Moist Orange Loaf

Oranges and baking. Hmm.. I am not sure how many of you out there would think that it is a good idea to mix both of them together..

But this post is a proof that you can bake the most moist and delicious cake using this citrus fruit. I just happened to stumble on this when I was contemplating on baking a lemon loaf. Since Indian lemon is very tangy I thought it is best avoided. I thought of using mandarin oranges instead. The result was fabulous..

This cake takes about an hour and half from start to finish. The end result is really amazing..A word of caution you may need to bake more since this cake disappears quite fast :)

I did share the cake with a few of my friends at office and they loved it too. I have found so many supermarkets selling these artificially flavored orange cakes from various brands calling them "healthy" but most of them do not even come close to the one that you can make in your own kitchen from scratch. Try this recipe and you will not be disappointed.

You will need the following ingredients:

1. Vegetable oil/Butter - 4tbsp
2. Sugar - 1 cup
3. Egg – 1 no.
4. Low fat yogurt - 2 tbsp
5. Milk - 1/2 cup
6. Whole wheat flour - 1 1/2 cup (I use Ashirwad Atta)
7. Baking powder - 1/2 tsp
8. Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp
9. Mandarin Orange – 1
10. Rind of 1 Mandarin Orange
    

Procedure:

• To start with extract the juice of the orange and keep it aside.



• Preheat the oven to 175 Deg C.



• Warm the milk and mix the sugar (only 3/4 cup). Ensure that the sugar is well dissolved.



• Add the oil. Using a blender mix it all well.



• Now separate the egg white from the yellow and beat them separately. Carefully add the yellow to the above mixture.



• Now add the yogurt and blend.



• Now add the flour little by little till it blends well into the mixture.



• At this point add the egg white and gently fold it into the mixture. Add the rind of the orange and fold in again.



• Line a loaf pan (small size) with aluminium foil.



• Oil it and dust it with some flour.



• Now just before emptying the content into the pan sift the Baking powder and soda into the mixture and blend one last time.



• Pop it into the oven for 30-45 minutes or till a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.



• While the cake is baking add 1/4 cup of powdered sugar into the orange juice that was extracted and mix till all the sugar has dissolved. The orange glaze is now ready.



• Once the loaf is done take it out of the oven. Let it rest for 3 minutes.



• Poke tiny holes into the loaf using a skewer.



• Pour the glaze slowly over the loaf till all the juice from the glaze is absorbed by the loaf.



• Give it some time before you take the cake out of the pan by pulling the foil gently.



• Let it cool down completely before cutting it. Else it may break since this loaf is extra moist.

Enjoy your orange loaf!

Update: For all the vegetarians out there who do not eat eggs there is a piece of good news. You can make this without that egg. Substitute it with 1-2 teaspoon of cream and voila! the vegetarian version of the cake is ready to be served!!! Try it and let me know how you liked it.