My husband's birthday was a week ago Saturday, and for the event I made a Williamsburg Orange Cake which, my son-in-law said while eating, and I quote, 'is the best cake I've ever eaten!' Do you think he made points with a comment like that? Absolutely! :-)
From my second Betty Crocker Cookbook, 1969 edition, came the recipe for the cake and the wonderful orange frosting. Our daughter and her husband got me the cookbook a few years back when they noticed that my old copy had pages stuck together (like the 7-minute frosting recipe page) and was showing other signs of wear.
The first thing I did when I got my 'new' cookbook was to copy all the notes I'd made in my old cookbook into the 'new' one. Now I'm more careful about frosting too, you'll be glad to know.
After the layers of the cake had cooled and I frosted the cake, I put it on the cake plate and covered it with the cake cover. It's a heavy beast, unlike the cheap junk that's for sale these days. I'm glad I didn't throw it out during one of my rare cleaning sprees.
WILLIAMSBURG ORANGE CAKE RECIPE:
Note: I added a little extra orange peel to both the cake and frosting.
2 1/2 c. flour
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 t. baking soda
3/4 t. salt
1 1/2 c. buttermilk
1/2 c. butter, softened
1/4 c. shortening
3 eggs (farm fresh eggs make all the difference)
1 1/2 t. vanilla
1 c. golden raisins, cut up
3/4 c. finely chopt walnuts
2 T. grated orange peel
Frost with Williamsburg Butter Frosting (Below)
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease and flour 3 nine-inch layer pans (I used two because it called for two, and wish I'd used a third. Fortunately, I had set them on a jellyroll pan so that the overflow was easy to clean up. I actually think the problem may have been that I beat it on high, rather than medium, and a bit too long, adding too much air.)
Measure all ingredients into bowl. Mix on low a couple minutes, then beat on medium a few more minutes. Pour into pans. Place in preheated oven.
Bake appx. 35 minutes, a little more or less. Test to see if cake is done by gently touching the center. If it springs back, it's done.
Frost with the following:
WILLIAMSBURG BUTTER FROSTING RECIPE:
1/2 c. soft butter
3 c. confectioners' sugar
3/4 T. orange-flavored liqueur or orange juice
2 T. grated orange peel
Blend butter and sugar. Stir in liqueur or orange juice and peel.
Beat until smooth.
Tip: After I had frosted the cake, I covered it and put it in the refrigerator overnight. I will definitely do that another time, for it made the cake so much easier to cut, plus the flavors seemed to have had time to 'steep.'
Serve with Breyer's Natural Vanilla Ice Cream!
My son-in-law asked me why I chose Breyer's. I told him, 'because I looked at the ingredient list.' Truly, so many ice creams have so much unnatural stuff in them they are sickening! But this was truly a delicious treat. :-)
And now, I'm really glad it's gone or I'd be tempted to go into the kitchen and get more!
You're gonna love this!
***
Check out my natural, handcrafted vegan soaps!
Buy any 5, Get 1 FREE
'Mandarin Orange Spice'
28 comments:
Oh, that looks SO good!!
Another reason why I love making my own ice cream.. you can control what is in it. Don't know why they have to put all that crap in there!! :)
Anyway.. the cake looks wonderful. I bet it was so flavorful and delicious!!
I love orange. This kind of reminds me of carrot cake without the carrot. I don't know if that makes any sense to you but, I can't imagine a better cake than that.
Mmm, that looks so yummy. It wouldn't have lasted long round here!
Your blog is becoming a regular source of recipes for us, Howard did the scalloped potatoes and ham the other day, its a great one for using left overs, I'll be making this cake soon ;)it does look tastie.
Have a good week
George and Jan xxx
Dear Judy, Please stop posting all these wonderful recipes that I cannot eat until I lose my 100 pounds. Thank you. LOL
It looks DELICIOUS!
I think I have the same Bety Crocker Cookbook! It has a little different cover, but I know I have looked at this recipe before! I learned to cook from it. It have a nice selection of all the basics.
I haven't tried this recipe before. Looks delicous! I love orange.
Atticus will turn 9, May 18th. I think this will be a great cake. Thank You for sharing.
