Orange Brown~Sugar Glazed Cake with Strawberries & Whipped Cream

Keeping up your Vitamin C during these cold months is a great idea; something I learned from my mother who couldn't stress this enough to keep all of us healthy.  I eat an orange every day, for the Potassium, of course, but also it just makes me feel good.  For Sunday dessert, I couldn't help but make this cake that appeared in the latest issue of Fine Cooking.  Adding strawberries (another Potassium-rich fruit) makes me feel like Spring is around the corner.  After all, amidst the ice and snow last weekend, I still have daffodils popping up in my garden.

Luckily, Spring does come early in the South, but with this dessert, you can think it's around the corner too!

Orange Brown~Sugar Glazed Cake with Strawberries & Whipped Cream
8 oz. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
Zest of two oranges and 1 lemon
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 cups unbleached Queen Guinevere Cake Flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1/3 cup fresh orange juice (from zested oranges)
1/2 cup milk

Glaze:
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 T orange marmalade

Preheat oven to 350F-degrees.  Brush a 9-inch Springform pan with melted butter and line the bottom with parchment paper, brush the paper with the butter again.

In a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Scrape the sides with a rubber spatula and beat once more.  Add the zests of the oranges and lemon and the vanilla extract; mix on medium to combine.

Add the dry ingredients alternately with the orange juice/milk.  Once the dry ingredients are well combined, mix on medium for one minute more.  Spread the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake in the preheated oven 40 to 45 minutes.  (A Toothpick inserted in the center of cake may have a few crumbs clinging to it.) Check the cake during the last 10 minutes of baking; if it's browning too much, tent it loosely with aluminum foil.  Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes.  Use a knife around the edges to loosen it and remove the sides of the pan.

Glaze the Cake:
Poke holes all over the cake with a toothpick in 3/4-inch intervals.  Combine the juice, sugar and marmalade in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Bring to a simmer, lower the heat and whisk often until syrupy, about 10 minutes.  Brush the glaze onto the cake, allowing some to drip down the sides.

Slice strawberries while the cake is in the oven and sprinkle with granulated sugar.  This will help macerate the strawberries and provide some juice.  To serve, whipped some heavy cream (about 1 cup) and 3 T confectioners' sugar together.  Slice a wedge of cake and spoon some strawberries on it. Add a dollop of whipped cream and watch the eyes of your family light up!  Mine did...Enjoy!

And remember...