Orange You Glad I Baked a Cake for You?: Rick Stein’s Sicilian Orange Cake
For my birthday, my ThermoHubby baked me a moist and buttery orange-flavoured cake that was really delicious. He even made it in the Thermomix! and posted his recipe on his blog.
Never to be outdone, I have made this cake several times for the tea room of The Antiques Warehouse in Badshot Lea, Surrey, much to the delight of staff and customers alike. I have simplified ThermoHubby’s processes somewhat and if you’ll forgive the horrible title of this blog post, I am pleased to offer you the recipe for what is my new favourite cake.
Sicilian Orange Cake
Moist, orangey and buttery, this recipe is based on one appearing in Rick Stein’s Mediterranean Escapes. Makes one thick cake that serves 12. Bring your butter to room temperature or soften it in your Thermomix 40 seconds/50° C/Speed 4!
Ingredients
375 g sugar (125 g and 250 g)
250 g self-raising flour
3 juicy oranges
250 g lightly salted butter at room temperature, cut into 2-cm cubes, OR 250 g Benecol Buttery, Stork or other soft baking fat
3 jumbo or 4 medium eggs
Method
- Pre-heat your oven to 170° C. Grease and line a 20 cm deep baking tin. Weigh out 250 g of self raising flour in a jug or bowl set on top of the Thermomix and set aside.
- Make icing sugar: Weigh 125 g sugar into the Thermomix bowl and grind 30 seconds/Speed 10. Set aside.
- Thinly peel the zest off one orange and put into the Thermomix bowl. Weigh in the remaining 250 g sugar and grind 20 seconds/Speed 10.
- Insert the butterfly whisk and add the butter or margarine. Whisk 3 minutes/Speed 4 or until light and pale, stopping two or three times to scrape the mixture down the sides of the bowl.
- With the Thermomix running at Speed 4, add two eggs one at a time through the hole in the lid and mix well. Add a heaping tablespoon of the reserved self raising flour to avoid curdling the batter and mix a few seconds. Add the last jumbo egg (or two medium eggs) and whisk until well combined.
- While whisking at Speed 3, add the rest of the flour through a jam funnel inserted into the hole in the Thermomix lid. Mix until just incorporated. Scrape sides of bowl.
- Place a jug on the Thermomix lid, press the built-in weighing scales button and squeeze in 85 g of orange juice. Turn the Thermomix to Speed 2, pour in the orange juice and turn off.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix a few seconds more. Turn the batter into your lined cake tin. Bake 45 – 50 minutes or until a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack, remove from the tin and place back on the wire rack. Place on a piece of baking paper or on a cookie sheet to catch the drips.
- Squeeze about half a juicy orange and gradually whisk just enough juice into the reserved icing sugar to make a firm but slightly runny icing. Spread the mixture on the cake, making sure the top is completely covered and that there is enough for some to drizzle down the sides. When the icing has completely set, transfer the cake onto a plate and serve.
Bon appétit !
Wow, Nicki, aren’t you the clever one! ThermoHubby John and I just love this Rick Stein Sicilian orange cake and it’s so easy to make in the Thermomix, isn’t it? How good of you to make them for a Christmas fair, too. I love and applaud your idea of using up the orange zests – no waste!
To answer your question, I have not yet steamed a gammon joint before roasting and I think it’s an absolutely superb idea that will work beautifully in the Varoma. Instead of boiling your joint and losing nutrients and taste into the water, by steaming it in the Varoma you’ll retain more of these important factors. As an extra special perk, the juicy steaming water left in the bowl will be a gorgeous base for your gravy 😉
Many thanks for your comment, thanks for reading Why is There Air and happy Thermomix holiday cooking! P.S. You just gave me a great idea for our Christmas gammon joint 😉
Fantastic orange cake, I made it in a paper loaf case, 3 recipes made 4 2lb ones rather like a lemon drizzle cake and sold them at a Christmas fair for £7 each. I did however put in zest of 3 oranges into each cake recipe as I needed the juice for something else and I didn’t want to waste it the smell in my kitchen was wonderful think you so much. By the way have you ever cooked a gammon joint in the Varoma before roasting it with the usual cloves etc?