The very first cake recipe my mother sent me in her unmistakably fat, curly handwriting was for orange drizzle cake. With a baker as prolific as my mother, I never baked myself as a child, although helping and papering all her baking tins, I certainly had a good idea- in theory.
This is also the first cake recipe I shared with my own daughter Izzy many years ago when this blog first started up in another format and she and I lived on different continents.
With Covid lockdowns keeping our family apart over the Holiday season for the first time ever, my much missed daughter called me saying she was going to bake it on Boxing Day.
Izzy sent me pictures of the cake she'd baked. Like my mum always said: there's no excuse not to bake a cake when you have a recipe this easy. This simple recipe works everytime, and warms us with wonderful memories. It is also incredibly delicious!
Miss you darling Isabel, and wish I could share a piece of Nanna's cake with you. (p/s: love your tablecloth!)
Orange Drizzle Cake
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup caster sugar
3 eggs at room temperature
3/4 cup self raising flour (or plain flour with 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder)
2 tablespoons milk
grated rind of 2 oranges
Orange Drizzle
juice of 2 oranges
1/2 cup sugar
Directions:
Beat the butter and sugar till fluffy
Beat in eggs one at a time
Fold in the sifted flour slowly
Add milk with last tablespoon of flour
Add the grated rind
In a small saucepan, melt the sugar in the orange juice over a low heat, and leave to cool
Pour the batter into a small greased spring form pan, papered with baking paper on the bottom, and bake on 180 degrees for about 45 minutes or until an inserted fork in the cake comes out clean.
Cool the cake, make slits with a sharp knife and drizzle with the syrup all over before serving.
