Orange Whipped Cream Cake

Happy Mother's Day to all you awesome moms out there. I miss not being close to mom everyday, but even more so today. I wish I was back home so I could something/ anything to show her how much she means to me. The one thing I'm sure I would have done if I were back home was bake her a cake. Amma loves snack cakes and every time I thought of baking when I was there, mom would ask me to make something 'simple'. This is one cake I would love to bake for her when we meet next time, I know she would love this and I so wish she were here to taste it now.

This is a very popular cake where butter or oil in the recipe is replaced by heavy cream making the cake amazingly light and moist . I borrowed Rose's Heavenly Cakes from the library last month and made it for the first time. We absolutely loved it. I made it again last week, but this time I tried adding some orange flavor to the cake. I think citrus makes everything better and it did for this cake too. We loved it even more! 

This is for you Amma, We love you!!

Orange Whipped Cream Cake

Ingredients:  

225 gms/ 8 oz cake flour(2 1/4cups) or bleached all purpose flour (2 cups), measured by sifting into the cups and leveling it off

2 tsps baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1 1/2  cups/ 348 gms/ 12.3 oz cold heavy cream

3 large eggs at room temperature (150 gms/ 5.3oz)

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 cup plus 2 tbs/ 8oz/225gms superfine sugar

1/8 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

2 tsps orange zest

Method:

Grease and dust a 10 cup bundt pan (I used mini bundt pans and a ring pan). Preheat the oven to 375F/ 190C (350F/ 175C if using dark pans).

In a medium bowl mix together flour, baking powder and salt and then sift them together to make the mixture easier to incorporate.

Whip the cream using a whisk attachment, starting on low speed gradually raising the speed to medium high as it thickens, until stiff peaks form when the beater is raised.

In another bowl whisk the eggs, vanilla, orange juice and zest just until combined. On medium high speed, gradually beat the egg mixture into the whipped cream. It will thicken to a mayonnaise consistency. Gradually beat in the sugar. It will take about 30 seconds to incorporate it.

Add half the flour mixture into the cream mixture, and with the whisk stir and fold in the flour until most of it disappears.Add the rest of the flour mixture and continue folding and mixing until all traces of the flour have disappeared. 

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Run a small metal spatula or dull knife through the batter to prevent large air bubbles, taking care to avoid the bottom of the pan. Smooth the top with a spatula.

Bake for 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. The cake should spring back when pressed lightly in the center. The sides should shrink away from the pan only after removal from the oven.

Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 mins. Loosen the top edges of the cake and unmould onto a greased wire rack and cool completely. 

Serve with a dusting of powdered sugar or with lightly sweetened whipped cream.