Sicilian Orange Cake

...Back in the States, with two feet on the ground now, and I wanted to make sure I published Rita Pantino's recipe for Sicilian Orange Cake. The folks at the lovely hotel in Catania, La Vetreria, were kind enough to send me the recipe. Wouldn't it be nice to have local oranges to use in this recipe as they do everywhere in Sicily? But I guess we'll have to be satisfied with Whole Foods fresh-squeezed. The measurements in the recipe are charming and soooo metric so I've converted most of the amounts to standard English. It is a very simple recipe as are many of these kinds of simple Italian, 1-layer, cakes. It's perfect for breakfast, at tea-time, or to take to someones home for brunch. Let me know how yours turns out! Ciao!

Rita Pantino's Sicilian Orange Cake
from La Vetreria
for 1, 10" round, buttered cake pan

Ingredients:
--125 gr Burro/butter (1/4 lb);
--200 gr zucchero/sugar (about 7 oz. by weight);
--2 uova/eggs;
--250 gr farina/flour (about 1/2 lb., weight);
--1 bicchiere di succo d’arancia o mandarino/a glass of orangesquash or mandarinsquash (about 1/2 cup fresh-squeezed orange juice);
--scorza d’arancia grattugiata (an orange rind grated);
--1 bustina di lievito per dolci (about 1 tsp. baking powder).

Emulsionare tutti gli ingredienti e cuocere a 180° per 30 minuti (mix everything together i a bowl and cook for 30 minutes at 350 degrees).

Cool on a rack then turn out onto a plate. When cool, dust with powdered sugar and decorate with fresh orange slices.

Enjoy!