Eggless Orange Cake with Orange Icing

After the new year post, I' m back again with another cake. That is because, friends I am hooked on to baking !!!



My facebook friend, Rajni Kamath is awesome baker besides having mastery in cooking skills. I got to know her through foodie groups on Facebook and was awestruck seeing her post of eggless orange cake that was prepared for one of our common friend in a food group. The cake looked very tempting and secondly it was eggless. Check the below photo of her preparation, that tempted me into baking this cake. 


With step by step pictorial pics from her I realized why not dare myself into baking this cake. I followed her recipe [which has been inspired from Nita Mehta] and made few changes.

The below pic was my humble attempt to bake this cake for the first time to celebrate S's birthday. The cake was yum yum and family members enjoyed it.

Thanks Rajni for this great recipe.

Ingredients

1 and 1/4 cup maida/ all purpose flour  
1 and 1/2 tsp baking Powder 
3/4 tsp of soda Bicarb  
1/2 cup or 100 gms butter [I have used Amul 1 stick of unsalted butter]
1/2 cup powdered sugar 
1/2 cup milk 
1/2 cup orange squash 
A drop of food orange color
A bowl of fresh orange/mandarin pieces

Note : All the measurements mentioned above are leveled and not heaped. 
Check the expiry dates on all products before you buy them, especially the flour, soda bicarb and baking powder. The measurements given above, can be used to prepare about 8 cup cakes too.

Method:
Grease the cake tin either with butter or line it with parchment paper.

Preheat the oven at 180 degrees C for 10-12 minutes. 

Sieve flour/maida, soda bicarb and baking powder. Keep this aside.
Beat butter and sugar till fluffy. Add milk, orange squash, orange color and mix it well. Now fold in flour mixture little by little. Mix well taking care that no lumps are formed. Add in half of the orange/ mandarin segments and mix until well combined.

Once the oven is ready, pour the cake mixture in the baking tin. [The batter should always fill half to two thirds full in the baking tin and there should be sufficient place for the cake to rise up evenly]. 

Bake at 180 degrees C until done. Insert a knife/ toothpick in the center of the cake to check if it's done or not. [ It takes me 40-45 minutes to get a perfectly baked cake. Exact time may vary depending on your oven, so it is must that you keep a watchful eye on your cake until it is done].

Let the cake cool in the pan for 5 mins before you transfer it to a wire rack for further cooling. 


Once completely cooled proceed ahead to make the icing[optional]

Make the Icing

Take 1 tbsp of butterMix icing sugar gradually and whisk the mixture until it becomes thick. Now add 2 drops of vanilla essence, 2 drops of orange food color [optional] and whisk it again. Now add 1 -2 tbsp of orange squash to make the mixture of spreading consistency. Pour this on top of the cooled cake. Garnish with orange/madarin segments and sprinkles [optional].

Some quick pointers as shared by Rajni 
  • Check for expiry date on all the ingredients, everytime you prepare a cake.
  • Always try and use a self raising flour while baking cakes and check for the expiry dates here again.
  • Always sieve the flours, soda, baking powder 
  • Always sieve the icing sugar 
  • Keep the ingredients measurements levelled always and not heaped.
  • If adding dry fruits , mix them well with little maida before adding them to the batter. This doesnt allow them to sink and gets evenly distributed during the process of baking.
  • Try and use butter paper for better results.
  • Fill the cake tin only half to two thirds full of batter.
  • Insert a clean knife or a back of spoon or a toothpick in the center of the cake and when it comes out clean it means the cake is done
  • If you want to cut a hot cake, use a fine thread to do so
  • Wait for the cake to cool down before putting it upside down or you can put it on wire rack to cool
  • Put the cake upside down for icing to get a levelled perfect base
  • Icing should be done only after the cake cools down completely
She also shared few reasons of a sunken cake pointing out problems like
  • Too much liquid
  • Too much baking powder or sugar
  • Too little flour
  • Oven door slammed or cake moved during baking
  • Taken out from the oven too soon


Slice, serve and enjoy. Happy Baking once again !

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