Best Cake of the MN State Fair

The State Fair- the great Minnesota Get Together- is one of the highlights of the year in Minnesota. (The other would be hockey season). Almost 2 million visitors visit the Fair and gorge themselves on fried foods and anything "on a stick". This year my husband feasted on a Breakfast Lolly (sausage on a stick dipped in pancake batter and fried) with maple syrup and I sampled walleye on a stick.

This event runs from for 10 days ending on Labor Day. There is such a heat wave at the moment that fair attendance is down quite a bit but the food competition hasn't noticed.

Scandinavian Orange Bundt Cake from Scandinavian Classic Baking is the recipe Candy Freeman prepared to enter in the category of Cakes with Fat or Cooking Oil. In addition to winning in its category this cake also received the Grand Cake Sweepstakes (Best Cake of Fair). Congratulations to her!

Orange Bundt Cake

A classic pound cake is made with one pound each of butter, sugar, eggs and flour but doesn’t have the lighter texture preferred today in cakes. The delicate orange flavor added by the orange rind can be intensified by also adding orange extract. If you are using a fluted tube pan, I recommend using shortening and brushing it into all the grooves in the pan before flouring.

 Makes 1 cake, 12 to 16 servings

            2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

4 large eggs, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon orange extract, if desired

3/4 cup 2% milk, room temperature

1/4 cup orange juice

2 tablespoons grated orange rind

Heat the oven to 350°F with rack in lower third. Thoroughly grease and flour a 10-inch fluted tube pan or an angel food cake pan.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl. Combine the milk and orange juice.

Beat the butter in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer on medium speed until creamy. Gradually add the sugar, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally, and beat 2 minutes.

Beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl after each egg is added. Add the vanilla and beat 3 minutes until the mixture is very light and creamy.

Reduce the mixer speed to low. Add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with two additions of the milk. Scrape down the sides of the bowl after each addition. After adding all of the flour beat until smooth, but no longer than 15 seconds.

Stir in the orange rind. Pour into the prepared pan and spread evenly.

Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of cake comes out clean.  Cool on a wire cooling rack 10 minutes. Run a spatula or a wooden skewer around the edge of the pan and around tube in the center to loosen the cake. Carefully loosen the cake from pan and invert onto cooling rack. Cool completely.

Serve with whipped cream.