May 26, 2005
Almond Orange Cake
I don't think I was any more than ten years old the first time I baked a creative cake on my own. I had fallen in love with the Mandarin Chocolate sherbet sold at the local Bask & Robbins, so I substituted orange juice for some of the liquid called for in the directions of a dark chocolate mix, and folded in a small can of mandarin oranges. It was pretty good, but didn't have the bittersweet intensity I sought even then. Some day I'll experiment once again with this premise and will post either a chocolate orange cake recipe or one for chocolate marmalade.
In the meantime, here is a recipe which has almost nothing in common with that one; only the orange flavor is a link but it still caught my attention when it showed up on my wee wifey's Blue Ribbon recipe mailing list. This cake was a State Fair winner, and the recipe is presented straight out of the Gold Medal cookbook because it doesn't need tweaking. In particular, it doesn't need a heavy gream cheese orange almond frosting.
2 cups all-purpose flour and 1/4 cup cornstarch
or 2 1/4 cups cake flour
1/2 cup ground almonds -- (2 ounces)
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter -- softened
1 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup orange marmalade
1/4 cup flaked coconut
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 12 ounce can almond paste or filling
1/4 cup milk
ALMOND ORANGE GLAZE:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons butter or margarine -- melted
1 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon orange extract
GARNISH:
slivered almonds
orange zest -- if desired
Heat oven to 350°. Grease bottom and side of 12-cup bundt cake pan with shortening; lightly flour. Mix flour, almonds, baking powder and salt; set aside.
Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed, scraping bowl occasionally, until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in marmalade, coconut, almond extract and almond paste until blended. Beat in flour mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture, until blended. Pour into pan.
Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely.
Drizzle Almond Orange Glaze over cake. Garnish with almonds and orange zest.
Almond Orange Glaze:
Mix all ingredients until smooth and thin enough to drizzle.