Citrus Delight Cake
Citrus Delight Cake is a delicious sponge cake layered with whipped cream and fresh oranges and milk chocolate. It is a soft creamy cake which just melts in your mouth. I can not even begin to tell you how delicious this cake is. I leant how to make this cake from my mother when i was a child. She would make this cake for my birthday without fail and it just has so many memories attached. I would help her make it since i was 5 years old and finally made it on my on when i was 12 years old.
This cake has a perfect balance of sweet and tang. It is so fresh and feels like spring in your mouth. Its very light and you can not just have one slice. For an eggless sponge click here.
Happy Baking!
Servings: 1-6 inch cake
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cooking Time: 30 mins
Chilling Time: 6-7 hours
Total Time: 8-9 hours
Ingredients:
Cake:
3 large eggs (150g) at room temperature
75g castor sugar
87g All purpose Flour- twice sifted (very imp)
0.5 tbsp vanilla essence
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp melted butter
Frosting & filling:
1-1.5 cup heavy cream
2-3 tbsp sugar
1/2 tbsp vanilla essence
3-5 oranges check notes
Milk chocolate shavings
Simple sugar syrup:
1.5 cups water
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Prepare a cake pan by greasing it. Place a parchment just on the base or flour the pan.
Mix together flour, baking powder and salt and sift it together. Keep aside.
In a stand mixer or electric mixer add eggs and sugar.
Using a whisk attachment start beating it on low speed for about 3-4 mins. It will start getting fluffy and pale.
When it starts getting fluffy add vanilla essence.
Increase the speed to medium & whisk it for 2-4 mins.
Scrape the edges and bottom of the bowl.
Increase speed to high it beat it for 2-3 mins.
The batter should be fluffy and pale and should form ribbons when you lift it.- see video
Add half of the dry ingredients and fold it in. Check video on how to fold. Do not mix it as it will deflate and be dense. Mix till just combined.
Add the remaining dry ingredients and fold it in again. Fold till just combined.
Take 1 tbsp of the batter and mix it in with the melted butter.
Add the melted butter mixture to the cake batter and fold it in.
Pour in a prepared pan till 3/4th the way up.
Bake for 20-30 mins at 350F till the cake is baked through. Check with a toothpick if its baked through.
Once out of the oven let it cool and then un mould it. Cling wrap it and chill in the fridge for 1 hour or till it cools completely.
Prepare the simple syrup by melting the sugar in the water over a low flame. Once dissolved, turn off the flame and add the orange juice and let it cool.
Cut oranges in pieces.
Take the cake out and prepare the whipped cream.
Whisk the heavy cream sugar and vanilla essence together till medium firm peaks form. You want it to be soft but still hold its shape. Do not overwhip it otherwise it will be gritty.
Cut the cake in 2 layers.
Layering the cake-
Place a cake layer and soak it generously with simple syrup. It should be damp all over and not dry at all (VERY IMPORTANT).
Layer with cream then sliced oranges and milk chocolate shavings.
Spread a little cream on the base of the second layer and place it over.
Soak the layer of cake and cover it with a thin layer of cream all over.
This is the crumb coat which helps keep the cake moist and crumbs in.
Let it chill in the fridge for 2-3 hours. See my video for layering the cake.
Once the cake is chilled, spread more cream around the edges and top and frost it evenly.
Decorate the top with oranges and milk chocolate as you like.
Let it chill in the fridge for at least 4-6 hours. I like to let it sit overnight.
Serve cold. If the cake gets too cold, take it out 30-45 mins before serving. You want the cake cold not chilled or room temp.
Notes/Tips:
Yes you need to weigh these ingredients out and cups measurements will not work. If you use too much flour it can become dense so the best way to prevent it is weighing out the ingredients.
Use room temperature eggs.
Makes sure the dry ingredients are sifted.
Use oranges that can peel well. Cut them in segments or pieces. i like to use mandarins or sumo oranges that peel easily.
If the oranges are sour sprinkle some powdered sugar on it and let it sit for 15-20 mins. You can use the liquid it oozes out and mix it with the simple syrup for added flavour.
Do NOT over mix this batter. You need to gently fold the batter in. See the video for how to do it. Mixing the batter will deflate the batter and it will not be spongy.
Make sure to soak every layer of the cake well so that it is moist and not dry. It will literally melt in your mouth if it is well soaked. Do not over soak it so that falls apart. I like to check by pressing down on the layer and seeing if it oozes a bit of liquid like a sponge.
The cake lasts well in the fridge for 1-2 days. Ideally keep it in an airtight container or it will dry out. Add some whipped cream if it soaks in and dries out.
I have made the cake sponge 2-3 days before and tightly cling wrapped it and kept it in the fridge. Make sure its wrapped well so it does not dry out.
Milk chocolate pairs the best with this cake.