Nadine is a dear friend who works in our office and from time to time, she and I (and others as well) bring in leftover goodies (or occasionally fresh baked specifically for the office people) to nosh on. The other day I spied a rather fluffy looking cake in the kitchen and went hmmmm. So yeah, I had to try it. Now this version had mini chocolate chips in it but once I discovered it was her cake she told me that, depending on her mood, will serve with or without a handful of chocolate chips in it. I nudged her about specific ingredients and techniques and I barely changed a thing, I promise!

I like to try new recipes au naturelle if you get me and made it in the unadorned version. Lemme tell you – it’s not quite a chiffon cake and not quite a regular cake, it’s somewhere in between. And, I’m in trouble because this is my favorite type of sponge type cake, nicely moist, fluffy texture without being too airy and not feeling like there’s no heft to it at all. It’s perfect as it is. And it means I’m gonna fight with my two granddaughters Tal and Carmel who are coming for Shabbat and requested a sponge cake cuz I’m gonna wanna finish it all off myself. I guess the competish is good so I won’t pig out. 🙂 . Update, I was right! The girls and DH almost polished off the whole thing and I had to fight to get my portion. There was a measly sliver left and one of the girls was eyeing it but I snatched it away and said it’s mine for my coffee Sunday morning. Don’t worry, I gave her some of my cookies instead. And I shared it with DH Sunday morning cuz I’m a good wife.

As an option, know you can throw in a handful of chocolate mini chips, about half a cup if you must.

An important note. You do have to separate the eggs for this but I use my same cheat, you can mix the other ingredients in, with the caveat that you don’t go crazy and over beat the batter. Lightly whipping is the way to go, to be continued below. The second important note, since I already hear my people asking me, can I make this in a tube pan or a bundt pan instead of a 9 x 13 inch (23 x 33 cm) pan ? Yes, but don’t. I’ll explain why. In a 9 x 13, which you line with parchment paper, the cake can climb the short sides of the pan properly (don’t oil the parchment paper) and it remains fluffy and doesn’t fall. If you make the same cake in a tube pan, you cannot line with parchment and you’ll have to turn the cake upside down to prevent falling and turning into a pancake (the height of the pan necessitates the big climb the cake must achieve). This (to me) is a royal pain in the patoot and while I have the occasional recipe I’ll do this for, I infinitely prefer not to. If, however, you don’t like to serve cake in squares since it’s less elegant, (DH much much prefers this) serve it in wedges. To make a wedge (more elegant looking) cut slightly larger squares and slice in half on the diagonal to make 2 triangles. Each triangle looks like a round cake slice thereby making the hubby happy and my life easier. Picture of how to do it below. Onward!

Preheat oven to 350 F/180 C. Gather your ingredients

Now you’re gonna separate the eggs, do be careful cuz even the tiniest bit of yolk will mess up the whites beating up properly so easy does it. Place the whites in a mixer bowl and start whipping on high speed. Gradually add the sugar.

You only add a small part of the sugar, the rest goes with the flour etc. I will show you a series of egg white whipping pictures to give you an idea how it’s supposed to look.

good, keep going.

but not ready yet. Keep on keeping on!

Note that the whites have the whip marks throughout and have mounded up nicely. This is thick enough to now support the rest of the ingredients. Add the the egg yolks, juice and oil to whites.

Whip together.

Now add the flour mixture – tap it into bowl while whipping.

See it’s still thick and fluffy? And with flour mixture beaten in

And as I will show you, the batter clings to the spatula.

K. Now take your 9 x 13 inch (23 x 33 cm) pan, place a piece of parchment paper in it, tuck into corner and use a scissor to snip the corners so it lays properly in the pan. Scrape all the batter into the pan.

Smooth batter and spread evenly in pan. Bake in your preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or till a wooden toothpick comes out clean and top turns a deep orangey brown color. Warning! the top may show a lot of color before the cake is ready. Don’t be fooled into thinking it done. Wait for the minimum time and check it! A wonderful cake.

Nadine’s Orange Cake

6 eggs, separated

*1 cup (200 grams) sugar, divided – 1/4 cup (50 grams) for whites

2 cups (250 grams) flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2.5 teaspoons (10 grams) baking powder

*3/4 cup (150 grams) sugar for flour mixture (this is from the 1 cup sugar)

1/4 (60 ml) cup oil

1 cup (240 ml) orange juice

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F/180 C.

Just for clarity’s sake, you are only using one cup of sugar in total. 1/4 cup for the whites, 3/4 cup for the flour mixture. K, onward!

Place egg whites in mixing bowl. Start whipping on high and gradually add 1/4 cup (50 grams) of the sugar. Whip until whites are quite thick and stiff. They will not be glossy, that’s correct.

In a separate bowl combine flour, salt, 3/4 cup (150 grams) sugar and baking powder. Set aside.

In bowl with whipped egg whites, add egg yolks, juice and oil on low speed briefly and then add flour mixture. Do not overbeat the mixture. Just whip for a minute or two just till combined and fluffy. The texture of the batter should cling to spatula but not too heavy, not too thick.

Pour and scrape into 9 x 13 inch pan (23 x 33 cm) lined with parchment paper. Bake 35-40 minutes or until wooden toothpick comes out clean and top of cake is a lovely deep orangey brown color. Warning! the top may show a lot of color before the cake is ready. Don’t be fooled into thinking it done. Wait for the minimum time and check it!

Remove from oven and cool on rack or stovetop. Can be served in squares or wedges. To make a wedge (more elegant looking) cut slightly larger square and slice in half on the diagonal to make 2 triangles.