Simple, lush, classic French. It doesn’t look like much, but it is melt-in-your mouth gorgeous on the tongue. Feel free to swear at me for not converting the weights—my scale does metric.

prep: 30 minutes

bake: 30 minutes

400F

2 juicy oranges

125 grams unsalted butter, softened

115 grams powdered sugar

2 eggs

115 grams flour

1t baking powder

lots of confectioner’s sugar—start with 150 g

Juice the oranges and grate the zest of one. If you don’t already own a Microplane, this is a good excuse to get one. Put 115 g butter in a heated bowl and work with a spoon until it gets creamy. don’t underdo this step or the next one. Incorporate the sugar little by little, then add eggs one at a time, continuing to work the mixture. Add the flour, a little more than half of the juice, and the zest. End with the baking powder.

Pour the mixture into a flat buttered mold. I use a springform pan for this, the removable sides are ideal. Bake 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, dissolve the sugar in the rest of the orange juice to obtain a thick and runny cream, called a glacage. When the cake is cooked, unmold it on a plate and pour on half the glacage. When the cake is completely cooled, spread the rest of the glacage with a spatula. Thois time it’s especially important that it is very thick, so add more confectioner’s sugar as needed—it should be almost white.

Voila!

Cake will keep 2-3 days in the refrigerator if kept in a tight box.