Iced orange cake

 

Ingredients

For the cake

• 100g butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 orange, finely grated zest only
• 100g caster sugar
• 100g icing sugar, sifted
• 125g plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder

For the topping

• 100g icing sugar
• 1-2 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4. Butter and flour the sides of a 20cm cake tin and line the base with greaseproof paper.

2. For the cake: melt the butter gently in a saucepan and set aside.

3. Using a hand-held electric beater, whisk together the eggs, grated orange zest and caster and icing sugar for a few minutes until light and slightly fluffy. Stir in the melted butter and sift in the flour and baking powder. Fold it all together gently.

4. Pour the cake mixture into the prepared tin, smooth the surface and bake in the oven for 35–40 minutes or until golden and set in the centre and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

5. Place the tin on a wire rack and allow to stand for about ten minutes before removing the cake carefully from the tin. Allow to cool on the wire rack.

6. For the topping: sift the icing sugar into a bowl and stir in just enough orange juice until it is soft but not runny.

7. When the cake is cool, place it on a serving plate or cake stand and spread the icing over the top. Serve in slices.