With all the festive season around us, it can get very likely to only see or read about things revolving around Christmas at this time of the year, food included. And admittedly yours truly too get caught in all this vibe without any complaints. Well who’d object those mouth-watering photos on Instagram and attractive holiday adornment all over the place that are a treat to the eyes? The other day, I sat down with Little A to make sugar cookies and let him sprinkle with the colored sugar that we made at home using the food colors – using the colors of Christmas – red, green, blue and yellow. More than anything else it became an activity for us which was easy to put together. How amusing was it to look at Little A glee with excitement after he accomplished coating the top part of all the cookies with our “sparkling sugar”. It is equally warming to watch these innocent little souls express their euphoria after watching their own creation, whether successful or not. Though the cookies weren’t of the perfect shape to be put up here on the blog, we were rewarded with the goodies that tasted heavenly.
Now to shake myself off a bit from this festive mood, I wanted to post a recipe for this orange loaf cake that has sweetness of saffron which I baked almost two months ago.
Off lately I have been baking a lot of loaf cakes for Little A to carry in his mid morning snack box to nursery. It is quick to prepare, easy to carry, can be served for an hasty breakfast, and more importantly he loves them. But I limit to making these once in two weeks because of all the sugar fuss. If he is carrying something sweet in his box, I pack a raw vegetable like a carrot or cucumber that he can munch on along with his favorite cheese. Or if he is carrying a savory snack, he carries a fruit so that he stays full until he comes back home.
Like all loaf cakes, it is a good accompaniment with tea or coffee. Little ones will love to have a slice of it in their tiffin boxes as well. The saffron lends a sweet earthy taste that bonds splendidly with the citrusy zing of orange zest. I am also a sucker for saffron for various reasons – one that it is being used since I can remember at my mom’s house in numerous desserts. So I kind of have a very soft corner for this spice. And there’ll be atleast one bottle graciously stocked in my pantry at all times, bought from the Iranian stores in Dubai or sourced from friends or relatives who go on annual pilgrimages.
The recipe is very basic without having to worry about spending hours in the kitchen or struggling with different techniques because it doesn’t need frosting, with prime ingredients available in any pantry. But if you’d like to frost it with cream or mascarpone cheese or simply drizzle with any syrup, you are free to do so.
Recipe for Orange Loaf Cake :
Ingredients -
- All purpose flour – 2 cups
- Butter – 100 gms, unsalted at room temperature
- Eggs – 2 eggs
- Buttermilk – 1/2 cup
- Baking powder – 1 tbsp
- Baking soda – 1/4 tsp
- Salt – 1/4 tsp
- Vanilla extract – 1 tbsp
- Saffron – 1 tsp, crushed
- Nuts – 2 tbsp, optional
- Orange zest – of 1 orange
Method:
Preheat oven to 180 Degrees C and line or grease the loaf pan. Cream the butter and sugar with a whisk until light. Beat in eggs one at a time and add orange zest. Combine buttermilk, saffron and vanilla to the butter-sugar mixture. In a separate bowl, stir in flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nuts. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and stir until it is well combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth off the top. Bake for 20 mins with the loaf pan covered with foil and bake for another 25 -40 minutes without the foil until the toothpick inserted comes out clean. Foil prevents in burning the top crust of the loaf cake.