My father's favorite cake is the orange cake his mother used to make. An old fashioned orange cake. There are many family stories swirling around this legendary cake.
I searched for a recipe to try to re-create a wonderful memory for my dad for Fathers Day. I finally found a recipe in a vintage Betty Crocker cookbook that sounded much like the description of Grandma's Orange
Cake. Now I know that no one can ever match the memory of a mother's masterpiece, but this was a close second. It was a flavorful and moist yellow cake, filled with an rich orange curd and frosted with a Fluffly white boiled icing that crusted like divinity, yet was soft to cut.
Old Fashioned Orange Cake
- 1-5/8 cups sifted cake flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup soft shortening
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/3 cup orange juice
- 2 large eggs
Sift together cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add shortening.
Mix the water and orange juice. Pour in half the liquid and beat for 2 minutes.
Add remaining liquid and eggs and beat for 2 more minutes. Pour into prepared
pans. Bake for 28-35 minutes until the cake springs back in the middle.
Cool. Torte the layers and fill with Rich Orange Filling.
Spread top and sides with Comfort Frosting
Rich Orange Filling
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup orange juice
- 2 Tablespoons orange zest
- 1-1/2 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
Comfort Frosting
- 1-1/2 cups sugar
- 6 Tablespoons water
- 1-1/2 Tablespoon white corn syrup
- 2 large egg whites ( 1/4 cup )
- 1/4 teaspoon orange extract
Mix sugar, water, and corn syrup in a saucepan. Boil slowly, without stirring until syrup spins a
6-8" thread (242degrees). Keep saucepan covered for the first 3 minutes to keep crystals from forming on sides of pan.
While syrup is cooking, beat egg whites with an electric mixer until stiff enough to hold to a point.
