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Odile’s Orange Cake, Birthday Surprises, and Butter-Related Incidents: Must be a BCM Post!

March 8, 2016 by Margaret 29 Comments

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Happy Birthday, Babycakes! Eat, drink, and be merry! Also, please cut me a slice.

Happy Birthday, Babycakes! Eat, drink, and be merry! Also, please cut me a slice.

Hey, guess what I did last weekend? I bought a kitchen scale! Not terribly earth-shattering I know, but I’ve been having too many butter-related incidents with my baking recently (this one, for example), so I thought it was time to invest in one (read “spend $20 at Walmart”).

I used my scale for the first time today, when I was making this week’s recipe for my bake-a-long group: Odile’s Orange Cake from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking Chez Moi cookbook.

This is basically a simple one layer sponge cake, with flecks of orange zest in it. Once out of the oven, it’s brushed with a simple syrup made of sugar, water, cinnamon, and orange slices. Finally, one arranges the poached orange slices on top, and finishes the whole thing off with a glaze of orange marmalade!

At least, that’s what the recipe says. What did I do? Well, remember I call myself the Queen of Substitutions!

  • I ran out of white sugar (How does this happen? It’s a baking catastrophe, I tell you!) so I used brown sugar in the cake. Also in the simple syrup. I considered using icing sugar, but thought brown sugar was the closest in texture, even if it changed the colour and deepened the flavour a bit. (Random Kitchen Hack: run out of icing sugar? Grind some regular sugar in your spice grinder! Not perfect, but close enough in a pinch!)
  • Also, I had no orange marmalade. I also had no inclination to buy a jar of orange marmalade in order to use maybe two tbsp. glazing this cake. So I used the jam that I did have in the fridge…triple fruit strawberry jam! Same thing, right? Eh, it works as a glaze. So it gives the cake a bit of a ruby colour — that’s a good thing, right? Dorie does say that one can use blood oranges to top the cake with, so really, I’m just using her colour scheme, albeit slightly differently than intended.
  • And…just to top things off, literally, it’s the DH’s birthday tomorrow (technically today, since it’s past midnight as I type this), so I cut out some letters from fondant and stuck them on top. Two birds, one stone, bam! I shall do a super-duper fancy-pants cake for this coming weekend, when we’re celebrating with family, but I thought two cakes in a week was enough so this cake is now his birthday cake. You’re welcome, honey!
I eyeballed the butter to within 3 grams of the weight needed. *does victory dance*

I eyeballed the butter to within 3 grams of the weight needed. *does victory dance*

But back to the recipe. I measured the butter very carefully, even making sure not to measure the weight of the bowl that held the butter. I was only 3 grams under Dorie’s recommended amount. So if this cake doesn’t turn out, it’s not because I added the wrong amount of butter! (It may be because I didn’t let the butter get to room temperature, or the eggs for that matter, but really, who has time for that?)

Is the scale worth it? Well, the proof shall be in the pudding, er…cake! I haven’t actually tasted it myself, because I’m waiting for the DH to wake up and cut a slice. (What’s that? Cake for breakfast? Don’t mind if I do!) But as soon as he cuts a slice, I’ll update you all with his reaction!

Want to see how everyone else in the bake-a-long group made their cakes? Check them out here! Truly a great group of bakers.

Edited to say: The cake! It was a hit! It was eaten with great gusto, and I’m saving one of the last slices to eat after my evening workout. Workout + cake slice = null calories, right? Mmm…cake!

Next Post: I’ve been busily writing up draft posts and then not getting around to posting them, so I’ve got a backlog. First up, the Dinner Roll Odyssey I’ve been promising. The result will be worth the wait!

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Filed Under: Cook-a-Longs R Us

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Previous Post: « BCM: Hot Chocolate Panna Cotta, Vegetarian Edition
Next Post: Dinner Roll Odyssey: Texas Roadhouse Copycat Rolls »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Cakelaw

    March 8, 2016 at 6:17 am

    You are the queen of improvisation – I salute you! And happy birthday to DH.

    Reply
    • Margaret

      March 9, 2016 at 12:42 am

      Aw, thanks! 🙂

      Reply
  2. Sanya

    March 8, 2016 at 6:59 am

    Love your cake! Hope your DH has a great day!!!

    Reply
    • Margaret

      March 9, 2016 at 12:42 am

      Thanks, Sanya!

      Reply
  3. Mardi (eat. live. travel. write.)

    March 8, 2016 at 10:53 am

    I cannot live without my scale and suspect that if you do a lot of baking you will soon grow to love yours too. Cake for breakfast sounds wonderful!

    Reply
    • Margaret

      March 9, 2016 at 12:42 am

      Cake for breakfast can only be a good thing, amirite? 🙂 Also, I look forward to being a scale-a-holic soon!

