Baking up a storm

This morning it was way too wet to go out for a cycle and even though the rain has subsided, dark clouds and an increasing wind looks like it’s a good day to stay indoors and practice my inner-domestic goddess persona.

So I’ve been baking orange cakes (thanks girls for the eggs), Anzac biscuits and made up a batch of yummy pea and ham soup (here was a hambone at the deli this morning so I snapped it up), to cheer some friends who are not well.

Here’s the orange cake recipe – it’s dead easy and lots of fun. You can also make a fabulous lemon version; I make lemon butter cakes the other week and they also store very well.

If you have a Sunbeam Mixmaster, use the big bowl as this will aerate the butter and sugar betterer.

And using patty pans makes serving and icing easy and way less washing up.

Tomorrow I'll put up the pea and ham soup recipe.

Alison’s Orange Butter Cake

• 185 g butter
• ¾ cup castor sugar
• 3 free range eggs
• 2 cups SR flour – sift three times to aerate
• ¼ cup milk
• chopped zest of one orange
• ¼ cup (approx) orange juice
• Make approx 26 cup cakes

Icing

• 1 ½ cups icing sugar
• Enough orange juice
• Sift icing sugar
• Add enough juice to make mixture flowing but not runny
• Apply to cakes when they are cool
• Decorate with orange zest

1.  Set oven to 225
2. Cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy
3. Add eggs
4. Add peel
5. Alternately add flour, milk and juice
6. Beat until light and fluffy
7. Spoon into patty pans
8. Takes about 20 minutes depending on your oven – cakes will be ready when you gently press down and they spring back – don’t insert a knife as this just lets out the hot air and the cake will collapse. It won’t be less yummy, but it won’t look as good.
9. Enjoy!

Orange cakes and Anzac biscuits fresh from the oven this morning.