Orange Loaf

I hope you've all been enjoying the festivities and making the most of some much deserved time off. I've been pretty busy myself so not been able to bake as much as I'd like, but I did find time to come up with a simple little recipe for an orange loaf cake. I'm just eating a slice with a cup of tea whilst writing this post and it's a lovely departure from all the rich bounty I've been indulging in over the last few days!

Prep time: 10 Mins
Baking time: 50-55 Mins
175g Unsalted Butter (Softened)
175g Caster Sugar
Zest of 2 Oranges
2 Medium Eggs
100g Ground Almonds
1tsp Baking Powder
100g Plain Flour

For the syrup
100g Icing Sugar
Juice of 2 Oranges

So, to start preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4, grease a 20cm loaf tin and line the base with baking paper. In a mixing bowl cream together the butter and sugar, then beat in the eggs with the orange zest. Fold through the ground almonds, then sift in the baking powder and flour and do the same. Spoon into your prepared loaf tin and bake in the centre of the oven for 50-55 minutes, until a metal skewer comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the loaf. When you're happy it's cooked remove from the oven, leave in the tin for 15 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack (with a plate underneath).

To make the syrup sift the icing sugar into a bowl. Squeeze in the orange juice then stir around until smooth. It should be very thin in consistency. Spoon about half over the top of the warm sponge, leave for 10 minutes and repeat. Leave the loaf to cool completely then slice and serve. All finished!