Anise Seed – Orange Cake, Lemon Sauce, Toasted Pinenuts
April 16th, 2011
This orange cake recipe is a slightly modified version of a recipe from The Silver Palate Cookbook. I enjoy the small shots of licorice imparted by the anise seeds, combined with the orange and lemon flavours.
Orange Cake
½ cup butter, softened
¾ cup sugar
2 eggs, separated
grated zest of 2 oranges
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
½ cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons anise seeds
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease a 10″ bundt pan. I used individual small cake molds and as a result the cooking time was reduced.
Cream the butter. Gradually add the sugar. Beat in egg yolks, one at a time, and the orange zest.
Sift the flour with baking powder, soda and salt. Add dry ingredients alternately with the orange juice to the batter. Add the anise seeds.
Beat the egg whites until stiff and fold them into the batter.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for about 30 to 35 minutes if making one large cake.
The lemon sauce is from the classic tome on Canadian Mennonite cooking Food That Really Schmecks by Edna Staebler. It’s easy to make, and doesn’t involve eggs like a curd recipe would.
Lemon Sauce
½ cup sugar
1½ tablespoons cornstarch
juice and rind of 1 lemon
¼ tsp salt
2 tablespoons butter
1½ cups boiling water
Combine sugar, salt and cornstarch. Slowly add water and cook in a double boiler until the mixture thickens, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in the butter until melted, then stir in the lemon rind and juice.