If you are a reluctant baker and make only one cake a year, let it be a birthday cake for someone you love. There is so little effort and so much glory to the project. A two-layer cake is simple to produce, but if even that seems daunting, no complaints will arise from a golden Bundt cake. In our times, the simple fact of a homemade cake is enough to impress. Drizzling a liquid glaze over the cake is much easier than frosting, just as pretty, and does not require alarming specialty gadgets such as an “offset spatula.”
Ingredients
- ¼ pound butter, plus more for greasing pan
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting pan
- 3 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ¼ cups firmly packed brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, separated
- ⅔ cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon orange extract
- 3 ½ tablespoons sherry
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
- ½ cup raisins
- ⅓ cup currants
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped candied orange peel
- ½ cup confectioners’ sugar
- Nutritional Information
Nutritional analysis per serving (10 servings)
440 calories; 14 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 71 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 43 grams sugars; 6 grams protein; 63 milligrams cholesterol; 162 milligrams sodium
Note: Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available data.
Serves 10 to 12
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter and flour an angel-food-cake pan. Sift together the flour and baking powder. Using a mixer at medium speed, beat the butter until creamy and slowly add the brown sugar. Mix in the egg yolks, milk, vanilla, orange extract and 2 tablespoons of the sherry. Blend in the flour mixture.
- In another bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold them into the batter. Fold in the walnuts, raisins, currants and orange peel. Scrape into the prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes, then unmold and cool on a rack before glazing.
- In a small bowl, whisk the confectioners’ sugar and remaining 11/2 tablespoons sherry until smooth. Drizzle the glaze over the top.
About 1 hour 30 minutes
Dining and Cooking