A loaf cake is a simple yet delicious
teatime treat, perfect with a coffee for a little pick-me-up. It’s also a
pretty accessible foray into the world of baking; the ingredients are simple store
cupboard and fridge items and it doesn’t require too much icing expertise or
pastry know-how. This one has been adapted from a recipe for lemon and yoghurt
cake, taking the same principles of citrus and dairy and applying them here.
Feel free to substitute plain yoghurt instead of the sour cream and indeed
lemons for the oranges of course.
Ingredients
300g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp sea salt
300ml tub soured cream
200g caster sugar (or other
granulated sugar)
3 large eggs, preferably
free-range or organic
Finely grated orange zest from
1 orange
½ tsp vanilla extract
125ml vegetable oil (or other
flavourless oil)
Soaking
liquid for cake
Freshly squeezed juice from 1 ½
oranges
70g caster sugar
For
the final glaze (optional)
140g icing sugar
Freshly squeezed juice from ½
orange
Method
Preheat the oven to 170°C Fan, 350°F, Gas Mark 5
Line a 2lb loaf tin with a greaseproof paper liner or grease the tin well and line the bottom with baking paper.
In a bowl add the flour, baking powder, and salt and stir together. In another bowl, whisk together the sour cream, eggs, sugar, orange zest, and vanilla extract until smooth. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients before carefully folding in the vegetable oil into the cake mix.
Pour the cake mix into the prepared tin and bake for about 50 minutes, or until toothpick placed in the centre of the loaf comes out clean.
Remove from the oven, place on a wire rack and allow the cake to cool in the tin for about 10 minutes
While the cake is cooling, put the orange juice and caster sugar into a small pan and heat on the hob until the sugar is dissolved.
Pierce the cake with a toothpick in several places before carefully spooning over the orange and sugar liquid, allowing it to soak into the cake.
For the glaze (if using), combine the icing sugar with the orange juice in a bowl, mixing together until smooth. Simply pour over the cake on a wire rack with a baking tray underneath
