Summery citrus delight - Orange drizzle cake

The conventional lemon drizzle cake is a classic for citrus-y cakes. However, sometimes, you are not in the mood for all the lemony tang and want to balance it out with some sweetness. The Orange drizzle lends this cake that balanced kick of orange and lemon.

The caramalized orange on top and candied orange peels are really optional but i can promise that they elevate the cake to the next level altogether.

Ingredients :

For the cake

Butter 70 grams - softened

Vegetable oil 80 ml

Powdered sugar 160 gm

Plain flour 175 gm

Baking powder 1/2 teaspoon

Baking soda 1/4th teaspoon

salt 1/8th teaspoon

Vanilla extract 1 teaspoon

Juice of 2 oranges

Juice of 1 lemon

zest of 1 orange and 1 lemon

2 eggs

a generous splash of milk

For the drizzle syrup

8 teaspoons sugar

peel and juice of one orange

water

juice of 1 lemon

For caramelizing oranges

3-4 round slices of orange

Orange peel

2 spoons sugar

juice of half orange

Method -

For caramelizing oranges

1. Add the juice of half an orange to a pan, add 2-3 spoons of sugar and place orange slices and orange peel in the pan.

2. Let this simmer gently for about 5-7 mins

3. Once the orange slices look done, you can either remove them carefully or let them sit on the pan till they are ready to use.

For the cake

1. Add baking powder, baking soda, salt to plain flour and toss in

2. Beat eggs till double in volume and set aside

3. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees and line/butter the tins

4. Now in a big mixing bowl, whisk butter, sugar and oil till they are light. As we are adding melted ingredients, the mix will not become very fluffy.

5. Add flour mix and eggs turn by turn and give a good whisk till the ingredients are well incorporated

6. Add lemon and orange juices, peel and zest and mix

7. Add vanilla extract and a splashful of milk so the mixture is smooth and almost runny

8. Pour the mixture into 1 big loaf tin or 8 inch cake pan or 2 small pans like i did here - 1 small loaf and a 5 inch pan.

9. Tap the tins gently to release air

10. Arrange caramelized orange slices on top and scatter candied orange peel around

11. Bake in the oven for 30-35 mins

12. If the cakes start browning, cover with foil post 25 mins and continue baking

13. As the cakes are baking, prepare the drizzle

14. In the same pan used for caramelizing oranges, add sugar, water and orange, lemon juice and let this simmer till it reaches a syrupy consistency. Adjust juice and sugar as required

15. Remove the cakes from the oven

16. while the cake is still in the tin, poke all over with a tooth pick and drizzle the orange syrup generously on top

17. Let the cakes cool down slightly before removing from the tin