Scale
Ingredients
- 1–1/2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- pinch of salt
- 3 large eggs
- 1–1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract (the original recipe calls for 1 6-inch vanilla bean)
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 orange (I used navel)
Instructions
- Mix the flour, salt, baking powder and soda in a medium bowl and set aside.
- Cut the butter into cubes and using an electric mixer, blend for a few minutes to soften. (The original recipe called for an electric mixer, so I blindly followed. I think mixing by hand would work even better here, since the point is not to over-mix. Less to clean up that way too!)
- Measure out the sugar. Zest an orange over the sugar and then, using your fingers, mix the zest and sugar together. The sugar should turn slightly orange and the kitchen should smell heavenly. Blend the sugar and the butter together to form a sandy batter.
- Rinse out your measuring cup and crack the eggs in it. Mix them until the whites and yolks are completely blended. Add the eggs to the sugar and butter and blend until the batter is smooth and emulsified.
- Rinse out the measuring cup one last time and pour in the buttermilk. Add the vanilla extract or vanilla bean, and 1 teaspoon of the orange’s juice. Mix well, breaking up any clumps in the buttermilk.
- Alternating between the flour (in thirds) and the buttermilk (in halfs), mix the batter together. Work only to incorporate the batter, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Do not overmix.
- Pour the batter into a well-greased 8-inch cake pan. Bake at 325F for 35-38 minutes (though my cake baked closer to 50 minutes). The top should be a golden brown.