I got an email from my mom the yesterday saying she was going to wait to hear from me the verdict on the Vegan Orange Sticky Cake before giving it a try.

Um, oops! I forgot to let you know how it turned out!

Well, it’s deadly. How’s that for a review?

Really, though, there’s no need to be scared of the vegan factor with the cake. It turns out it’s just a Wacky Cake. Wacky cakes were a kind of cake common in the Depression Era because they didn’t use eggs and butter, which were prohibitively expensive. Instead, they used cheap old baking soda and vinegar to give the cake lift. Pretty tricky!

My mother in law is nearly famous (at least among my husband’s friends) for her chocolate wacky cake. I had no idea until I was researching for this post that it wasn’t just her wacky name for the cake, that it’s an actual category of cake. See? It has its own category. Not so scary.

The only suggestion I would make if you try the Vegan Orange Sticky Cake is to make sure you grease the sides of the cake pan before you bake it. I even did the whole thing with the parchment paper on the bottom but forgot the sides and one of the cakes did not look so hot.

The cake bakes quite quickly, so keep an eye on it. Might not want to go help your brother-in-law master the SAT for an hour and nearly forget about it.

And want to know one last secret? I un-Vegan’d it in the end. I didn’t have marmalade for the glaze, so I made a regular vanilla frosting (with butter! gasp!) and topped it with some pretty confetti sprinkles. Totally yum. Okay, now go on. Make it. Quit being a wimp!

Here’s my recipe for regular Vanilla Frosting:

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
4-5 cups powdered (confectioner’s or icing) sugar

With a mixer, whip up the softened butter (I usually put it in the microwave for 5-10 seconds to soften it up) so it’s not lumpy. Then add about a cup of powdered sugar and beat that together. Add the milk a couple tablespoons of the milk and another cup of sugar and beat together. Then add the vanilla extract and beat that in. Now you just want to add enough sugar so that you either have enough icing or you have the consistency you want. Just don’t go adding too much liquid at once – a little goes a long way.

Sometimes I make this icing cream cheese icing by adding cream cheese and subtracting some of the butter – great for carrot cake!

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Photo Note: Wouldn’t it be great if I had a cute little photo of the Vegan Orange Sticky Cake I made to prove I actually made it? I totally agree. I know it would be way more fun and satisfying for everyone if I would post more photos of what I actually do bake, but I’m a bit worried that the photos won’t do the food justice and then you’ll never make the recipes I suggest!

My excuse mostly boils down to needing to upgrade my camera to something that can deal with the *extremely* low light in our house (heck, in Ireland in general!). Fingers crossed that upgrade will happen in the next few weeks and you’ll see a lot more of my own photos on this blog.

I don’t think there is a category I skip over more than vegan recipes. I admit, I equate vegan with icky, grainy, tastes-like-sawdust. Just generally eww. And I’m not sure why, since I’m not sure I’ve actually had a vegan recipe before.

So I apologize to the vegans out there, I may have judged your entire category a bit too hastily.

Because this cake is vegan. And it looks delicious. It has regular flour, regular sugar, even vegetable oil. Who knew vegan recipes had normal ingredients?!

I’m making it today and I’ll let you know how it turns out.

Sticky Orange Cake with Marmalade Glaze

(makes 2 9-inch round layers)

Cake
3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 orange, zested
2 cups orange juice
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Glaze
1/4 cup orange marmalade
1 tablespoon rum or vodka (or water)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two 9-inch round cake pans. Line the bottoms with parchment paper and lightly grease the paper.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugars, baking soda, salt, and orange zest. Whisk until thoroughly combined, crumbling the brown sugar with the tips of your fingers if necessary.

In a separate bowl or large measuring cup whisk together the orange juice, vegetable oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Quickly mix the wet ingredients into the dry mix and whisk thoroughly. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans and bake for 30 to 35 minutes.

Let the cakes cool for about 20 minutes in the cake pans, then run a knife around the inside of the pan to release each layer. Turn the cake layers out onto cooling racks. Glaze while the cakes are still warm, but not hot.

To make the glaze, mix the marmalade and rum or vodka in a small saucepan. Warm over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, until the glaze is bubbling and hot. Turn off the heat and immediately glaze the cake.

Place one cake layer on a cake plate. Pierce the top with a toothpick a few times. Using a slotted spoon, lift out the solid bits of the marmalade and set them aside in a small bowl. Pour about half the liquid in the saucepan over the first cake layer. Place the second layer on top of the first, and repeat. Spoon the solid bits of marmalade peel on top of the cake.

{recipe and image from The Kitchn}

We’re headed to see friends for dinner tonight (I’m bringing that cake!) and as a little hostess gift, I usually like to bring something for our friends to have the next morning for breakfast.

So the mushy bananas in the fruit bowl are getting a transformation into this recipe. That way the hosts have a little treat the next day to remember us by!