Orange Almond Coffee Cake

I haven’t been baking for quite some time, and I miss it. I miss it a lot. I used to bake all the time when I was running the church coffee cart, but now that I no longer do that, I really don’t bake that much anymore. Neither Larry nor I need the calories and we are really trying to cut back on our sweets. That being said, I did bake a delicious orange almond coffee cake to take to Mike & Lauren’s for game night.

I was inspired by a recipe I found on Cook’N With Mrs. G at https://cooknwithmrsg.com/ and My Meals Are On Wheels at https://beatcancer2010.wordpress.com/. Thank you both for this delicious inspiration. I say inspired by, because you all know I changed the recipe and made it my own, though this time it was only because I ran out of lemon zest and substituted orange zest and orange flavorings for everything lemon. 🙂

Orange Almond Coffee Cake

I made the streusel topping first.

Streusel

Preheat the oven to 350* F or 180*C.

Spray either an 8″ round cake pan or an 8″ square baking pan with cooking spray.

1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup almonds, chopped fine

3 TBSP melted butter

1 tsp orange zest

Mix everything together and set aside.

The Cake

*Note to self: As much as I liked the cake, I will be adding a bit more sugar to the mix next time, since it needs a bit more sweetness. I have already made this adjustment in the recipe.

2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

4 eggs

1 cup canola or vegetable oil

2/3 cup +2 TBSP milk

2 TBSP orange zest

1 tsp orange extract or vanilla

6 TBSP either orange or peach juice

Combine all the dry ingredients together and set adside.

Mix the sugar and oil together, then add the eggs one at a time, mixing in between each addition. Add the juice and the orange extract or vanilla and mix again.

Add 1/2 of the flour mixture and 1/2 of the milk and mix again. Repeat.

Pour into the prepared baking pan and spread out evenly. Add the streusel topping.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the streusel topping is lightly golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool completely before removing from the pan and adding the glaze.

While my cake was baking I finished a cute book about a mysterious bakery in France. Baking a cake and reading a book about a mysterious bakery in France; I thought it was a good fit. 🙂

The Glaze

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 TBSP orange extract or vanilla

1 TBSP orange or peach juice

Mix everything together and drizzle over the cooled cake. Slice and serve and enjoy with friends.

Life is always sweeter when shared with friends. Haver a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe ands stay well. ‘Til next time.