Orange Syrup Cake

For a birthday. For Sarah's (aka queen coordinator of craft group) birthday. She deserves something good ~ she asked for sugar and butter (birthdays are supposed to be a bit indulgent); so I gave her a bit of both.

Wanna make one too? You will need:

1 3/4 cups plain flour
2 tsp baking soda
125g unsalted butter at room temp
3/4 cup caster sugar
2 large eggs
2 tbs freshly squeeze orange juice
the finely grated rind od 2 oranges
2/3 cup of buttermilk (or ordinary milk with a dash of vinegar)
Orange Syrup (recipe follows)

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
Sift the flour into a bowl with baking powder.
Cream the sugar and butter and add the eggs in one at a time until well combined. Mix in teh rind and the juice.
Stir the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk.
Spoon mixture into a well greased/oiled bundt tin (or round tin) and bake at 180C for 45-50minutes, or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Turn out on a wire rack set over a tray. While the cake is still warm poke little holes all over the top with a fine skewer, pour the syrup over (keep collecting the syrup that drips onto the tray and pour it over again, and again), decorate with candied peel.

Orange syrup: combine 1 cup icing sugar with 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice, 2 tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice and 2 tbs freshly squeezed lime juice in a saucepan and stir over low heat until teh sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil, add julienned rind of 1 orange and cook for 10 minutes. Use warm.

Eat with friends, warm or cold, with or without fresh cream.

Sing happy birthday if the occassion suits the tune.