Orange Blossom Cake

This Orange Blossom Cake is so scrumptious and fragrant, thanks to the fresh orange juice, zest and orange blossom water. It’s simple to put together and just the thing to have when you’re expecting company!

I first came to know about Orange Blossom water while living here in New York City. I was inside a tiny Lebanese store, filled with imported foods and ingredients. I was already familiar with rose water, having used it for a Turkish cake (recipe here), but I’d never used orange blossom water before. Without knowing what I was going to do with it, I bought a bottle and brainstormed all the things I could use it in. As well as cookies, I knew I wanted to incorporate the orange blossom water in a cake. So I played around with some recipes, and came up with this one! This orange blossom cake is moist and so flavourful. It has a gorgeous lightness to it, thanks to the whipped egg whites. You can find orange blossom water in the baking isle of most supermarkets or specialty food stores.

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Ingredients needed for Orange Blossom Cake:

• Fresh oranges. For this recipe, you will need a total of 3 medium oranges. You will use the zest from 2 of the oranges, and 1 cup of juice (from 3 oranges). For both flavour and moistness.
• Orange blossom water
• 4 large eggs. Separate the eggs first, then allow to come to room temperature.
• Sugar
• Vanilla extract
• Vegetable oil. You can also use canola oil. This gives the cake a wonderful moistness
• Butter: to give unbeatable flavour
• All-purpose flour
• Baking powder: to lift the cake

How to make Orange Blossom Cake:

• First, you will combine the orange zest with the sugar and rub it between your fingertips for a few minutes. This will release that beautiful orange fragrance and oil from the zest, and the sugar will turn an orange colour and become moist. This will give the cake great flavour.
• Next, in a large mixing bowl, we’ll combine the egg yolks, orange scented sugar, vanilla and orange blossom water and beat on medium-high speed for 2 minutes, or until pale and fluffy.
• Add the oil and butter and mix until well combined.
• In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites on high speed for 3-4 minutes until stiff peaks have formed. *see note below.
• Pour batter into prepared springform pan and bake at 350 degrees F for 50-60 minutes.
• Allow cake to cool inside pan for 15 minutes, before inverting it onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
• Dust with confectioner’s sugar and serve!

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A note about egg whites:

The fluffy, pillow-like quality of whipped egg whites is very useful in this recipe. It helps to make the cake lighter and fluffier, giving it a wonderful crumb. Whipping egg whites is essentially forcing air into the egg whites, causing the protein in the whites to stretch and create bubbles around the water within the whites. As they are whipped, they reach 3 different stages:

1. Soft peaks (when you remove the whisk or beaters, the peaks will form but then drop).
2. Firm peaks (when you remove the whisk or beaters, the peaks hold their shape).
3. Stiff peaks (not only does the peak on the egg white surface hold, but so will the peak on the whisk or beaters when turned to peak upwards).

Very important: make sure the bowl you’re using to whip your egg whites is free from any grease. If grease is present, it will interfere with the process and stiff peaks won’t form. A handy tip is to put some white vinegar on a paper towel and wipe the bowl first before starting.

Take care to not over-beat the egg whites, as the stretched protein will break and let the water in the whites out, creating a mix of eggy water and foam, which we want to avoid.

Tips for a successful cake:

• Separate the eggs when you first take them out of the refrigerator. Then allow the yolks and the whites to come to room temperature.
• Make sure the butter is room temperature. I like to cut it into small cubes so it comes to room temperature faster. This will ensure it incorporates well when adding it to the mixture.
• Once you add the dry ingredients, make sure to not over-mix. Over-mixing causes the gluten to overdevelop, which leads to a tougher cake.
• Fold the egg whites in very gently. This will maintain the fluffiness of the egg whites, which equals a fluffy cake.