Orange cake, a simple aromatic yellow cake has such an amazing fragrance that you will without a doubt prepare it again. One of my favorite evening snack.
One weekend we visited our old batchmates from college and before visiting we had couple of hours. So, I thought of taking something homemade. I decided to prepare this cake since my fruit basket was calling out for oranges to be eaten the end result turned out great as expected with simple last-minute ingredients. Two days ago I baked it again at my husband’s request to have the cake after meals and all I had to do was mix all the ingredients in one bowl and bake.
Preparation time: 20 minutes – 30 minutes
Cooking time: 55 – 60 minutes
Serves: 5 +
Ingredients
Orange – 1 large (unpeeled & washed), approx 195 g
Butter 125 g (room temperature)
All-Purpose flour / Top flour – 2 cups / 1 pint / 345 g
Caster sugar 185 g / 8 oz
Baking soda – 1 tsp
Pinch of salt
Vanilla essence – 2 tsp
Eggs 2 medium whole
Dates 100 g (pitted and chopped, weighed before pitting)
Water – 2 tbsp
Almonds – 100 g (optional)
Directions
1. Take the orange, cut roughly into quarters and remove any seeds. Add it into a blender or food processor (along with its peel) and 2 tbsp of water. Blend to combine together and form a paste. Set aside.
Preheat convection oven at 160 deg and line a baking tray base with butter and parchment paper, grease butter over the paper.
2. In a large bowl add flour, sugar, butter, baking soda, vanilla, salt. Mix with a wooden spoon initially for a minute or two so the flour gets combined together without making a mess. Add eggs, mix with a hand held mixer for approximate 2 – 3 minutes until smooth on medium – high speed.
Remove the stir paddle with any leftover cake batter.
3. Add the chopped dates and if you use almonds add them now or place them on the top. Mix with the wooden spoon till well combined.
4. Spoon the mixture into the prepared baking tray, pop it into the preheated oven on convection mode (fan). Bake for 45 minutes at 160 deg Celsius, reduce temperature to 150 degrees and bake for another 5-10 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes clean.
Let it sit in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven, release the spring and serve it warm.
It’s best to leave it to cool partially or completely at room tremperature otherwise it might break apart. We loved the crispy top with soft texture on the inside, a flavor and aroma that is always best suited for big families or serve guests. You can use chocolate sauce as a good accompaniment.
Note:
*In case you’re wondering what kind of orange to use, here I have used Valencia Orange. Before using an orange I dipped it for 5 – 20 minutes in a bowl with 1 1/2 cup of water and 1 tbsp vinegar just to wash away any unwanted dirt or chemicals.
*If you wouldn’t have time to get the butter to room temperature, cut the desired quantity of butter into small cubes before preparing rest of the ingredients it gets softer faster by the time you are ready to combine the rest. On an additional note – if the eggs are lying in the fridge, place them out on the counter top.
Thank you everyone for your compliments and questions. It makes me try more recipes and also share them here. Please stay updated on Instagram #delicioussweetaroma for pictures and FacebookDelicious Sweet Aroma for food.
A Traditional Christmas cake is steeped in brandy and dried fruits imparting lovely aroma. An easy cake recipe that I made for the first time without any hassle of too many ingredients. It’s simple and can even be baked by a beginner.
Dried fruits (soaked a day in advance, *see notes):
Dates pitted, roughly chopped – 90 g
Raisins – 110 g
Black currant – 70 g
Cake mix:
Brandy / Rum – 100 ml + extra for feeding the cake (*see notes)
Unsalted Butter ( soft) – 200 g + extra for greasing the pan
Dark brown Sugar (fine) – 1 cup / 200 g
Vanilla extract – 1 tsp
Honey – 2 tbsp
Lemon Zest – 1
Top Flour / Plain flour (All-purpose flour) – 225 g
Baking powder – 1 tsp
Cloves – 1 tsp / 5 pcs (powdered see notes*)
Ground cinnamon – 1 tsp
Nutmeg – 1 tsp
Pinch of salt
Large whole eggs – 4, room temp
Cashew nuts – 1/2 cup or 75 g, chopped
Almonds, slivered – 20 g
Directions
1. Chop the dried fruits and soak them in a mixing bowl with brandy or rum and cover with cling film. Leave it for 24 hours or a week, stirring occasionally in a cool place.
