ORANGE RASPBERRY CAKE

Life is strange, and so are we. Things happen to us which we never ever thought would be part of our lives. Never in our lives did we think that we would have to shift to a new town, let alone having moved to a new country altogether!! But somehow the shift came calmly and without much fuss. We are now more or less settled in the town of Nairobi, and I am so totally liking it out here. The weather is lovely. I can sit by the window and experience cooooool (extremely cool, but not cold) breeze touching my face, at the same time, I can experience the lovely warmth of the sun caressing me. It is such a beautiful feeling. You know just having the pleasure of this phenomenon gives me the consolation and confirmation that God is nearby. He couldnt be too far off. Every evening as I sit by my window, there is a lovely sight I behold and that is of very tall trees outside being touched by the rays of the sun only on the top, while the rest of them is shadowed. It is as if they are reaching out to catch the fading sun, and dont wanna let go. In capturing all of this beauty of the city, I am also indulging myself in extensive cooking. My daughter has begun to go to a playschool very near to my home, and that gives me a lot of spare time during the mornings. Last week I had oranges aplenty, and fortunately for me they were quite sweet, and I also a handful of raspberries. So this is what I ended up baking - AN ORANGE RASPBERRY CREAM CAKE

Ingredients - For the cake
1-1/2 cup - refined flour
1 cup - wheatflour
1/2 tspn - baking powder
1/4 tspn - baking soda
2 eggs
3/4 cup - butter
1 cup - sugar
1 tspn - vanilla essence
1/2 cp - orange juice

Now preheat the oven to about 180 deg cel
Beat the butter and eggs (add them one by one)
Add the sugar and beat till creamy
Add the vanilla essence and beat again
Seive the flours and the baking powder and soda
Now slowly mix the wet into the dry till no lumps are left
Prepare a baking dish by greasing it and dusting it with flour, which I always do
Add the batter to the dish and put in the oven for about 35-40 mins
Pls check using a toothpick or whatever that the cake has been done
Let it cool Use a serrated knife to cut the cake into two
Sprinkle the orange juice liberally onto the cake parts and keep them in the fridge

For the frosting
1 cup full cream
2 tbspn orange rind
3/4 cup caster sugar (i had to use 1 cup since sugar in Nairobi is less sweet, God knows why!!!!)
1 tspn vanilla essence

Chill the beater and the utensil for beating the cream in the freezer for about 20 mins
Beat the cream till soft peaks
Add the sugar, orange rind and vanilla essence and beat till stiff peaks

Now to arrange
Take out the two cake slices
Use the bottom of the original cake upside down on the topmost layer of the final cake.
This way the top of the frosted cake is smooth and even.
Use the upper portion first.
Place it on the cake tray or serving platter and spread a thick layer of cream on top of it.
Sprinkle it with chopped orange and rasperies.  Be liberal
Now place the other portion upside down, so that the brown and flat side is on top
Now you can cover the whole cake with cream using a spreading spatula
Decorate the top with orange slices and raspberry

This was a refreshingly cool cake. The tangy sweet orange and the sweetness of the cake blended very well and it didnt take too much to finish it. Take care till next time.