Aunt Morag's Orange Cake

Virtually everyone I've talked to has raved about Aunt Morag's orange cake recipe. Try as I might though I could not find the recipe for her famous orange cake anywhere in her house. I looked through every cookbook and every drawer that might contain a scrap of paper with the recipe written on it. No luck at all.

I was not the only one who loved her orange cake. There were others and luckily Aunt Morag did not hide her light under a bushel. In the summer of 2000 I was in Lew Beach New York and was mentioning to my Aunt Joan (Joan Powell, Anne MacInnes' sister-in-law) that the recipe to Aunt Morag's orange cake seemed to be lost forever. Wouldn't you know it, Aunt Joan said "oh, I have that recipe. I'll get a copy of that for you right away."

So, thank you Aunt Joan for Aunt Morag's orange cake recipe. Here it is.

Orange Ring Cake

1/2 cup butter or margarine

1 3/4 cup flour

3 egg yolks

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup sour cream

3 egg whites

Grated orange rind

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Beat egg white stiff in a small bowl and put in refrigerator. Cream butter and sugar and add egg yolks, then sour cream and orange rind. Beat until light and fluffy.

Sift together flour, baking soda and baking powder. Stir into mixture, then fold in egg whites. Turn all into a buttered and floured tube pan 10 inches or in a scalloped pan. Bake at 325 degrees for approximately 1 hour. Test with sharp knife until dry. Put on rack to cool 10 minutes. Then loosen carefully. Place rack on top and turn on to plate leaving rack between cake and plate. Squeeze juice of two oranges and one lemon and put in a small pot. Add 3/4 cup sugar and a dash of salt. Boil about three minutes. Scoop over the cake while hot until it soaks in. You can freeze the cake covered with foil.