14 weeks and our baby is now the size of an orange- coming in at 4 inches long. Jane, of course, isn’t showing and I’m growing increasingly suspicious of the blurry ultrasound she brought home a couple weeks ago;) Oranges are a fun winter fruit and there are so many ways you can make them into a dish. I felt nostalgic this week and decided to make a classic cake we grew up with-Orange Sponge Cake. It doesn’t sound glamorous but, guess what? It’s so good! It has 4 eggs and no added fat making it a rather “healthy” cake. I’d say it compares to an angel food cake but, it does use all the yolks here while an angel food cake does not. The orange juice icing poured over the cooled cake makes this just the perfect bite.
Ingredients:
4 eggs separated into yolks and whites
1 ½ cups sugar
1 ½ cups flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
½ cup orange juice
Zest from one orange
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp orange extract(not necessary)
Cake:
Beat 4 egg yolks until lemon colored and creamy.
Add 1 ½ cups sugar gradually and continue beating.
Sift 1 ½ cups flour with ½ teaspoon baking powder and salt.
Add flour mixture alternately with ½ cup orange juice, vanilla, orange extract, and zest to batter.
In a separate bowl beat 4 eqq whites until stiff peaks and then fold into the batter.
Put batter into a sponge cake pan that has been buttered and floured into a COLD oven.
Turn the oven to 350°F and bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Icing:
¾ cup orange juice
¾ cup sugar
orange zest from 2 oranges
½ cup water
Simmer the icing ingredients for 10 minutes. Poke holes with a small dowel, or a fork into cooled cake and slowly pour over, making sure it is absorbed as you pour.
