- 1 cup butter, softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
- 6 large eggs
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 (8-ounce) carton sour cream
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Right now, my cup runneth over with local citrus. A friend brought me lemons the size of oranges and oranges the size of grapefruits. I had to use them and came up with this citrus-flavored cake.
Orange and lemon cake
Makes 12 servings
For the cake:
To make the syrup:
To make the cake, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Butter and flour a 9-inch angel food cake pan. Sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar. Add the yolks, sour cream, and orange and lemon peels. Beat until slowly dissolving ribbons forms when beaters are lifted.
Stir in the dry ingredients.
Using clean beaters, beat the egg whites with cream of tartar until stiff but not dry. Gently fold half of the whites into the batter to lighten the mixture, then fold in the remaining whites. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake until tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about one hour. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the cake to loosen and invert onto a platter.
To make the syrup, cook the sugar, orange liqueur, orange and lemon juice, and the salt in a heavy saucepan over low heat until the sugar dissolves, swirling the pan. Increase the heat and boil until the mixture is thick and syrupy.
Using a toothpick, pierce the top of the cake all over. Pour the syrup over the cake. Garnish with the lemon and orange slices. Serve with whipped cream.
LEMON-LIME POUND CAKE
Makes 1 cake to serve about 8
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Butter and lightly dust with flour, a 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter until smooth. Gradually add the 1/1/2 cups of the sugar and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy, about five minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the lemon and lime zests.
Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients, about 1/2 cup at a time, to the butter mixture, beating on low speed until all is blended. Spoon the batter into the pan. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the edges of the cake pulls slightly away from the pan and the top springs back when touched. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for about five minutes.
Combine the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and the lime and lemon juices in a small nonreactive saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar, for one to two minutes. Do not boil. Remove from the heat.
Invert the pan to unmold the cake over a sheet of waxed paper. While the cake is still warm, brush it all over with the hot citrus glaze. Let cool completely, then wrap in plastic wrap then in foil. Let it stand for at least one day before slicing. It will keep for one week.