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Orange And Rosemary Cake

This unusual combination makes a great alternative to a classic Victoria Sponge, perfect for those budding bakers looking to experiment with flavour.

Baking

Ingredients

For the cake:

  • 200g caster sugar
  • 200g softened butter
  • 4 eggs, beaten
  • 200g self-raising flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tbsp milk
  • finely grated zest of 1 orange
  • ½ tsp very finely chopped fresh rosemary


For the buttercream filling:

  • 100g softened butter
  • 140g icing sugar
  • 1-2 tbsp milk


For the syrup:

  • 2 oranges
  • 100g caster sugar
  • 8 small sprigs rosemary

Method (click to mark as completed)

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 190°C/fan 170°C/gas 5. Butter two 20cm sandwich tins and line with non-stick baking paper.
  2. In a large bowl, using a hand mixer beat all ingredients for the cake together until you have a smooth, soft batter.
  3. Divide the mixture between the tins, then bake for about 20 mins until golden. Remove from tins onto a cooling rack and set aside.
  4. Add the juice of 1 orange, caster sugar and the sprigs of rosemary to a pan and bring to boil. Strain the syrup over the cooling sponges leaving 1 tbsp to add to the buttercream, then leave to cool completely. Keep the candied rosemary to decorate later.
  5. To make the buttercream filling, beat the butter until pale and creamy, and then gradually beat in the icing sugar. Add the remaining tbsp of syrup and 1- 2 tbsp of milk depending on the thickness.

Completed steps (click to remove last step)