Orange Zest Cake!

      I had some left over oranges from this salad recipe and opted to use the zest in a cake batter! I followed my signature white cake recipe but mixed 2 tablespoons of freshly grated orange zest into the sugar until the two were completely combined and my kitchen was perfumed with the intense fragrance of sunny citrus! The icing on the cake (pun intended!) was my quick and easy cream cheese frosting. This orange zest cake was quickly devoured in just a few days! I only ate a slice half.

Magic Ingredients:

- 2 tablespoons freshly grated orange zest

- 1 cup salted (room temperature) butter

- 2 cups sugar

- 4 eggs

- 3 cups flour

- 1 teaspoon baking powder

- 1 teaspoon baking soda

- 1/2 teaspoon pure orange extract

- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

- 1 cup low fat milk (whole milk works too, but I find that low fat creates a fluffier cake)

Getting started:

1: Mix the orange zest and sugar together in a bowl using your fingers until combined. 

2: Using a standard or handheld mixer, combine the sugar mixture with the butter. 

3: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees then add each egg into the batter, one at a time. Mix in the orange and vanilla extracts.

4: Add the flour, baking powder, and baking soda.

5: Add the milk to the batter and mix until just combined. 

6: Separate the orange cake batter evenly between two greased 8 inch cake pans and bake for 18 minutes or until the cake reaches a golden brown. 

7: Allow to cool, then frost the cake (see my simple tutorial here). 

8: Stuff your face.

Yours,

Nico