Easter: Orange Butter Cake

This year I have been so busy, I didn't get to do the little holiday touches I wanted to do. These are ideas I would like to do next year though...one or two of these decorated egg ideas....
silk tie-dyed eggs
marbelized Easter eggs
naturally dyed Easter egggs
elegant eggs

But at least we had a good Easter dinner...

Ham with an orange marmalade glaze
Corn souffle
Green salad with raspberry vinaigrette

and then for dessert....



Orange Butter Cake
This is another recipe from The Weekend Baker by Abigail Johnson Dodge. I only have mini-bundt cake pans and I just didn't feel like the work that goes into those (greasing and flouring each one.) So I just used my angel food cake pan. I didn't top this with citrus wedges because I ended up just deciding today to make this so didn't have oranges on hand.

for the cake:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt (I used salted butter so I left this out)
16 tablespoons unsalted butter - room temperature (2 sticks)
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest (optional - I had some in the freezer so used it)
4 large eggs
1 cup orange juice
* 1 teaspoon vanilla - this is something I added and wasn't part of the recipe

for the glaze:
3/4 cup orange juice
3/4 powdered sugar

Position the oven on the middle rung. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease and flour a 12-cup bundt pan or other fluted tube pan.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk until well-blended. In a large bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth. Add the sugar and the orange zest (if using) and beat until well combined. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. (*Add vanilla and mix in.) Add half the flour mixture and mix on low speed just until blended. Add the orange juice and mix just until blended. Add the remaining four mixture and mix just until blended. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly.

Bake until light brown and a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out with just a few small crumbs attached. 38 to 43 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine the orange juice and the powdered sugar for the glaze. Stir frequently while the cake is baking until the sugar is dissolved.

When the cake is done, transfer the pan to a rack and let cool for 15 minutes. If necessary, run a thin knife around the pan sides to loose the cake. Invert the cake onto the rack and lift off the pan. Set the rack over a large plate or pan. Using a wooden skewer or cake tester, poke 30 or 40 all the way through the cake. Give the glaze a stir and spoon it evenly over the top of the cake (the fluted side). Let the cake cool completely. Transfer to serving plate.

I topped with a little whipped creamed with a little vanilla extract. But topped with any kind of fruit and whipped cream would be great!