Cake #25 - Tangerine Cake

It's winter in Arizona and that means beautiful citrus fruit, and so this is one of many orange cakes in a row.  [This calls itself a tangerine cake, but I had oranges, so that's what I used.]  I made this to take to brunch and it was just a lovely, straight-forward, and delicious bundt cake.  It is a big cake - 6 eggs! - and so it's a nice one if you're going to a big potluck and need something that will serve a large group. 

Since I'd be serving it to kids, I omitted the liqueur and used extra juice.  And by the time I got to the glaze, I didn't have any more fresh juice, so I used a milk glaze (also from Martha Stewart Cakes) and it was so pretty - a beautiful, opaque glaze.  [I've learned that you want the glaze thicker than you think it should be, otherwise it all runs off the cake.  Also, it's worth sifting the powdered sugar before you start whisking - it makes a much smoother glaze.]  As the cake sat for a few hours between glazing and serving, the glaze got a little wrinkled, but it still tasted fine.

This cake calls for yogurt, and I think the addition of yogurt in cakes is what's responsible for a certain spongy quality.  I like it - the yogurt cakes are moist - but I can imagine it not being the dry crumb someone might be looking for.

I'm not done with oranges yet!! 

Tangerine Cake

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups granulated sugar
6 large eggs
2 tablespoons finely grated tangerine zest plus ½ cup fresh tangerine juice (from 6 tangerines)* can substitute orange zest and juice
2 tablespoons orange-flavored liqueur, such as Grand Marnier
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup plain 2% Greek yogurt

 

Glaze:
1½ cups confectioners’ sugar
3 tablespoons fresh tangerine juice (from 2 tangerines)
 

1.       Make the cake.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter a 12-cup Bundt pan; dust with flour, tapping out excess.  In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. 

2.       With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and granulated sugar until pale and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes.  Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.  Beat in tangerine zest and juice, liqueur, and vanilla.  Reduce speed to low.  Add flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with 2 batches of yogurt and beating to combine. 

3.       Transfer batter to prepared pan; smooth top with an offset spatula, and firmly tap pan on counter.  Bake until a cake tester comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes.  Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool 30 minutes.  Turn out cake onto rack to cool completely.  (Cake can be stored at room temperature, wrapped in plastic, up to 2 days.)

4.       Make the glaze: Whisk together confectioners’ sugar and tangerine juice until smooth.  Set cake on rack over a rimmed baking sheet.  Spoon glaze evenly over cake; let set before serving.  [Basic milk glaze is 1 cup confectioners’ sugar blended with 2 tablespoons milk.]

 

From Martha Stewart’s Cakes