Orange Buttermilk Cake!
The secret to this moist, dense cake is grated butternut squash. Don’t worry, the cake does not taste like butternut squash, it tastes like heaven… and the squash gives it the most beautiful flecks of orange. If you don’t have a food processor, use the large holes on a box grater to grate the squash. You can make the cake a day ahead but don’t glaze till right before serving.
Servings 10 servings
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 3 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup soft butter
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup coconut oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 Tablespoon distilled white vinegar
- 2 teaspoon vanilla paste or 1 tsp extract
- Zest of two large oranges
- Juice of 1/2 an orange
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- 1 ¾ cups grated butternut squash
Icing:
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
- zest of 1 small orange
- juice of 1- 1 1/2 oranges You may or may not need all the juice
- ½ teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
Instructions
- Position rack in center of the oven and preheat oven to 325. Use a paper towel to wipe butter onto bottom and sides of Bundt pan. Dust with a little flour.
- Place flour, baking soda and salt in a large bowl and set aside. In a large bowl beat butter and sugar for one minute. Add coconut oil and beat for another minute. Add eggs, one at a time, beat. Add vinegar and vanilla. Add half the flour/baking soda/salt mixture. Use a microplane to zest orange, add zest to batter, then add juice, mixing low until just combined. Add half the buttermilk and mix well. Add remaining flour, mix, add the rest of the buttermilk. Gently stir in butternut squash by hand. Pour batter into prepared Bundt pan. Smooth top with a spatula and bake for about 45-50 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let cool before icing.
Icing:
- This is where I overemphasize not adding too much juice to the icing! Icing should be really thick. like molasses. It should be hard to whisk and barely pourable. Be sure to add orange juice to sugar a little at a time, whisking between additions If you make it too thin, the icing will run off the cake and onto the platter. When icing is the correct consistency add zest and vanilla. Mix. Drizzle over cooled cake, serve.