Eggless Orange Cake with Orange-Cocoa Buttercream Frosting

It is here again and I am doing jigs of joy in sheer bliss.Yeah,I am crazy that way once in a year[if not throughout,hehe].I am overwhelmed by the birthday wishes through mails,Facebook messages,sms's,calls-especially from a dear reader of this blog Neena,who called me from US.She made me feel so special that for sometime I was behaving like a celebrity!!

Majority of the messages were wishes + queries as to what I was baking today.A cousin even told me not to cook at all-and Mads wanting to serve me her Dark Chocolate Orange Gateau since I was craving so much for it!!Thank you so much people--you sure made me feel special!!

As to what was to be the star attraction for today,my birthday cake-Surprisingly,I didn't put much thought into what I was going to bake and at one time it looked as though I might even skip baking it.Thank God,I chose against it.Thought of baking an eggless sponge since I didn't stock up on eggs.I had a pale orange sitting inside the fridge and immediately decided that it was going to be an Orange flavored Cake.Baked the cake first thing in the morning and started cooking up lunch all the while thinking of the frosting.

Fell back on my tried and tested recipe for buttercream-this time with cocoa and orange juice with some zest thrown in.It was going to be a Chocolate+Orange combination in a plain cake,I was getting excited.As always,while frosting,I lost my cool and was getting impatient.Finally dressed up the cake in chocolate cigars and curls and decided that "too much chocolate can never go wrong"!!

Eggless Orange Cake with Orange Cocoa Buttercream Frosting
Recipe minimally adapted from Anushruti

Ingredients

Flour - 225gms[about 1 1/2 cups + 2 tbsp]
Baking Powder - 2 tsp
Baking soda - 1 tsp
Butter - 100 gms,at room temperature
Condensed milk - 400gm/1 can
Milk - 200 ml
Yogurt - 4 tbsp
Vanilla extract - 2 tsp OR 1 tbsp freshly grated Orange zest


For the Orange-Cocoa Buttercream frosting


Butter - 1/2 cup,softened
Icing sugar - 2 cups
Cocoa Powder - 3 tbsp
Orange juice - 4-5 tbsp
Orange zest - 1 tsp


Method


Grease and line the bottom of a 9” round cake tin with greaseproof paper/baking parchment/butter paper. 
Preheat the oven at 150 degrees centigrade.
In a mixing bowl, assemble the flour, baking powder and baking soda, mix with a spoon and sieve once to make the mixture uniform. 
In a bowl assemble the butter and the condensed milk and beat (with a hand mixer or a wire whisk) until the mixture is combined, about a couple of minutes. 
Mix in the yogurt and beat again. 
Pour in the milk and beat until the mixture is well mixed.
Stir in the flour mixture and mix with a spoon, whisk or the legs of the hand mixer before starting to beat again. This will prevent the flour from getting dispersed outside the mixing bowl. 
Beat until the mixture is uniform and smooth and there are no lumps. 
This shouldn’t take more than a couple of minutes with an electric hand mixer/beater. Be careful not to over beat as this tends to make the batter stiff which might result into a harder textured cake. 
Pour the batter into the cake tin and bake for an hour at 150 degree centigrade.

For the Buttercream - Beat together Butter and cocoa powder.Mix in the icing sugar and orange juice alternately till you get a smooth glossy frosting.Mix in the zest and refrigerate till required.


To assemble the Cake-


Place the cake on a cooling rack and trim the top[mine was crowned a bit].Moisten with a few tbsps Orange juice[optional].
Apply the frosting on the sides and top evenly and cover with Chocolate curls and Chocolate cigars.
Remove carefully to a serving plate.
Chill and serve!!


Verdict- As always,the combination of Orange and Chocolate made me go weak in the knees.Loved every bite of it,but due to the arrival of the 5-star Birthday cake my thoughts were diverted there.I was actually confused which one to finish first!!I love Birthdays!!


Here's the Birthday gift from Ajay I was talking about.I have my own copy now,amen.

A big Thank You to my dear friend Mary,who sent me a Chocolate Cake from The Muffin Tree,Courtyard Marriot.My birthday is getting more and more surprising!!

Once again,Thank You all for making my Birthday so exciting and full of surprises!!

Lots of Love,