What Are You Tasting?

Lastly, dessert - Cake with Orange Frosting (page 1067). Had I been a great baker or even one with some slight talent this might have been a lovely dessert. Not, overly rich and perfect for nibbling on over an espresso while sitting in a cafe in Rome. Other than my limited talent in baking, this cake was perfect. Simple to mix, not complex and very tasting. It reminded me of the sweet cake of a (gasp!) Twinky! Of course, with more flavor and appeal. This simple cake would be perfect for lots of other dressings other than the orange frosting listed below. I have next to no skills in the baking department and yet I still try... try... try... While the cake was moist and had a nice light crumb, I did a poor job at getting the cake to release properly. Thus, I ended up with only the top half of the cake. Don't worry, the rest of the cake sticking to the pan didn't go to waste. (slurp!) Also, I seemed to have my measurements off for creating the thick orange frosting that appears in The Sliver Spoon book. Mine was runny, and more like a pourable syrup than a spreadable frosting. In the end, I drizzled the syrup mixture over the cake with little risk to the final outcome. The directions give no clue as to what size cake pan to use. After mixing the batter together it appeared to me that I should use a 9 inch cake pan. However, I would next time use a circle of wax paper in addtion to the buttering which would aid in the release of the cake.

From: The Silver Spo0n
Cake with Orange Frosting

Ingredients:
scant 1/2 cup sweet butter, cut into small pieces
plus extra for greasing
2 eggs
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1 3/4 cups confectioner's sugar
scant 1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
juice of 2 oranges, strained

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a cake pan with butter. Melt the butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Whisk together the eggs, superfine sugar and half the confectioner's sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy. Stir in the melted butter. Sift the flour and baking powder into the mixture, mix well and gently stir in half of the orange juice. Pour the mixture into the prepared cake pan and bake for 20 -25 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the remaining orange juice and the remaining confectioner's sugar in a bowl. Remove the cake from the oven and let cool, then turn out onto a serving dish. Spread the orange frosting evenly over the cake and let set in a cool place.