Williamsburg Orange Cake

Instructions

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and the vanilla extract. In a small bowl, blend the flour, baking soda and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternately with the sour milk or buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Blend well after each addition. Stir in the raisins, walnuts and orange peel.

Pour the mixture into a buttered and floured 8 inch square pan, and bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean when inserted into the center of the cake.

Leave the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing it from the pan and cooling it thoroughly on the rack. Cover the cooled cake with the glace icing.

Glace Icing:
Stir the warm water and the confectioners’ sugar together until the sugar dissolves completely and the icing is smooth. The icing should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. If it is too thick, add more liquid; if too thin, add a little sugar. The icing should be used at once. Makes about 1 cup.

To make coffee flavored icing replace the water with strong black coffee. Once it is made, plain glace icing may be flavored to taste with vanilla, almond or peppermint extract, or with a liqueur. Liqueur must be added in large amounts than more concentrated extracts; if you use liqueur, reduce the amount of water used in the icing by about 1 Tablespoon. For chocolate flavored icing, melt 2 ounces of semisweet chocolate in the top of a double boiler over hot water. Let the chocolate cool slightly, then stir it into the prepared icing.

Author's Comments

Early American cake. For fruit flavored icing, replace the water with strained fresh fruit juice.

The Early American Cookbook

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