Sunday, January 22, 2017

Vanilla and Orange Cake

This month, at The Cake Slice Bakers, the four recipes selected from the book World Class Cakes by Roger Pizey which we are currently baking from are ;

Lemon Drizzle 
Apple Streusel
Vanilla and Blood Orange Cake
Devil's Food Cake

Members can choose any of those cakes to bake, and my choice is Vanilla and Blood Orange Cake. I have however replaced blood orange with regular orange.



The full recipe is baked in a 8" pan. I've made half a recipe and bake the cake in a 5" round cake pan. For such a tiny cake, the amount of butter is half a cup (which I thought is quite a lot!), so I've used 100gm, wanted to use only 80gm but decided to reduce only 25gm from the half cup instead, and have reduced the sugar to 1/4 cup, taking into account that there is caramel at the top of the finished cake.

The caramel is first made by melting sugar in a saucepan (for the caramel, I've used 1/4 cup instead of 1/3 cup) and stir until the sugar has completely melted to a caramel. Immediately pour the caramel into the cake pan and place a sliced orange in the centre. 

The batter is made by creaming sugar (I've used 1/4 cup), eggs and seeds from a vanilla pod, until light and fluffy, and doubled in volume, about 5 minutes. Fold in melted butter, orange zest, orange juice, mix to combine, and lastly the flour, in two batches. Pour batter into the prepared pan over the caramel and bake in a preheated oven.



According to the recipe, this cake is baked in a low temperature at 325F for 30 minutes. I have however baked at 350F and it took 35 minutes until the cake is done baking. 



Invert the cake onto a plate so that the caramel with the orange is now the top. Let cool and serve.






Cake is very moist, and soft. I am so glad that I have reduced the sugar, as this is quite sweet with the caramel. I thought that this cake could do with a little less butter. I like the orange slice and the bits of vanilla seeds throughout. My overall review for this cake, not great, but nice.



13 comments:

  1. I like the look of your post, and the color of the plate you used. It showcase your orange vanilla cake perfectly. Lovely cake crumb texture!

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  2. Just adorable! Love the idea of a smaller cake.

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  3. Your cake turned out lovely! I think I would have reduced the sugar as well!

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  4. It is cute as can be and the flavors sound lovely! I love the way the orange and caramel look on the cake!

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  5. oh my, I would love a piece of that. looks so moist and delicious

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  6. Wonderful to have this in a smaller size. It does seem like a lot of butter for a small cake. Very smart to reduce the sugar, too. It really is pretty and I love the final photo of the slice!

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  7. The cake has such a soft and tender crumb that I really enjoy. An excellent citrus cake, Joyce.

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  8. The cake look so delicious! I wish I'm your neighbour to share you cakes with! ;)

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  9. Your cake looks wonderful but it is interesting to read your comments. I really would like to try this one.

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  10. Your cake turned out beautifully. I love that you adjusted it to meet your tastes and needs.

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  11. It looks lovely. I tried this cake, and it did not come out nearly as well. I may try it again with your comments in mind.

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  12. All of the cakes sounded amazing this month, and after seeing your delicious cake I know I am going to have to go back and make them all!

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  13. Love this cake, look absolutely stunning!!

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