Orange Cake

As I'm sure many of you do, I keep an ongoing file of recipes I see on other blogs, recipe sites, and other places that I really, REALLY want to try at some point. Some of them I get around to making, others sit there for what seems like an eternity.

With the weather turning to spring, I have started shying away from baked goods and other heavy foods again, so many of those recipes will sit there for yet another season, until I get in the mood to bake again.

Until now.

See, my department at work is having a bake sale fundraiser. Oh, gee, darn.... So, yes, you know me, I dragged out the recipe file and started sifting through it. I came up with five recipes that are contenders for the honor of being in the bake sale. Unfortunately, now that I know I'm baking next week, I'm having a hard time waiting.

See, here is how my mind works. Whatever I make, I am supposed to divide it out into individual size containers to sell for a "donation". Well, one of the recipes on my list was for a bundt cake. And yeah, I can't really see a good way of dividing that out into smaller portions. How much do you put on the plate? One slice? Three? The whole damned thing??? My brain refuses to wrap itself around the concept, so I went ahead and made the cake last night, using the rationale that:
a. The ingredients are cheap, so if it turns out well, I can justify making it again;
b. What if it doesn't turn out well? At least this way I'll know before its too late (yes, I know, this doesn't account for the OTHER four recipes I haven't tried yet). And, finally;
c. What kind of co-worker would I be if I made a bunch of stuff for the bake sale but didn't bring a special treat in for my department to nosh on while we're selling off everything else that we made, right? RIGHT???

Yes, I know, its a weak argument. I made the cake anyway. It was super easy, just a handful of ingredients in one mixing bowl. Just make sure you grease your bundt pan thoroughly so that it doesn't stick like mine did (I did an excellent job of hiding it in the photos, don't you?).

The glaze is not really a glaze, as much as a "drench". It didn't harden up like a powdered sugar-based glaze would have. Instead, it served to moisten the cake even further. Check this out....

Talk about an ORANGE cake. This one was moist and flavorful, and very VERY "springy"! So I guess it was a compromise between baking and warm weather. My department girls will be very pleased with this one, I think.

Orange Cake

from allrecipes.com

Makes 1 10-inch bundt cake

1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix

1 (3 ounce) package instant lemon pudding mix

3/4 cup orange juice

1/2 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

1 teaspoon lemon extract (I used orange. Duh, its an "orange" cake, right?)

1/3 cup orange juice

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter

Grease a 10 inch Bundt pan. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

In a large bowl, stir together cake mix and pudding mix. Make a well in the center and pour in 3/4 cup orange juice, oil, eggs and lemon extract. Beat on low speed until blended. Scrape bowl, and beat 4 minutes on medium speed. Pour batter into prepared pan.Bake in preheated oven for 50 to 60 minutes. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

In a saucepan over medium heat, cook 1/3 cup orange juice, sugar and butter for two minutes. Drizzle over cake.