New here, have question about mother-in-law's cake recipe!

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missduffy59

Assistant Cook
Joined
Dec 24, 2008
Messages
8
Hi there,

I am new to this forum, but it looks like there is a lot of wisdom here!
My late mother-in-law used to make this cake, but in her later years, it never turned out properly according to the rest of her family.

The cake part is baked in a tube pan and has a very coarse texture. A syrup containing 3 cups of sugar and 2 cups of orange juice is prepared to pour over this cake. The recipe only says "bring to a boil." However, if it is not cooked quite enough, the cake is soggy. A bit TOO much and the syrup does not penetrate the cake, leaving much of it very dry.

Does anyone know of a better "marker" such as a particular length of time, or temperature that would make this recipe more reliable. It is expensive to make with all the nuts and I want to increase my chances of getting it right the first time!

Thanks for any help and Merry Christmas to those who celebrate!
 
I think it would help more if you could post the entire recipe, sometimes it is hard to judge what is going on with only part of the info and there are often many factors that can effect the cake and syrup.
 
Recipe

Mother-in-Law's Orange Cake Recipe

2 cups sugar
1 cup butter
4 eggs
2 Tablespoons grated orange peel
4 cups flour, all-purpose
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon soda
2 cups pecans, chopped
1 cup white raisins
3 cups sugar, for glaze
2 cups orange juice, from frozen concentrate, for glaze

1. Add soda to buttermilk

2. Mix sugar and butter`

3. Add eggs, orange peel, and flour

4. Add buttermilk/soda mixture

5. Add pecans and raisins

6. Bake in 10 inch tube pan at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes.

7. Leave hot cake in pan and make glaze.

8. Bring sugar and orange juice to a boil.

9. Pour glaze over hot cake while still in pan and let cool.
 
OK, just a guess here but I am going to say bring just to a boil then remove from heat. The sauce should be just thick enough to coat a spoon but not so thick as to cling to it, if that makes any sense.
I wonder if Susan or Katie is still around tonight? LOL.
 
Sounds very much like a cake that my mother used to make during the holidays. One thing she did was to poke the cake many, many, many times with an icepick before pouring the glaze over it. Seemed to help the glaze get into the cake. I don't recall the consistency of the glaze though and the recipe is long gone.
 
Katie, I think her problem is that too much of the glaze is soaking into the cake and making it mushy.

That is why I thought of the two I mentioned. I also know that I have made a different Maida Heatter cake, her Key West Rum Cake or a Florida Pirate's Cake that has a glaze that does not penetrate all the way through.
See astray recipes: Key west rum cake
 
It Worked!

Thanks to all for the suggestions and help. The cake turned out perfectly! The syrup coated the spoon, but did not cling and I used a wooden skewer to poke the cake as the syrup soaked in.

Now for question #2! Could this cake be tightly wrapped and frozen for about a month? My husband wants another one for his birthday on the 31st of January, but I don't need an entire cake calling to me from the kitchen!

Thanks for any input!

Karen :)
 
LOl! I have time to compute now! The last of the company left yesterday. :P

Buddy, you get a LOT of credit! :)

Thanks for the input on freezing.
 
Sorry I can't help. The recipe sounds great but it's not the 'mother in law cake' I'm aware of. The mother in law cake I'm aware of uses tootsie rolls and crumbled cake in a litter box. :LOL::LOL::LOL:
Sorry! :)
 
I think I should get some credit here... after all I did know exactly who to call upon for the answers!;)

ROFL, Kudos to Maverick. Honorable mention to Katie and PieSusan for all the other recipe ideas. I love lurking on you guys, I get so many great ideas. I'm gaining weight on this site tho ...

:pig:
 
Yea, you gotta pace yourself here... if I am not careful I may end up looking like Santa Clause before too long... LOL.
 
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