O and I often suffer from the Monday blues. Tired from a busy weekend, a mound of washing spilling over the top of the laundry basket, Matt's alarm going off at 5.30am... sometimes we have a severe case of the grumps. So we try to avoid the doldrums by getting some friends over to play. It's also a great excuse to bake a cake, and it's hard to be grumpy when there is weighing to be done, flour to be sifted and a nice, smooth wooden spoon to mix with. I spotted this Donna Hay recipe in this month's Living Etc and knew it was the perfect antidote to the Monday blues.
Orange cake
125g unsalted butter, softened
170g caster sugar, sifted
2 eggs, lightly beaten
225g plain flour, sifted
1 and 1/4 tablespoons baking powder
1 tablespoon milk
2 tablespoons finely grated orange rind
4 tablespoons orange juice
orange icing
185g icing sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon orange zest
Preheat the oven to 170 degrees C/gas mark 4. Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 8-10 minutes until light and creamy. Gradually add the eggs and beat well. Add the flour and baking powder and mix well. Add the milk, orange rind and orange juice and mix until smooth. Spoon the mixture into an 18x18cm loaf tin lined with greaseproof paper. Bake for 55 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Cool on a wire rack.
To make the orange icing, combine the sugar and orange juice in a small bowl and mix to form a smooth paste. to serve, use a palette knife to spread the icing over the cake and top with the orange zest.
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1 comment:
I get those blues too - hard to get myself moving on those days. This week it's Tuesday blues for me as it was a bank holiday weekend and it seems even harder after having been together for that extra day. My antidote, today it's the hot cross buns that are rising in the kitchen.
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