Grandma’s Citrus Cake
Bake a Cake for Grandparents’ Day
and
Win a Luxury Flower Arrangement
and a
Grandparents’ Day Gift Basket
It gives me GREAT pleasure to announce that Lavender and Lovage will be hosting a WONDERFUL baking contest on behalf of Interflora UK, Bake a Cake for Grandparents’ Day. The contest is NOT just about cakes though, you can enter any recipe that you think needs sharing, whether it be a recipe that’s been handed down to you from generation to generation, something you have fond memories of baking with your grandma in the kitchen or simply a delicious sweet treat to celebrate the occasion, we want you to get baking for Grandparents’ Day. Grandparents’ Day was founded in America in the 1970’s by Marian McQuade who campaigned tirelessly for a national holiday to recognise the contribution that the older generation gave to their families and wider society. I know that my grandparents were a VERY big part of my life, and my own parents were also invaluable when my daughter was born, and as she got older, for child care, support, and gentle guidance!
In 1990 the occasion was brought over to the UK by the charity Age Concern for the very same reasons. Since its introduction more than two decades ago, Grandparents’ Day has grown steadily in popularity but with only 66% of grandparents having celebrated the occasion there is still plenty more work to do to raise awareness of this special day and turn it into a widely celebrated event.
Why should we celebrate Grandparents’ Day?
Grandparents make up one-third of the UK population and 1.7 million join the ranks every year. Half of all grandparents regularly look after their own children’s offspring amounting to a staggering £33 billion worth of childcare every year! Unsurprisingly many grandparents do this out of love alone with 72% claiming that being a grandparent is the single most important and satisfying thing in their life. Grandparents’ Day offers the perfect opportunity to show your grandparents just how much you love and appreciate them.
As most of you will know, who read my blog regularly, most of my baking recipes are ones that have been handed down from my grandmother to my mum, and then on to me and then my daughter, and I am going to share one of my favourite recipes below, which although I call it mine now, the original concept of the recipe comes from my grandmother, a citrus cake, with citrus curd. It was her weekly bake, and one week it was made with fresh oranges, and the next week we were all treated to a fresh lemon cake! The lemon curd is my mum’s recipe, and I then devised my own citrus curd with oranges and lemons, and no doubt my daughter will add her stamp to the recipe too!
Grandma’s Citrus Cake
But back the this FABULOUS challenge and contest – Interflora is challenging the baking blogger community to create a delicious treat for Grandparents’ Day on Sunday 7th October. As I mentioned before, it can be an old family recipe, or something that you think your grandparents would enjoy….We’re asking you to blog about the occasion and then send us your photos and recipes which will be uploaded to our blog with a link to your website and put to the public vote……and you could be in with a chance to WIN a luxury arrangement of flowers of your choice plus a Grandparents’ Day Gift Basket which will be delivered to your chosen recipient in time for Grandparents’ Day.
Grandma’s Citrus Cake
I HOPE you all enter, it would be a GREAT opportunity to say thanks to your grandparents in your blog post, as well as be in with a chance to share a much-loved family recipe for a cake or sweet treat, PLUS you may win a fabulous flower arrangement and a basket of goodies for someone you love! I will set out the challenge rules again below, just under my recipe and if you have any questions, PLEASE do ask me, karen{at}lavenderandlovage[dot]com (or use the contact form above), or bethany[dot]day[at]interflora[dot]co[dot]uk. Now, just as they say on the Great British Bake Off, Let’s Bake!
Fresh Orange Cake with Citrus Buttercream
Print recipe
| Serves | 8 to 10 |
| Prep time | 15 minutes |
| Cook time | 25 minutes |
| Total time | 40 minutes |
| Region | British |
| By author | Karen S Burns-Booth |
Ingredients
Cake
- 4 large eggs, weighed in their shells
- butter or soft margarine ~ same weight as the eggs
- caster sugar ~ same weight as the eggs
- self-rising flour~ same weight as the eggs
- zest of 2 oranges
- juice of 1 orange
buttercream
- 4 ozs softened butter
- 8 ozs sifted icing sugar
- juice of 1 orange
- 4 to 6 tablespoons St Clement's curd
decoration
- jellied sweets such as oranges and lemons
- hundreds and thousands
Note
- Alternative measurements:
- 4 eggs
- 8 ounces soft margarine or butter
- 8 ounces caster sugar
- 8 ounces SR flour
Directions
| Step 1 | The measurements for this recipe are equal amounts of sugar, flour and fat to the weight of the eggs; therefore, weigh the eggs first – if the eggs weigh 8 ounces, you will use 8 ounces of sugar, 8 ounces of butter or margarine and 8 ounces of flour. If the eggs weigh 6 ounces, all the other ingredients will be 6 ounces – easy! |
| Step 2 | Set oven Gas 4, 160C (fan oven), 180C or 360F: grease and base line the bottom of 2 x 8” sandwich tins – cake tins. |
| Step 3 | Cream margarine or butter together with the sugar, until light and fluffy, then add the grated orange zest. Beat the eggs, and then add them to the mixture, gradually and beating well after each addition. Sieve the flour and fold into the mixture with a metal spoon. Add orange juice to the cake mixture to loosen it, it should be soft dropping consistency. |
| Step 4 | Divide equally between the 2 prepared tins and bake for 25 minutes in the middle of the oven. Remove and allow to cool for 1-2 minutes. |
| Step 5 | Remove from the tins and cool on wire racks, then sandwich the cakes together with the buttercream when cold, to avoid the buttercream melting. Spread the buttercream on the top of the cakes and decorate with jellied sweets and hundreds and thousands. Place on an attractive cake stand or plate, and serve in dainty wedges with freshly brewed tea. |
| Step 6 | To make the buttercream: Add the sifted icing sugar to the softened butter and mix well until thick and creamy; add the orange juice to make a softer buttercream and then add the citrus curd, spoon by spoon until desired consistency has been achieved. Use as above. |
St Clement’s Curd – Orange & Lemon Curd
| Serves | 2 pots |
| Prep time | 20 minutes |
| Cook time | 20 minutes |
| Total time | 40 minutes |
| Region | British |
| By author | Karen S Burns-Booth |
Ingredients
- 2 Large oranges
- 2 Large lemons
- 450g caster sugar
- 6 free range eggs
- 125g unsalted butter
Note
A deliciously tangy curd made with oranges and lemons, just like the nursery rhyme! Try to use unwaxed fruit for this curd.
Directions
| Step 1 | Wash the oranges and lemons and then grate the zest from them, avoiding the white bitter pith. |
| Step 2 | Cut the fruit in half and squeeze out the juice, removing any pips. |
| Step 3 | Put the orange and lemon juice with the zest, beaten eggs, butter and sugar into a double saucepan (or heatproof-bowl over a hot pan of water) over a low heat and heat gently until all the sugar has dissolved. |
| Step 4 | Continue cooking until the mixture thickens, the best consistency is when the curd coats the back of a wooded spoon without dripping off. |
| Step 5 | Spoon into hot clean jars using a jam funnel and seal at once. Store in a cool dark place for up to 2 weeks or for up to a month in a fridge. Refrigerate after opening. |
A great idea Karen and a beautiful looking cake. I too have many cakes my grandma has passed down to my mum and her to me that I’ve blogged about before so this will be a lovely nostalgic trip to go on. Id better get baking!!
WHY not enter one Dom, you could win some flowers for your mum and a BIG basket too! GREAT cause too! 🙂 Karen
The citrus cake looks delicius. You’re lucky to have so many nice recipes that have been handed down.
Such a lovely thought. I will make sure I will do something like this when it comes around this year.