Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Orange Butter Cake Recipe

Harrow...

So while I was trying to decide on which of my recipes to post today, I realised that I've been sharing a lot of Asian recipes lately. I'm not complaining (and hopefully you're not, too ;p) but a change would be good. Starting with quite possibly, my all-time favourite, feel-good cake: The Orange Butter Cake.

For some reason, I'm not very much of a Dessert person, seriously (which is sad to say, sorry!!). I actually struggle to finish a whole slice of chocolate cake, cupcake, muffin or more than one macaron... My sugar tolerance is just lower than most and I feel full from desserts relatively quickly and I don't know why. That said, it doesn't mean I don't appreciate a good dessert, I really do. I just eat less of it.

But then again, there's certain types of desserts that I REALLY enjoy and can eat a lot of. I hope to share them all on this blog, eventually. And Orange Butter Cake is definitely one of them. Even friends that I know who aren't really into desserts enjoy this cake a lot. Boy oh boy, you have no idea how much Butter Cake I can eat especially when they're fresh out of the oven, warm and still crusty. Generally, I enjoy less sweet, light or warm desserts.

Mum wrote down this recipe for me on a piece of paper about a year ago. Though to be honest, I wasn't very sure about whether or not I should be sharing this recipe because it's such a common cake and I'm sure everyone's already got their own favourite good old-fashioned, classic Butter Cake recipe already. And there's not much variations across all of them anyway. Another thing, baking is SERIOUSLY not my forté. But, I've been making an effort to learn and improve in that department =)

But I guess that's besides the point. All I really want is just to share with you things that I love to eat. And also, what I LOVE to use when I'm baking this cake, i.e. Homemade Butter (!!!!). Ever since I bought homemade butter from Victoria Market for the first time about 3 years ago, I've never looked back. It is soooo much more fragrant and better in flavour than even the more "premium" brands, such as Lurpak or President. You have to try it for yourself to know what I mean.


But more than that, it is almost half the price. Only $10/kg which means my usual 2-stick-block of butter is only $2.50. How friggin' cheap is that?! Good for my student wallet. I buy it all the time and use it for everything now. Unless, I've run out and it's inconvenient for me to go to the market, then I would get butter from the supermarket. But, yeah. Please try buying homemade butter if you've never done so before. It makes a HUGE difference in recipes, such as this Orange Butter Cake and the aroma just comes through so beautifully with this cake =)


"Curds & Whey", where I normally buy my butter from in the deli section of Victoria Market


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Orange Butter Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

250g unsalted butter (softened) *
175g caster sugar
200g self-raising flour (sifted + 1/2 tsp salt)
5 eggs (separated)
zest and juice from 1 large orange (or 2 small) **

* Use the best butter you can find

** I normally prefer my Butter cakes more crumbly and fine. Some people prefer their butter cake moist. For that, use 2 large or 3 small oranges instead of one (as per picture below)

If prefer Classic Butter Cake, omit oranges altogether


Method:

Preheat oven to 170 deg C. Line a bread baking pan/20cm square cake pan with baking paper. Cream the butter and sugar with an electric beater until light and fluffy. Drop in egg yolks, one at a time until well combined. Stop beater.


Fold in half the flour, orange juice and zest until well combined. Fold in remaining flour, orange juice and zest. Beat egg whites until soft peaks formed. Fold in egg white to get smooth consistent batter (do not over-fold!). Pour into baking pan and bake for 45 minutes (or test if skewer poked through the cake comes out clean). Rest on wiring rack for 10 minutes.

Optional: Dust with icing sugar after cake has cooled. Just to look purrty.





Baked sometime last semester at 11pm during a midnight cake craving after watching Masterchef lol


Baked for family when I was back in Malaysia during Winter


Baked about a month ago as an afternoon snack when my friends came over to study =)


Moist version with larger granules didn't rise as high but more orange flavour and still just as yummy


This Orange Butter Cake was really the first cake that I actually baked successfully all by myself (phew!). If you're a beginner baker like me, I definitely suggest you to try this recipe out too. Good luck! =D

25 comments :

leaf (the indolent cook) said...

Yum! I love orange in cakes. Also, it's been ages since I went to Victoria Market, but that butter stall looks awesome!

Winston said...

Hey Leaf, me too! I love orange in cakes too! And pancakes, for that matter hehe. Yeah do check it out if you happen to go there one day. I actually took that picture when I was there this morning lol! Australia is sooo lucky to have all these amazing and natural dairy and produce. Costs so much in Malaysia and not even half as good! Another reason why I've come to love this amazing country =]

The InTolerant Chef ™ said...

Everyone needs a fail-safe recipe like this that works everytime and tastes amazing! It's certainly not too simple to share, and thankyou for giving us your baking secret :)

Lisa H. said...

Wow... I wish we have 'Homemade' butter in Perth too ...
LOL... another Civil Engineer ('to be'~ in your case) who loves to cook. Join the club my dear :D

Winston said...

@the intolerant chef: thanks! im quite the disaster prone klutz in the kitchen when it comes to dessert so im surprised that this cake actually worked for me! and a few more times after that. so not all hope is lost! haha... anyway youre welcome, i just share things that i like and make me smile =D

@lisa: hi lisa! yes, yes civil engineer right here! who else do you know is also a civil engineer that loves to cook??? you should intro to me so we can hang out HAHA. i saw this cooking blog by this engineer that explains all the physics of cooking and also presents the recipes in the most hilariously technical way that i think only engineers can understand cause its very similar to construction projects, if you will haha. i should show other members of this "club" this website lol!

hrmmm... is it not possible to get it in perth? maybe local delis or farmer markets?? hope you come across one one day. if not, australia is so lucky because their dairy products like butter cheese and cream are generally rly good, even store bought =D

Hannah said...

