While I love cakes and baking, it's hard to find enough excuses to bake a cake nowadays as we have got to watch our calories. I miss those teen-years when one could burn-off anything they consumed. Unfortunately in those days, I was not a big fan of the tedious chore of eating.
However, baking wasn't too common in Eastern India where I grew up. In my household, I have seen my aunts baking traditional english fruit cake in a pressure cooker on Christmas Eve or on kids' birthdays at the most. However, I have tried different types of cakes over the years and Asian cakes are among my most favorite. This cake I am going to make today is a fluffy orange flavored cake that I have learned from Stephanie George's Joy of Baking. However, I have reduced the portions to make a smaller cake, which turned out pretty awesome and serves well for 6-8 people.
Ingredients:
3 egg yolks, 4 egg whites
Cake flour you can make at home by mixing .75 cup + 1.5 tbsp all-purpose flour or maida and 2.5 tbsp cornstarch
.75 cup or 3/4th cup superfine sugar
1/2 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp grated orange zest
1/4 cup vegetable oil
12 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
1/5 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
Recipe:
(A few tips for whisking the egg whites to the desired consistency is making sure the white is completely yolk free. Add the cream of tartar or citric acid after you get some bubbles in the beaten white. You can gradually add some sugar during or at the end of the process)
However, baking wasn't too common in Eastern India where I grew up. In my household, I have seen my aunts baking traditional english fruit cake in a pressure cooker on Christmas Eve or on kids' birthdays at the most. However, I have tried different types of cakes over the years and Asian cakes are among my most favorite. This cake I am going to make today is a fluffy orange flavored cake that I have learned from Stephanie George's Joy of Baking. However, I have reduced the portions to make a smaller cake, which turned out pretty awesome and serves well for 6-8 people.
Ingredients:3 egg yolks, 4 egg whites
Cake flour you can make at home by mixing .75 cup + 1.5 tbsp all-purpose flour or maida and 2.5 tbsp cornstarch
.75 cup or 3/4th cup superfine sugar
1/2 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp grated orange zest
1/4 cup vegetable oil
12 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
1/5 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
Recipe:
- Preheat the oven to 325F
- Grease a 2-3 qt. casserole type oven safe bowl (it's a good idea to use baking sheets at the bottom for softer cakes)
- Beat the egg-whites with a hand mixer or a stand-mixer until soft peaks form, add the cream of tartar or substitute with 4-8 drops of lemon juice
- Add about 1-2 tbsp sugar during the process (optional)
(A few tips for whisking the egg whites to the desired consistency is making sure the white is completely yolk free. Add the cream of tartar or citric acid after you get some bubbles in the beaten white. You can gradually add some sugar during or at the end of the process)
- Mix the egg yolks along with all the wet ingredients
- Mix the dry ingredients including the rest of the sugar in a separate bowl
- Now mix everything together (dry and wet ingredients except for the meringue)
- After everything is mixed well, fold in the meringue or the beaten egg whites in the mixture
- Pour the mixture in the greased pan
- Bake for 50-60 minutes until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean
- Take it out immediately on a cooling rack, or else the cake will lose it's fluff
- Serve when cold
No comments :
Post a Comment