Here’s the thing. I’ve just discovered a serious flaw in my cake-a-week plans. Not that I can’t get around to baking once a week, or that the troops let me down with the consumption of a cake a week – no, we’re all good there! My problem is blogging time. I’ve realised that if I blog once a week about cake it cuts into the time I have to blog about other food – and there is so much food to talk about!
Like the rest of you, I only have so many hours in the day. I don’t really have the time to write any more often, here on the blog, and I’m pretty sure you’d all get a bit tired of me if I did. So, in order to free up my writing time and your reading time I’ve decided to cut the cake thing back to a cake-a-month. There’s every chance I’ll still be baking once a week (especially as the weather cools down) so I’ll have plenty of time to fine-tune my recipes and do that all-important taste testing, but I’ll just put one cake recipe here for you each month.
My final cake-a-week (or my first cake-a-month) is this little number that I whipped up when I realised that the big bag of oranges I had sitting in the kitchen were going soft. Not wanting to see them or the last of the walnuts from the Walnut & Date Slice go to waste, I came up with this Orange, Honey and Walnut Spice Cake.
Old-fashioned orange cake is a favourite of mine, but I wanted to add to it the warmth and fragrance of some sweet spices, along with some of the beautiful honey I brought back from Kangaroo Island last year. I also gilded the lily a little by frosting it with a rich orange blossom buttercream, but it would be just as nice un-iced and served buttered – either warm or cold. This is a slightly heavy, dense cake, but beware – this cake will dry out if you over cook it, as I did. I’d recommend keeping an eye on it towards the end.
Orange, Honey & Walnut Spice Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups SR flour sifted
- pinch of salt
- 125 gms butter softened
- 1/2 cup caster sugar
- 80 gms honey
- zest of 2 oranges
- 4 egg yolks
- juice of 3 oranges
- 1/2 cup roughly chopped walnuts
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp allspice
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- FROSTING
- 1 cup sifted icing sugar
- 2 Tbsp soft butter
- 1 Tbsp orange juice
- 1 tsp orange blossom water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 170C (325F). Grease and line a 23cm x 13cm (9" x 5") loaf pan.
- Sift flour, salt and spices together.
- Cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, add orange zest and egg yolks one at a time, then add honey.
- Fold in sifted flour and spices, alternating with orange juice, adding more juice if batter is too stiff. Stir through the walnuts.
- Bake in loaf tin 40-45 minutes, checking with a skewer at the 40 minute mark.
- Cool on wire rack before frosting.
- FROSTING
- Beat all ingredients together in a small bowl until fluffy, then frost the cooled cake.
Hi Amanda,
Good on you for finding ways of using up leftovers – I’m just writing about that at present. I think a cake a month is plenty – they all look so delicious I’m tempted to make them and then I have to eat them. Really like your recipe format on the blog by the way.
I look forward to cake a month, cake anytime is great for me !!
A cake a month is a lovely idea. 🙂 I think I will have to embrace that one. This cake especially is my very favorite kind of cake and I’m inspired to make it this weekend. 🙂
I think we all wonder where the time goes and why we’re not able to do more – that’s my issue for sure! I love a spiced cake and a nutty cake so this is a winner for me. It must have great texture xx
Orange blossom buttercream? Holy cow that sounds wonderful on top of a cake I would stand in line for. I know what you mean about blogging time. I liked your first monthly cake post very much!
A cake a month is a much better blogging option indeed, carving out time is always an issue. This cake does sound lovely though- I adore spices and orange blossom water is amazing!
Now this sounds positively divine!