Orange Cake with Fresh Orange Syrup

Orange Cake with Fresh Orange Syrup

Celebrate the citrus season with this amazing orange loaf! It's soaked with freshly made orange syrup so it is incredibly moist and tender.

Ingredients

For the bread:

• 4 oz. (113g) butter , softened to room temperature

• 1 cup sugar

• zest from 1 orange

• 4 eggs

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 tsp baking powder

For the orange syrup:

• zest of 1 orange , thinly sliced (or grated)

• 1 cup water

• 1 cup sugar

Instructions

The bread:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

• In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until the mixture is fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the orange zest and beat for 1 minute more. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well in between each addition. Stir in vanilla extract. With a mixer on low speed, slowly pour in the orange juice and beat for 1 more minute. The mixture may appear curdled, but that is OK.

• Sift in the flour and baking powder, then gently fold them in with a rubber spatula until incorporated.

• Spoon the batter into the loaf pan and bake for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

The orange syrup:

• Put orange zest, water, and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until syrup slightly thickens.

• As soon as the bread comes out of the oven, prick the surface with a thin skewer and pour half the syrup over the top. Allow it to soak in and cool. Take the bread out of the pan and drizzle with remaining syrup.