit cake is possibly the most popular one I have baked and shared, this orange cake is a close second. At some point, people get tired of all that dried fruit and nuts I guess. This orange cake recipe bakes up nice and spongy and doesn’t rise too much so don’t panic. I decided to go with the toffee sauce that goes so well with the sticky date cake (another great cake for the Christmas season!) that I have now baked countless times. You can add lesser sugar to the cake if you prefer, since the sauce is fairly sweet and can make this cake quite rich and delicious. Did I mention this orange cake recipe also uses just one bowl? Win! Oh and also, this orange cake recipe calls for vegetable oil and usually, I am wary of using oil in cakes (I have tried a few with mixed results) but I needn’t have worried at all. It worked like a charm in this one. Just buy regular vegetable oil from the supermarket, or you can use melted butter too. Notes: – To make this orange cake more of a christmas cake, add 1 tsp cinnamon powder and 1/2 tsp nutmeg powder to the above recipe. You can also try adding 1/2 tsp fresh garam masala to make it spicier. – When measuring flour, use the scoop and sweep method – ie – scoop flour loosely into the measuring cup and when full, sweep the excess off the top. – This is a one-bowl cake and is very easy to put together so there’s no need for creaming of butter and sugar or sifting of dry ingredients. Using an electric mixer makes the mixing process more uniform so I would recommend that. – The toffee sauce can be refrigerated for up to a week and used on any dessert or ice cream of choice. It’s delicious and gets it’s consistency back by microwaving on low heat or leaving out for 10 mins at room temperature.
