Amazing Cake

I actually made this cake in 2004 and have finally added it to my food weblog. It was made for my Sister in law's birthday and the quantities in the recipe do make for a big cake.

The Amazing Orange Cake

By Jill Dupliex

Serves 10 Takes 1 hr 30 mins + cooling time
500g butter
500g castor sugar
8 x 60g eggs
1 tbsp grated orange zest
500g self-raising flour
200ml freshly squeezed orange juice
Icing: 250g icing sugar and 50ml orange juice

Heat the oven to 170C/Gas 3. You will need a 30 cm cake tin with removable sides, lined with non-stick silicone paper (eg Bakewell), or well-greased with butter.

Cream the butter and sugar well, until it is very pale and thick - this will take quite a while. Add the eggs one by one, beating well after each addition, and the zest, if using. Add the flour all at once, and beat well, then slowly add the orange juice, until it is incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin, and bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes - or until an inserted skewer comes out clean (slow is best, so don' t be afraid to cook it longer. If it starts to brown too much on the top, cover loosely with a sheet of buttered kitchen foil.)

Leave the cake in the tin on a wire rack to cool, then gently remove the sides of the tin. To make the icing, stir the orange juice into the icing sugar until you have the right spreading consistency, and apply with a palette knife, allowing the icing to drip down the sides of the cake. Leave the icing to set before cutting the cake into wedges or storing in an airtight container.

I actually made a white chocolate ganache for my cake. I also made this chocolate posts by melting chocolate and then spreading on some baking paper and cutting the chocolate with a sharp knife. I had to be careful when I cut it as if I let it harden too much the chocolate would be too brittle, so I would let it sit in the fridge on a tray for a few minutes and then cut it and put it back in the fridge to harden before applying it to the white chocolate ganache.

The recipe for the white chocolate ganache: Put 150g white chocolate melts, 130g chopped white chocolate, 125ml cream and 250g butter in a pan and stir over low heat until melted and smooth.

Transfer to a small bowl, cover the surface with plastic wrap and leave overnight to cool.

Beat with electric beaters for 3-5 minutes, or until thick, pale and creamy.