BASIC ORANGE CAKE

An evenly risen, perfectly cooked, soft, spongy, and sweet smelling cake is every cake maker’s ultimate desire. Given below is the recipe of a cake in which you can never go wrong. It tastes delicious, and is a perfect accompaniment with tea. It is also a great option for family get-togethers and parties.

Serves: 8 to 10
Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour (Maida)
1 cup oil
1 cup orange juice
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp baking powder
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla or orange essence
2 circular cake tins, butter for greasing, maida for dusting the tins.

Method

Take maida, baking powder and powdered sugar in a bowl. Sieve together twice and set aside.

Then take a bowl and add the eggs. Separate yolk from the whites using a spoon. Beat the whites till they are fluffy.

Then in another bowl, beat the yolks till they are well combined, then add essence, orange juice and oil. Beat for a few more seconds till all the ingredients are mixed well.

At this stage, switch on the oven and allow it to preheat at 150 degree Celsius for 15 to 20 minutes with both upper and lower rods on.

Now grease and flour the two cake tins. (For this, take a cake tin, line the insides with butter. Then add flour, tap it at the sides such that the insides of the cake tin is completely covered with flour. Turn it upside down and tap at the sides to remove excess flour. Take care that your fingertips do not touch the insides. Every part inside the cake tin must be completely greased and floured).

Now add the egg whites to the yolk mixture and mix with hand or wooden spatula. Then add maida mixture little by little. Mix well. Do not beat. Take care that there are no lumps in the mixture. When ready, pour it in the two cake tins filling it up to slightly more than half mark. By now the oven would be ready. Place the cake tins in the central rack and bake at the same temperature for 25 to 30 minutes or till a knife inserted comes out clean. (Depending on the oven the timing may differ, hence keep a close watch after 20 minutes).

Once done, allow it to cool, slice it into pieces and serve. It can be had just as it is. For birthday celebrations, cover the cake entirely with cream along with toppings of your choice.