Oh no! How can your favourite dessert be devil-spawn flavoured? Begone, orange! Begone! :P

P.S. If only you'd said lemon butter cake...

Michelle Chin said...

I also buy butter from the same place! When do you usually go to the market?

Anonymous said...

Your mom's orange butter cake looks amazing! And homemade butter? Omg!

Winston said...

@hannah: haha what?! you no like orange? nuuuuuuuuuu..... but but you've just given me a great suggestion! next time i make a butter cake i'll make a lemon one but with an icing using ellie's recipe =D

@michelle: HIGH-5!!! It's seriously one of the reasons why I love Australia so much. When I saw fresh natural produce like homemade butter. Totally unheard of before but so fortunate to have it here! I prolly go about once every... 3 weeks? haha... and i dont have a usual day but i tend to go on tuesdays cuz no uni or sat cuz weekend haha. what about you? =)

@ellie: thanks heaps, ellie! it's prolly only one of the handful of cakes that i know how to make hahaha... my repertoire is still very limited lol! hannah just suggested that i should make a lemon butter and i really want to now! but this time, i want to make it with the icing from your orange cake recipe cuz i think it will be rly perfect for that too! =D

im curious, would farmer or local markets in sydney have homemade butter? cause lisa h. mentioned that there wasn't any in perth... weird! hopefully there's some private suppliers or something, there's a business opportunity right there! =/

Unknown said...

Ooo, I've never used homemade butter before but you've definitely sold me on it - will have to swing by the Vic Market before the next baking experiment which might as well be this recipe since I love anything citric

Winston said...

Awesome! I hope it turns out well for you. Though I'm sure you're more experienced than me when it comes to baking, so no dramas on your end!! Hehe... Let me know how it turns out. A picture would be great haha! Have fun, Ames! =D

Winston said...

Interesting... I'll check out your site now. Thanks for dropping by! =)

Anonymous said...

I agree, the quality of the ingredients is everything! :)
And this cake looks, oooooh, so wonderfully delicious!

muppy said...

looks delicious, i wish i could still do late night baking to fulfil my cravings! those were the days :)

Winston said...

@marie-anne: yup!! and the French are no strangers to fresh, natural, quality produce ;) ive seen n heard so much abt markets in Europe that it aches for me to be so far away, SIGH! btw thanks for your compliment. still learning but appreciate it haha

@muppy: those darn cravings always strike at the worst hour!! i remember contemplating for half an hr if i should do anything abt it, only to cave and leave out in the cold to the supermarket at 10:30pm. it's the worst. but also the best. because i got to eat this cake and was so satisfied hahaha... thx for dropping by! =)

Unknown said...

Hmm... I just don't understand when someone says they are not a dessert person, or that a dessert is too sweet or too rich! Shame on you! ;)

Anyway this looks like an absolutely delicious orange cake with the most gorgeous moist crumb. I would love to be eating it right now.

Love your blog :)

Winston said...

Haha I know! Maybe it's a guy thing. I would choose a huge slab of steak over a slice of cheesecake any day hehe. But then again, I know some guys who love desserts too. So... Mystery still remains to be solved! Maybe it's something I need to slowly cultivate over time... =)

Oh yes the crumbs are my favourite part! Hope you make this one day too. I just love that it uses ingredients that're already in my pantry haha. Thanks for your comment!! =)

Sarah said...

This cake is so pretty and it sounds fantastic! I'm glad you decided to share it with us :)

Winston said...

Thanks, Sarah! You're always too kind haha. It's one of those cakes that look good as it is. I personally feel the dusting of icing sugar a bit redundant too haha. No fuss. Always appreciate you coming by! Hope you had a great time in Austin, Sarah! =)

Vivian - vxdollface said...

This looks so moist and delicious! I'm not a huge fan of sweets/desserts myself but I do get sucked in by the aesthetics of it ^^"
Hehe when I'm in melb, I shop at Curds&Whey too :D

Winston said...

Aww thanks, Vivian! Desserts are more fun than mains cause they look pretty haha. That's why I still enjoy making desserts too lol. Oh cool!! What a coincidence! Curds & Whey is a good local store I wish they had a website. Let us know when you're coming to Melb again. Take care! =D

msihua said...

Wow! I wish I could bake as well as you :)

Winston said...

Aiyarrr, I-Hua! Don't say that! I'm more of a beginner than you think haha. I really liked your Apple Butter cake too would love to try them out someday. Thanks heaps anyway! =D

Yasmeen said...

Can I tell you how much I LOVE Curds + Whey? You have a homemade butter-loving soulmate in me. Also a huge fan of citrus cakes so this post is a big winner for me :)

Winston said...

Omgosh HIGH-5, YAS!!!!!! That place is seriously the BEST. I feel so excited when I hear other people like you who share the same fondness about the place seriously hahaha.. Which reminds me, I just ran out and should prolly try and stock up summore soon! Btw thanks so much. I love citrus cakes too just so delicious. Have a good one yeh! =D

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