With oranges flooding the market, what can be better than making an orange cake and enjoying it with a cup of hot tea or coffee? Here is a very simple and easy recipe that is light and tastes best without any fancy topping or icing.

Ingredients

• 2 eggs

• 4 oz oil

• 1 1/2 cups flour

• 1 cup castor sugar

• 1/2 cup orange juice

• 2 teaspoons orange rind

• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking power

Method

Grease a ring pan with oil. Keep aside.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees centigrade. In a large bowl, first add eggs and beat till a little foamy. Add in oil and orange juice. Beat at medium speed for two to three minutes, you can also use a hand beater instead of an electric beater for this.

Now in a smaller bowl, add all the dry ingredients, i.e. flour, sugar, baking powder and orange ring. You should always use sifted flour or you can sift the dry ingredients together, except the orange rind, at this stage.

Now add a couple of tablespoons at a time and beat lightly, and then add some more. Do not over mix the batter, just enough to remove the lumps. Now transfer it into the greased ring pan and bake at 200 degrees centigrade for about 40 minutes. After 30 minutes, reduce the heat a bit, to 150 degrees or 120, and in about 5-10 minutes, insert a clean knife and if it comes out clean, the cake is ready. The sides of the cake also start to leave the pan when it is done, you just have to make sure that the inside is also cooked.

Let the cake rest for 10 minutes in the pan to cool, then run a knife lightly around the side and tap it lightly on the bottom for the cake to come lose. You can go for frosting or just enjoy it plain because it is a very nice and light cake, perfect for tea time and needs no icing.

Note: Orange rind is best gotten by using a peeler to peel the orange part of the peel and chopping it into small bits. Make sure not to include the inner white side of the peel as that can add a bitter taste.

Published in Dawn, Young World, December 8th, 2018