Orange Slice Cake

Do gumdrops belong in a cake?

Yes. Yes, they do. If the gumdrops are Orange Slices. 

I had fond memories of Grandma making a Christmas cake with gummy orange candy in it, but, as I got older, I conflated two cakes into one by making Christmas Cake and replacing the candied fruit with Orange Slices. My version was actually a really good cake, but my discovery of the recipe pictured above made me realize I'd been doing it all wrong. This was the OG Orange Slice Cake. I was excited to try it and see if it was as good as I remembered. 

How to Make Orange Slice Cake

First, I prepared the mix-ins. The Orange Slices needed to be cut into smaller pieces, and Grandma had a trick for the best way to do the job. "Use wet scissors," she instructed, so that was what I did.  

Her way really was the best way, but the cut pieces were extremely sticky. I decided to toss them with a little of the flour for the cake to separate them and make them easier to fold in later. 

I then chopped the nuts and measured out the coconut. I'd decided to forgo the dates because it seemed to me that the flavors would clash. I suppose I should try this cake with the dates someday, but this wasn't that day.  

I then went to work on the batter by adding the butter and sugar to a large bowl and beating it well. 

The eggs went in one at a time, with a good beating in between. The resulting mixture was light and fluffy. 

The flour and buttermilk were supposed to be added alternately, so I prepared them both by whisking the remaining flour with the baking soda and adding the vanilla to the measured buttermilk. (The vanilla could have been added to the egg/butter mixture as well). 

I scooped a little flour into the batter, mixed it, then added some buttermilk. I continued alternating the additions until the ingredients were thoroughly combined. 

At that point, I put my mixer aside to stir in the chunky mix-ins by hand. I got out my trusty Danish Whisk to do the job (not an affiliate link), and it worked well. 

Grandma's recipe said to bake the batter in either a tube pan or two loaf pans. Normally, I would have brought out my tube or Bundt pan, but this time, I decided to try the loaf pans. It would be fun, I thought, to have two cakes, one to eat and one to give away. In principle, anyway. 

I figured the loaf pans would benefit from a layer of parchment paper to make the cake easy to remove.  

I put the loaves in the oven at 350 and took them out an hour later, just like the recipe said to do. The loaves seemed done when I pressed the top, but after they'd cooled for a while, both loaves sank in the middle.  Uh oh. 

I soldiered on because I had guests coming for dinner, and this was dessert. Grandma's recipe was a little vague about the glaze for the top. She listed the quantity of orange juice but not of the powdered sugar. I wasn't sure how thick or thin the glaze was supposed to be or if the cake should be cooled before the glaze was poured on.   

I decided to experiment. I would make a glaze with orange juice and powdered sugar for one loaf. The other loaf would receive a slather of frosting made from butter, powdered sugar, and orange juice. 

As you can see, the frosting did a much better job at hiding the sinkage. 

When I cut into the frosted loaf, all seemed to be good. It definitely made a pretty slice of cake. 

However, the farther I cut into the cake, the clearer it became that the middle was underdone. The crust around the outside was thick, which made me think that baking it at a lower temperature for a longer period of time might work better. I also thought the quantity of mix-ins might have stopped it from baking all the way through, so I made the cake again, cut the amount of mix-ins by half, and baked it at a lower temperature.      

I also found a recipe online that had more detailed directions for the glaze. According to that recipe, the glaze was supposed to be poured on while the cake was warm, so I tried that, and it soaked in nicely.  

I let the cake sit uncovered overnight, as the online recipe suggested. When I cut into it the next day, I found that the glaze had formed a sort of crystallized shell on top that kept the air from entering and drying out the cake.   

As you can see, there was a lot more cake and a lot fewer nuts and chews, but it was still pretty.  

The verdict on Orange Slice Cake

To be honest, all versions of this faux fruitcake were delicious. The frosting and the glaze both had their merits. The frosting added a fluffy layer of sweetness on top, while the glaze soaked into the cake and infused it with an extra dose of orange. As far as the mix-ins went, I liked both versions, the loaded one and the cake-forward one. One was light and moist with a few chewy and crunchy bits, the other was dense and candy-like. All versions were very sweet, so if sweet isn't your thing, take a pass on this cake. 

If, however, you want to take something different to a party that attracts some appreciative oohs and ahhs, this is the cake for you. The bright orange bits are eye-catching, and it looks beautiful on a plate.