2.The next day or after a week:
Add 2 tbsp of all-purpose flour to the cashew nuts and almonds, mix together. This in done so that they do not sink to the bottom of the cake. Reserve for later. Prepare the rest of the ingredients.
Grease and line a 20cm (8″) cake tin base with a circular cut parchment paper and also the greased circumference with a layer of baking parchment paper. Make sure the paper is few inches above the level of tin.
3. Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy using a electric hand mixer. Stir in the honey, vanilla extract, zest of one lemon and mix well with the hand mixer until well combined.
4. Sift the flour, baking powder, cloves cinnamon, nutmeg along with salt. To avoid any face full of flour mix with a large spoon, initially, then use the electic hand mixer to mix and combine.
5. Add 2 eggs first, beat it and mix well for 30 seconds on low speed until you add the next one. Repeat until all are done.
6. Add the dried fruits along with left over liquid and mix in, then stir in the cashew nuts and almonds.
7. Preheat the convection oven at 140 degree Celsius (275 °F / Gas mark 1). Spoon the batter into the prepared cake tin and smooth the tops.
For a convection oven place the cake on a lower rack and see to that there is more than 2 inch gap from the parchment paper to the top.
Bake for 1hour and check with a wooden skewer for doneness. Bake for another 15 minutes or until the skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. You may need to cover the top of the cake with a round parchment paper if it is getting too brown before the cake is fully cooked.
I prepared this late in the evening hence the indoor lighting.
8. Leave the cake to cool in the tin completely. Remove the parchment paper from the sides.
Tada!! That is beautifully done with a great texture and lovely color. We were so tempted 😍 and right now just can’t wait for Christmas to grab a bite and try it out.
For Feeding the cake:
Pierce the cake with a toothpick and drizzle 2 tbsp brandy over the cake. Immedialtely wrap it with double baking paper sheets and the final layer with aluminium foil. Store it in a cool place in a plastic bag and place it in a sealed airtight container.
If you have prepared the cake weeks in advance feed the cake with alcohol every week.
Notes
*I soaked the dried fruits with brandy for a week but you can also soak it overnight or the previous day before baking.
*In case you do not find cloves powder: take 5 pieces of cloves, place them in a small zip-lock bag and pound them to make a powder. You can also use a mortar and pestle.
*If using Rum: I used STROH rum, known for its bold 80% alcohol content, and carefully diluted it with an equal amount of water to create the perfect balance of rich flavor for my Christmas fruit cake.
The following brandy was also used for this cake. If you do not wish to use alcohol replace it with orange juice.
Wish you all a joyful pleasant Christmas with family and friends!😇🎄 And please stay updated through my FB page>> Delicious Sweet Aroma
Signing off for now – Sherryl 😊✍ 🎅
Hi folks, I am posting the Update on my Brandied Plum Cake after feeding it for few days and unwrapping it on Christmas day this week (Excitement! 😇 ). While I unwrapped it from the foils and butter paper we could get the lovely aroma of brandy. It was moist, fully flavored and matured with perfect amount of all ingredients I used. It tasted delicious just like the one’s I used to have from the bakery in my hometown during Christmas which made me so happy. I am quiet surprised that the brandy I used was the right amount – not too much and not too less. Hope you all are enjoying your holidays😊. Following are few pics taken on Christmas day where me and my husband sat all morning enjoying our homemade christmas treats just like we do in our hometown. How did you spent your Christmas this year?
Wishing you a joyous holiday season 🤩🎅☃ with peace and cheer in the New Year!❤🎶🎀🎁🎉
Sherryl 😊
Traditional Christmas Cake | Fruit Cake
A fruit cake soaked in rum or brandy, combining rich, spiced fruits with the deep, warming flavors. The alcohol enhances the cake's moist texture and allows the flavors to mature, making it a perfect festive dessert enjoyed by many during the holiday season.
