Orange Bundt Cake

Orange Cake - made October 26, 2013 from Adventure's Heart

I would consider this more of a summer picnic cake so if it's already cold where you live, this might bring back a taste of warmer days if you long for higher temps. I myself enjoy cold weather but live in a mild climate so, as I like to torment my friends on the East Coast and in the Midwest, recently switched from sleeveless tops to short sleeves. It's also been "chilly" enough where I live that I even occasionally bring a jacket to work.  I don't usually wear it but I do bring it.

This recipe makes a smaller amount of batter than a typical Bundt cake so I used a smaller ring pan for it but you can bake it in a regular Bundt cake without any problems.  I made the rare, rare mistake of overbaking this cake, not because a smaller pan needs less baking time and I misjudged but because I was trying to be really good about not underbaking that I overcompensated the other way and talked myself out of taking the pan out of the oven when I first wanted to.  Sigh.

Most people would probably still like it and perhaps not even consider it overbaked but just right.  Not me.  It helped that this has a nice, orange glaze to keep it moist but my picky taste buds just know this would've been better had I taken it out even 2 minutes earlier.  2 minutes.  Yes, I'm that picky.

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

zest from 1 orange

1/4 cup oil

3 tablespoons sour cream or yogurt

2 cups flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

juice of one orange

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Whisk together eggs, sugar, vanilla, orange zest, oil and sour cream or yogurt.
3. Combine flour and baking powder and add to egg-sugar mixture, alternating with orange juice.
4. Pour into greased and floured Bundt pan. Bake for 25-40 minutes (start checking with a toothpick at 20 minutes and in 5-minute increments after that).
5. Remove from oven and let cool in pan 5-10 minutes.  Unmold and let cool completely or to lukewarm.  Glaze with half the glaze and let set.  Pour remaining glaze over cake and serve.

Orange glaze (optional)
Zest from 1 orange
1 1/2 cups to 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
juice from 1 orange

1. Combine orange zest and sifted powdered sugar.  Add orange juice, one tablespoon at a time, whisking smooth, until glaze is desired consistency.  Use immediately or re-whisk if it sets before you use it.