This light orange ring cake comes from a cake by Mariangela, a colleague of mine who is also a food blogger. Her recipe, the Very light orange cake, inspired me and when I posted it on my Facebook page it was very popular, so I had to try it.
Also, apart from the eggs, no other fats are added: there is neither butter nor oil. I wanted to make it in a ring shape and a little smaller. I reduced all the ingredients to one third of the original amounts and I also decreased the sugar so as to reduce the Weight Watchers points.
In addition, I baked it in the Versilia stovetop oven but it can also be baked in a conventional oven without problems, as you can read in the procedure. The beauty of this stovetop oven is that you can keep baking cakes and ring cakes even in summer, when almost nobody turns on the conventional oven anymore, so you can enjoy this cake all year round.
I must say that even using less sugar the orange ring cake turned out delicious, light and very fragrant. They polished it off in no time: a great satisfaction and many thanks to Mariangela.
Some other ideas for a light cake can be found here:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Budget-friendly
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Cooking time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 8 slices
- Cooking methods: Oven, Stove
- Cuisine: Healthy
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter and Spring
Ingredients
- 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour (or type 1 flour)
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 2 oranges (preferably unwaxed; should yield about 3/4 cup (180 ml) of juice)
- 1 tsp oil (for greasing the pan)
- 1 tsp flour (for dusting the pan)
- Total points = 39 WW points
- Points per serving = 5 WW points
Tools
The ring pan works for both the conventional oven and the Versilia stovetop oven and should be 20 cm (about 8 in).
- Sieve
- Lemon/zest grater
- Citrus juicer
- Versilia stovetop oven
- 20 cm ring pan
- Stand mixer
- Pastry brush
- Cooling rack
Steps
Here you can see all the ingredients and the equipment.
First, grate the orange zest and then squeeze them to obtain the juice. Put the sugar, eggs and the grated orange zest into the bowl of the stand mixer or blender (you can also work by hand but it requires elbow grease).
Beat with the whisk for 10-15 minutes until the volume has at least doubled and the mixture becomes white and frothy.
Gradually add the orange juice, incorporating it well.
Finally, add the previously sifted flour and baking powder, one spoonful at a time, letting each spoonful be fully absorbed before adding the next.
Brush the 20 cm (about 8 in) pan with half a teaspoon of oil and dust evenly with the teaspoon of flour.
Finally, pour the batter into the pan.
Preheat the oven to 356°F and then bake. After 30 minutes perform the toothpick test to make sure the cake is cooked in the center: if the toothpick is still moist, leave it in the oven for another 5 minutes and test again.
When the toothpick comes out clean, turn off the oven and leave the pan inside for 5 minutes with the oven door slightly open, then remove the ring cake from the oven.
I baked mine in the Versilia stovetop oven by placing the 20 cm (about 8 in) pan inside my 26 cm (about 10.25 in) stovetop oven. This way you can reduce the size of your stovetop oven and make smaller ring cakes. Additionally, this minimizes the risk of burning the cake around the center hole, which happens to many people with the Versilia stovetop oven. Using the 20 cm reducer this doesn’t happen.
The Versilia stovetop oven has a small perforated plate, a burner-diffuser–type disc: place this disc on the medium burner with the concave side facing up.
Insert the 20 cm pan with the batter inside the stovetop oven and then place the entire stovetop oven on the disc, making sure it sits properly on the disc.
Close the Versilia stovetop oven with its characteristic lid with holes that allow steam to escape. Turn the flame high: after 5 minutes lower it to just above the minimum and leave it like that for 30 minutes, without ever opening the stovetop oven.
At the end of the 30 minutes perform the toothpick test: you can insert a long toothpick or even a piece of uncooked spaghetti into one of the holes. Or open the lid slowly to observe the rise and color of the cake. If the toothpick isn’t dry, let it cook for another 5 minutes and check again.
As soon as the cake is cooked, turn off the flame and remove the stovetop oven from the heat. Leave the stovetop oven closed until it becomes lukewarm.
In any case, whichever cooking method you used, when the pan or stovetop oven has cooled enough to handle without burning yourself, remove the ring cake from the pan and place it on a cooling rack until it is completely cool.
Once cooled, place the light orange ring cake on the serving plate. Et voilà, the cake is ready, and what a lovely aroma! If you want you can dust the surface with a teaspoon of powdered sugar; it looks nicer but doesn’t change the taste, which is strongly scented with orange.
All that remains is to cut it neatly into 8 portions and serve. Here you can see the inside of the cake better: I don’t know if you can smell it from here. I remember it well, and just looking at the photo makes me want a slice.
What can I say: this orange ring cake is delicious! I managed to save a piece to check how long it would last, but on the third day I ate it: naturally the sliced part was slightly dry but the inside was still soft and flavorful.
Great for an afternoon snack, even for children—far better than packaged snacks! I look forward to your comments to know if you liked it.
Enjoy!
by Giovanna Buono
Storage
You can keep it in a container for at least 3 days; the sliced part will dry out a little but it remains excellent. Some of my readers have frozen it in slices and told me it stays great even after thawing.