Oh My! I just gained yet another pound after reading your post! Looks heavenly, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I have one coming up in a couple of weeks. I'm going to have to post about it because it's one of those where you are not "that age" but rather I will probably spend the entire year saying "OMG! I'm gonna be 50!" Sigh..... could be a long year ;-)
You may think that Lemon cake is my thing ... but the secret is..... close friends & family know differently. ;-)
That looks like absolutely perfection -- good, honest, wholesome ingredients in both the cake and the ice cream. I adore orange, and an orange-flavored icing wouldn't even need the cake as a vehicle -- just a spoon, that's all!
I love orange cake. Orange is one of my favorite flavors for anything. What is the origin of the cake/name? Why is it called Willliamsburg Orange Cake?
This looks great! We are having a baking linky party on our blog today we would love for you to link up!!
http://twomaidsamilking.blogspot.com
Ooooooo...can't wait for an occasion to make this! I so LOVE citrus in baked goods....oh, and with the ice cream. YUM!
Oh Judy!! That looks AMAZING! I really wanted to eat the slice right off your blog. I can see why your son in law complimented you. YOu deserved that and more for this one!!
Oh this cake is such a treat.I will grab your recipe.I love this cake!!!Thanks
Okay my friend, I will have that cake on my birthday! Yum...and the Breyers is perfect to go with it! :D
I have to try these rcipes out! This looks delicious! Happy birthday to your husband! :) Do you think I will have the raspberry soap by the 12th if I order it today? Let me know! Have a great day!
Mama Hen
Oooh, the Betty Crocker cookbook! I know it well : ) My mom and grandma both have it. I don't think I've ever had this cake though! Sounds yummy!
That cake looks perfect. Reminds me of carrot cake too. Thanks for linking this up to Fat Camp Fridays this week! See you next week!
Oooooh - that looks delicious!!!
I wish I had a piece of your cake. It looks mmm mmm good. I have a sweet treat linky party going on at my blog and I'd like to invite you to stop by and link your cake up. http://sweet-as-sugar-cookies.blogspot.com/2011/05/sweets-for-saturday-16.html
Mmm, delicious! Hope Kevin had a wonderful birthday, I'm sure the cake helped :)
And speaking of old recipe books (which I dearly love!). Ally began baking years ago by using my first cookbook that started my love of baking, as well, "The Cookie Book" by Eva Moore, Illustrations by Talivaldis Stubis, a little paperback published by Scholastic Book Services, copyright 1973. My favorite recipe is on page 54, Chocolate Chip Brownies. All this to say: it was simply divine back then, but now I can't find the envelopes of unsweetened chocolate sold by Nestle's Choco-Bake or Hershey's Ready-mix and it has made all the difference in taste and texture...what should I do? What is the equivalent today? Neither my mom nor I can figure out how to make those divinely moist and chewy brownies that we all just salivated for back in the 70's! Any suggestions?
I looked around for an orange cake for someone whose birthday is tomorrow and she loves Orange cakes. I came across this and the pans are in the oven right NOW! I can't wait to see how it turns out! I'll let you know!
This cake is my absolute favorite! I have been making it every year for my father for his birthday....for as long as I can remember! It just isn't his birthday without this cake! The frosting is addictive....I always make extra, and eat it right out of the container on everything I can think of for the next couple of weeks. Try soaking the raisins in rum for a bit....it plumps them up and makes the cake a little more moist without changing the flavor. I use 3 nine inch baking pans, greased and lightly floured....the cake will slide right out beautifully! Enjoy!
I just finished making this cake. The cakes turned out wonderful. However the icing does not go very far at all if you want to cover the whole cake. I made three layers. I am sure it would be ok for two layer if you put it on very thin but we love icing so I suggest you double it up for a three layer.
So glad you enjoyed the cake, Nelda! I love the icing too, and it never hurts to have a little extra. :)
My mom has the same Betty Crocker cookbook that was the source of inspiration for most of my childhood meals! We also found another copy of her original cookbook for her, since hers was also falling apart! Thanks for sharing this recipe- it brought back good memories! I'm going to make it for my husband's birthday.
Post a Comment