Orange-Barley Pound Cake

[BakerAunt]

Orange-Barley Pound Cake

The original recipe appeared in Martha Stewart Living (April 2016), p. 64, and is on their website but not with great reviews. In looking at the recipe, and the accompanying picture, I detected a problem because the frosting on the cake did not conceal that it was sunken in the middle. I posted a question on the Nebraska Kitchen site, and Cass (Kid Pizza) kindly looked it over for me and recommended adjustments in the amount of sugar and baking powder, as well as suggesting the addition of a bit of baking soda. He also recommended pulverizing some of the sugar in the food processor (an idea that was in the original recipe as well, where strips of zest were processed with the sugar). I used extra fine sugar and zested my orange with a microplane grater, as I, unlike the MSL people, do not have a sous chef to do dishes. I also added some orange oil and included additional instructions. I do not use the frosting because the cake is sweet enough without it, but I include it here for anyone who might wish to use it.

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (12 Tbs.) at room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese at room temperature

9 ounces superfine sugar (that would be 1 and 1/2 cups MINUS 3 Tbs., if you don't have a scale.)
Zest of one large orange

3 large eggs at room temperature (added one at a time)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. orange oil

1 1/4 cups flour (I used Gold Medal.)
3/4 cups barley flour (I used Bob's Red Mill.)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1/3 tsp. coarse salt

Pre-heat oven to 325F. Spray a 4 1/2" x 10" pan with Baker's Joy.

Note: I tried a 4 1/2 x 8 1/2" pan, but mine was a bit small, and the batter rose slightly over the sides, then curled inward. (Some 4 1/2 x 8 1/2" pans are a bit larger, so they might work. I suspected that a 9 x5 might have issues with the center being baked, so I selected the narrower 4 1/2 x 10" pan. Mine was made in Germany by Kaiser. It holds 6 cups of water, as opposed to the 5 cups of the smaller pan.

In a bowl, whisk together dry ingredients and set aside.

In mixing bowl, cream together butter and cream cheese on medium speed until smooth. Add sugar and orange zest, and beat on high until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping bowl as needed. One at a time, on medium speed beat in each egg, making sure that it is incorporated fully before adding the next one. Add vanilla and orange oil and mix in.

Add half the flour mixture and beat on low (I used speed 1 on a hand mixer) to incorporate. Scrape bowl. Add remaining flour mixture, and beat on low until just incorporated.

Pour batter into pan, and smooth top with spatula. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour, 5 minutes, or until tester inserted in center comes out clean. (I used the center rack in my oven.) Let cool, in pan, on rack for 20 minutes. Remove from pan, and cool completely on rack.

Optional Frosting:

1 cup confectioner's sugar
2 tsp. orange juice
1 tsp. orange liqueur

Whisk together ingredients and spread over completely cooled cake. If desired, sprinkle with orange zest.

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• This topic was modified 8 years, 4 months ago by BakerAunt.
• This topic was modified 8 years, 4 months ago by BakerAunt.
• This topic was modified 8 years, 2 months ago by BakerAunt.
• This topic was modified 7 years, 8 months ago by BakerAunt. Reason: fixed typo

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