200gButtersoft unsalted plus extra for greasing the pan
200gDark Brown Sugarfine
1tspVanilla Extract
2tbspHoney
1Lemon Zest
225gAll-purpose flour
1tspBaking powder
1tspCloves powder
1tspGround cinnamon
1tspNutmeg powder
4EggsLarge at room temperature
pinch of salt
Dried Nuts
75gCashew nuts
20gAlmondsslivered
Instructions
Prepare the Dried Fruits
Chop the dried fruits and soak them in a mixing bowl with brandy or rum and cover with cling film.
Leave it for 24 hours or a week, stirring occasionally in a cool place.
Prepare the Nuts
Add 2 tbsp of all-purpose flour to the cashew nuts and almonds, mix together. This in done so that they do not sink to the bottom of the cake. Reserve for later. Prepare the rest of the ingredients.
Grease and line a 20cm (8″) cake tin base with a circular cut parchment paper and also the greased circumference with a layer of baking parchment paper. Make sure the paper is few inches above the level of tin.
Cream Butter ad Sugar
In a large bowl, beat together the softened butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
Stir in the honey, vanilla extract, zest of one lemon and mix well.
Mix Dry Ingredients
Add flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt.
Combine Eggs
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Preheat Oven
Preheat your oven top -Bottom heat to 140°C (275°F/Gas mark 1) . Grease and line a 9-inch round cake pan with parchment paper.
Combine Fruits and Nuts
Stir in the soaked dried fruits and then the chopped nuts.
Bake
Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and smooth the top. Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Soak with Rum:
Once the cake is done, remove it from the oven and let it cool. Then, remove the cake from the pan and transfer it to a wire rack. Brush it generously with more rum or brandy.
Wrap and Rest:
Once the cake has cooled completely, wrap it in plastic wrap and let it rest for at least 24 hours to allow the flavors to meld. For an even richer flavor, you can feed it with rum every few days.
Notes
For an extra moist fruit cake, you can soak it in rum for several weeks before serving.
Use high-quality rum for the best flavor.
Enjoy your rich, flavorful rum-infused fruit cake!
Keyword Boozy Fruit Cake, Christmas Fruit Cake, Rum Fruit Cake
I love biscuits that are very light flavored, so I thought of baking something easy like the butter biscuit. I had this at Texas Chicken and I loved the idea of making it on my own. This recipe is similar to the recipe I found in allrecipes.com of Kentucky biscuits but I made some adjustments in the ingredients.
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Makes: 13
Ingredients
Parchment paper for lining the tray
Top flour/Cake flour/Self raising flour – 2 cups
Baking powder – 1 tbsp
Cream of tartar – 3/4 tsp (see notes for a substitute)
Unsalted butter (solid cubes) or vegetable shortening – 1/2 cup, 4 oz
Milk – 2/3 cup
Sugar – 3 tsp
Salt – 1/2 tsp
For Brushing the biscuits:
Melted unsalted butter – 1/8 cup or 2 tbsp
Honey – 1/3 cup
Directions
1. Preheat oven at 200 degree Celsius. Coat a 12”x 8” (can use a bigger size) rectangular tray with butter and line with parchment paper. Grease the paper lightly with butter.
2. In medium bowl add the sifted flour, baking powder, solid butter cubes, salt and cream of tartar. Mix with your hands until crumbly.
3. Pour milk and knead to make a dough by pushing the dough down and out until it gets less sticky for 5 minutes.
4. Scoop out the dough by tablespoons and roll into balls. Space the balls 11/2 inches apart on baking sheet. Brush the balls with the melted butter and honey mixture.
5. Place the tray in the center of the oven and bake at 200 degrees Celsius for 10 – 15 minutes.
6. Bake until golden brown or until puffy. Remove the tray out of the oven and brush again with melted butter and honey.
Note:
*If you do not have cream of tartar just substitute fresh lemon juice or white vinegar.
As a hobby I blog on recipes that fascinates me to learn the art of cooking inspired from people to places I've been. In my recipes you will find step-by-step pictures with instructions for easy cooking. Hope to hear your views, share pics and have fun.
Happy cooking!