Orange cake

Let’s give the floor to Tatyana: “The cake turns out to be incredibly tender, fragrant, with a rich orange flavor. My whole family loved it. In literally two days, the cake was eaten to the last crumb! I was extremely pleased with the cake, and I will definitely cook it again! For now, it is one of my favorites! I highly recommend you to taste it!”

Ingredients for the mold diameter 16 cm (6.3 inch):

• 4 eggs
• 120 g sugar | 4.25 oz
• 100 g flour | 3.55 oz
• 20 g corn starch | 0.70 oz
• 60 g orange juice | 2.10 oz
• 40 g sunflower oil| 1.40 oz
• zest from 2 oranges
• 7 g baking powder | 0.25 oz

All the ingredients should be at a room temperature.

1. Mix the flour, the cornstarch and baking powder in a bowl. In another bowl, whisk the freshly squeezed orange juice with the sunflower oil and the zest of two oranges.
2. Whip the eggs with sugar until fluffy and light. The mass should increase in volume by 3 to 4 times. Add the liquid ingredients to the egg-sugar mass and gently mix the mass using a hand whisk or using a silicone spatula.
3. Sift the mixture of dry ingredients and add them to the bulk. Gently mix the dough again with upward movements. The dough should be fluffy and smooth, and have no lumps.
4. Pour the dough into a mold and send it to the oven preheated to 160C (320F) for about 45 to 50 minutes. Check the readiness with a wooden skewer: just pierce the biscuit in the center, and if the skewer comes out dry - the biscuit is ready!
5. After baking, let the biscuit cool down a little, take it out of the mold, wrap it in a cling film and put it in the fridge for several hours. Finally, cut the biscuit into several layers.

You will need:

• 120 g orange juice | 4.25 oz
• 60 g sugar | 2.10 oz

1. In a saucepan, whisk the freshly squeezed orange juice and sugar. Bring the mass to a boil, the sugar should completely dissolve.
2. Optionally, you can add spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger) or flavorous alcohol (cognac, rum) to the soaking syrup. The syrup should be cooled before use.

Ingredients for the mold diameter 14 cm (5.5 inch):

• 300 g of orange pulp and juice | 10.60 oz
• 40 g sugar | 1.40 oz
• 8 g corn starch | 0.30 oz
• 8 g gelatin | 0.30 oz
• 50 g water | 1.75 oz

1. Pour the gelatin with water and leave to swell. Mix the corn starch with sugar.
2. Bring the orange puree to a boil and pour a mixture of sugar and cornstarch in it; stir thoroughly with a whisk. Boil the mass for 1 to 2 minutes, until it becomes thicker. Remove the stewpan from the heat.
3. When the mass stops boiling, add the swollen gelatin, stir the mass thoroughly with a whisk or mush it with an immersion blender until smooth.
4. Tighten the bottom of the rings with cling film in 2 to 3 layers, then place the rings on a flat surface, for example, on a cutting board.
5. Divide the mass into two equal parts and pour them into molds. Place the molds in the freezer for several hours to stabilize.

You will need:

• 600 g cream cheese | 21.25 oz
• 200 g heavy sour cream 20-25% | 7.05
• 60 g powdered sugar | 2.10 oz

1. Take a sieve or a colander, and cover it with the clean gauze, folded in several layers. Put the sour cream on top, and cover it with the gauze edges. Then, put the sieve on a bowl to drain. Place the bowl in the fridge for at least 4 hours, better overnight.
2. You should take 20-30% more sour cream, than the recipe says. That’s because after the sour cream drains, the weight of the finished product decreases. The fatter the sour cream, the less whey will be released.
3. Next, put the weighed sour cream in a mixer bowl and start whipping at high speed, gradually add half of the powdered sugar.
4. When the mass increases in volume and keeps its shape well, add the curd cheese and the rest of the powdered sugar. Whip it until fluffy and smooth.