Spiced Orange Cake
Simple, seasonal, and insanely delicious. This cake gets a kick from cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg that's then balanced out by a sweet orange and cinnamon sugar syrup. Layered with zesty orange curd and cream cheese frosting, it's a three-tiered slice of heaven!
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 750g Butter
- 750g Light soft brown sugar
- 6tsp Ground cinnamon
- 3tsp Ground ginger
- 3tsp Grated nutmeg
- 9 Eggs
- 3tbsp Natural Yoghurt
- 675g Self Raising Flour
- 5-7tbsp Milk
For the Icing
- 900g Icing sugar (Sifted)
- 150g Butter
- 375g Cream Cheese (Full fat)
- 2tsp Orange extract
- 150g Orange curd
To decorate
- Cinnamon sticks
- Dried orange slices
METHOD
- Preheat your oven to 160C/140 (fan) and grease and line 3 x 8" tins.
- Now I find it easier to make the sponges in three separate batches (divide the total quantity of ingredients by 3!) - simply because it makes mixing the ingredients together a little easier but you, of course, can feel free to do it all in one!
- In a large bowl beat together the butter, sugar and spices until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at a time until they are completely incorporated (don't worry if the mixture looks curdled - this can occasionally happen but the problem will go away once the flour is added.) before stirring through the yoghurt.
- Finally, fold in the flour to form a thick mixture. Then add the milk a little at a time to loosen the batter, giving you a smooth and creamy cake batter.
- If making in three batches, pour into one of your lined tins and repeat the process for the other two cake tins before baking in the oven for 1 hour 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted in the cake. (it may seem like a long time - and it is! - but the slow cooking time takes this cake to another level of awesome!)
- Remove cakes from their tins and leave to cool completely before levelling them with a serrated knife.
- Once cooled prepare the icing by beating together the icing sugar, butter and orange extract until it just comes together. Add the cream cheese and continue beating until smooth. (Add a little milk if the icing is too thick)
- Coat the cake with icing, layering the cake with buttercream and some orange curd before using a cake scraper to smooth the sides of your cake.
- Decorate with the cinnamon sticks and dried orange slices. (Hint - dust with a little icing sugar for an extra seasonal touch)
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