      Reply
  4. Ryan

    March 8, 2016 at 4:32 pm

    Welcome to the world of weighing ingredients! You’ll love it! Also, not job of being so resourceful making this cake!

    Reply
    • Margaret

      March 9, 2016 at 12:41 am

      Thanks, Ryan! And yay, up with scales!

      Reply
  5. Nana

    March 8, 2016 at 8:45 pm

    Your post is hilarious, can’t stop laughing. I don’t care what color anything you used, be it sugar or jam, it
    looks fantastic.

    Reply
    • Margaret

      March 9, 2016 at 12:41 am

      Aw, thanks, Nana! Your kind words mean so much! 🙂

      Reply
  6. Nicole @ The 2nd 35 Years

    March 8, 2016 at 11:10 pm

    Congrats on the kitchen scale. I can’tell even remember life before one! No more kitchen mishaps and inconsistencies! Also, I totally used half of a jar of marmalade. So there is that.

    Reply
    • Margaret

      March 9, 2016 at 12:41 am

      Half a jar of marmalade? Good to know for the future, thanks!

      Reply
  7. Tricia S.

    March 9, 2016 at 3:47 am

    Congrats on the scale acquisition ! I am happy to hear of any kitchen procurements (someone likes shopping over here……) but a scale really does come in handy for baking. Heck for lots of stuff. And love that cake. Hats off for all the substitutions, which resulted in an amazing looking cake and love those fondant letters. What a fun presentation 🙂

    Reply
    • Margaret

      March 9, 2016 at 4:22 am

      Thanks, Tricia! The DH got me a fondant letter set for Christmas, so this was a perfect reason to use it.

      Reply
  8. Shirley (Flourishen Test Kitchen)

    March 9, 2016 at 5:07 am

    Enjoy your scale. I can’t do without mine. What a lovely birthday cake? It put a smile on my face as the page showed up on the screen.

    Reply
    • Margaret

      March 10, 2016 at 2:10 am

      Thanks, Shirley! The DH liked it too, which made me happy! 🙂

      Reply
  9. Teresa

    March 9, 2016 at 9:17 am

    I love my kitchen scale – when the battery died, I had a bit of a panic. Your cake looks delicious, substitutions or no. And happy Birthday to your husband!

    Reply
    • Margaret

      March 10, 2016 at 2:10 am

      Thanks, Teresa! I’ll tell him and that’ll make him smile. 🙂

      Reply
  10. steph (whisk/spoon)

    March 9, 2016 at 4:49 pm

    your posts always make me laugh! so, how was it? i’m sure all your tweaks made it even more delicious! and a kitchen scale is pretty life altering, if you ask me…you’ll find it very handy.

    Reply
    • Margaret

      March 10, 2016 at 2:09 am

      Aw, thanks, Steph! It was pretty good! The DH liked it, and that’s all that matters. 🙂

      Reply
  11. Zosia

    March 9, 2016 at 8:11 pm

    Congratulations on the scale – and a lovely looking cake – I don’t know how I ever baked without one.

    Reply
    • Margaret

      March 10, 2016 at 2:09 am

      Thanks, Zosia! Am looking forward to seeing how my baking skills improve with this scale!

      Reply
  12. Amy

    March 9, 2016 at 10:37 pm

    I love all the substitutions. They make me smile and bring back great memories of cooking with my Grandma. Hope you enjoyed the cake.

    Reply
    • Margaret

      March 10, 2016 at 2:08 am

      Thanks, Amy! The cake was demolished rather quickly, I have to say. 🙂

      Reply
  13. Summer

    March 10, 2016 at 11:01 pm

    That’s a cheerful looking cake and only you could have conjured it up Margaret! I’m really impressed by your ability to substitute, I’ve managed to sub a bit when cooking but with baking? Not so much…
    Congratulations on the kitchen scale, mine is $20 too and I love lit! No more worries about whether I leveled my ingredients or packed them. And the false sense of security from measuring everything down to the ounce? That’s bonus.

    Reply
    • Margaret

      March 11, 2016 at 1:35 am

      Aw, thanks, Summer! I shall look forward to a sense of security, however false it may be! 🙂

      Reply
  14. Kim

    March 10, 2016 at 11:19 pm

    So funny…I ran out of sugar too!! Didn’t think about substituting with brown sugar so yay for you on the improvisations!!

    Reply
    • Margaret

      March 11, 2016 at 1:35 am

      Thanks, Kim! And yes, TWINSIES! 🙂

      Reply
  15. Diane Zwang

    March 11, 2016 at 12:13 am

    Your comment on my blog about directions made me laugh this morning. Thanks for starting my day off right. I love my kitchen scale and use it all the time:)

    Reply

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