Orange Breakfast Cake
When I was travelling around the Tuscan hill tops (a few years back now!), I visited a beautiful Tuscan farmhouse named Casa Bellavista in the province of Arezzo to learn some secrets about the local food culture directly from one of its experts. My teacher was a 90-year-old Tuscan woman who couldn’t speak a word of English, so it was through the language of our hands that she taught me her generational recipes. It was an incredible experience, and I was so grateful for her generosity.
Each morning, as the sun rose, a cappuccino and a piece of breakfast cake were there to greet me. There were multiple options to choose from - a simple crostata filled with jam, a biscotti, or a piece of citrus cake. The flavours are determined by the changing seasons and the produce that was in abundance at the time.
We, here in Australia, are perhaps strangers to the concept of cake for breakfast, but when we stop to think how the Italians live, in slow harmony with the seasons, we can see that their enjoyment is at the very core of all they live for. I wonder if we might take a little of that slowness into our own daily lives and have cake for breakfast when we feel so inclined. Guilt-free. All for the pure pleasure of it.
Why not try this deliciously moist orange cake for breakfast on a wintry morning soon? And who knows, it may become a new morning ritual served with a generous dollop of thick Greek yogurt to really set you up for your day ahead.
By no means is this cake just reserved for the likes of breaking the morning fast; it’s equally delicious served for afternoon tea or dessert and pairs well with raspberries and cream.
Serves: 10-12
Preparation: 1.5 hours
INGREDIENTS
2⅓ cups plain flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
Pinch of salt
2 oranges (approximately 250g each)
¾ cup milk
250g butter, at room temperature
300g caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature
METHOD
Grease a 23cm round cake tin with softened butter and line the sides and base with baking paper. Preheat your oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced).
Whisk flour, baking powder, zest of two oranges and salt in a bowl and set aside.
In a small bowl or jug, whisk the juice from two oranges and milk together.
Using an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar and vanilla on high speed until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally.
Reduce the mixer speed to medium and add the eggs one at a time, incorporating well after each addition.
Add the dry ingredients and the combined orange juice and milk a third at a time, mixing on low speed to incorporate and scraping down the sides of the bowl between each addition.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and bake for approximately 40–45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
Leave to rest in the cake tin for at least 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 3–5 days.
