Orange Kiss-Me Cake April 9
Some foods are very inspiring. Some recipes are, too. The scents of different ingredients and the look and feel of a batter or dough as it comes together can spark different memories, inspire different feelings. I would venture to say that the most commonly invoked thought is a memory from childhood, followed by flashbacks to well-liked foods made by friends or eaten at particular restaurants. As I started to make this cake, I was immediately hit with one thought and it wasn’t in either of the above categories. It was one word: California.
The Orange Kiss-Me Cake, like the Swedish Toscas and Caramel Oatmeal Brownies that I featured this week, is an old Pillsbury Bake-Off recipe. It won the $25,000 grand prize in the 1950 contest - the second ever Bake Off. The cake is simple and easy to make, but has an unusual combination of ingredients added for flavor and texture: a mixture of orange, walnuts and raisins that has been almost pureed in the food processor. Blending these three ingredients triggered my “california” thought because all three are well-known California produced foods (CA produces 99% of the country’s walnuts, 95% of the country’s raisins and is the 2nd highest producer of oranges). I want to rename it the California Kiss Me Cake.
The cake is extremely moist and flavorful. The moistness comes both from the sweet, syrupy topping that soaks the hot-from-the-oven cake when it comes out of the oven and from the raisins in the batter. The raisins are chopped up so finely that you can’t really taste them - in fact, my tasters had no idea that there were raisins in the cake at all - but you can taste a fruity sweetness and that lovely, slightly sticky moistness that raisins have.
I would make this again in a heartbeat. It’s great as a breakfast cake or served with coffee. I opted to omit walnuts from the topping of the cake since I’m not a particular fan of nut toppings, but feel free to sprinkle some on for crunch and to contrast with the cake’s soft texture.
Orange Kiss-Me Cake
1 medium orange
1 cup raisins
1/3 cup walnuts
2 cups all purpose flour
2 large eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk (low fat is fine)
Topping
1/3 cup (fresh) orange juice
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan.
Cut orange in half and remove all seeds. In a food processor, whizz orange (with the peel and everything), walnuts and raisins. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in eggs one at a time. Mix in half of the flour mixture, followed by the milk and the rest of the flour. Stir in the orange/walnut/raisin mixture and pour into prepared pan.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a tester comes out clean and the top springs back.
While the cake is baking, whisk together all the topping ingredients (walnuts are optional) in a small bowl. When cake comes out of the oven, pour topping over hot cake and let it sit while the cake cools.
Cool completely before serving.
Serves 16.
RecipeGirl Apr 9
Don’t you love to make the prize-winning recipes? It’s fun to see if they’re worthy
Katie Apr 9
That cake looks wondeful, and as you say very moist.
lolo Apr 10
Thank you!!! I was thinking of that recipe a few days ago and wondered if I still had it somewhere! I had gotten the recipe when I worked at an inn on Cape Cod in the summer of 1969. Love your website - Thanks
Patricia Scarpin Apr 10
It certainly looks very moist, Nic. And delicious!
I’m not a huge fan of raisins, but the walnuts and oranges won me over.
Amanda Apr 10
I agree with everyone, the cake is moist and looks like you could just sink your teeth into it. I’m intrigued about the blending of the ingredients. It’s really a unique way of adding in walnuts, oranges, and raisins. This is going in my arsenal
lyra Apr 10
This looks delicious. I think I am going to make it to take to work. I was thinking that you could reduce the sugar and make this with dates as well-that would certainly be very california!
Lindsay Apr 14
Mmm, this looks good, but I don’t have a food processor! Could I make it any other way?
Melissa Apr 14
yum.
thank you for sharing the recipe, we enjoyed it quite a lot.
Judy Apr 16
I made this last night and served it tonight to friends for dessert. I really liked this cake a lot! It was very moist, not overly sweet, with a good orange flavor that was not overwhelming. No one guessed that there were raisins in it. I think they just add moistness and soom depth to the flavor. This was super easy to make and will keep really well, so it is a handy recipe to keep on hand. Thanks for posting it!
kimberleyblue Apr 19
I also made these a few days ago - very dense, very moist, and chewy - I was expecting a bit more of a cake texture. I loved the glaze (the cinnamon is awesome!), but the texture just didn’t do it for me.
Thanks for posting the recipe - I was really excited to try it out!
Nicole Apr 19
Kimberley Blue - Interesting! My cake was not in the least bit dense or chewy. I wonder if your baking soda was somehow less reactive than it should have been. The cake really should come out light and tender….
Nicole Apr 19
Lindsay - You would have to have a very sharp knife and chop everything *very* finely if you do not have a food processor. Or, you could experiment with using a blender, instead.
Mariah Apr 22
Apparently I dont know how to pick out oranges. I can tell that this would be great with good oranges, however my cake had a very pithy taste to it, and not so much sweet orange taste.
I think I’ll wait for my neighbor to bring me fresh off the tree oranges later in the year and try again.
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Sim May 12
Hi
I saved this recipe for later and tried it this weekend. The cake was so good! And the way of making it was very interesting too.
Thanks for the recipe.
I like your website very much, you’re doing a great job!