My friends on Facebook were all raving about a show called Orange in the New Black. Which I looked up and kind of raised my eyebrows. What I read was that there was a lot of lesbian action. Which hey whatever, but hmmm. We had just got Netflix (you can only get it through them…it’s their series) because we have downgraded cable to save some money and I decided at midnight one night to just watch one episode. Big mistake.
It wasn’t a mistake to watch it. It was a mistake to start to watch it at midnight. Because I became addicted to that show and watched the ENTIRE 13 episodes that night into the am into the afternoon, finally going to bed at 1pm the next day. Yep, it was that compelling to me.
Other than lesbian action (which there is be warned if that is something you can’t hang with) the story is about a woman named Piper Chapman who goes to prison for 15 months for something she did 10 years ago when she was in love with a lesbian international drug smuggler. But now she is a Whole Foods shopping, J. Crew wearing, well educated, upper middle class, WASP who has a fiancé.
I don’t want to spoil it but I want to talk about a part in the series. It happens in the first or second episode so don’t get too mad at me. (if you really care stop reading now). She insults the cook on accident and ends up being starved out. During the time when her tummy is rumbling they flashback (they do flashbacks often) to when she was convincing her fiancé to do the Master Cleanse…you know the lemon, maple syrup, cayenne crap that Beyonce likes to do. Anyway the irony of course was her trying to starve herself back then to get leaner and now she didn’t have a choice.
Of course me being on the torture diet (though it did get easier as time went on…I actually really like spelt it turns out) while watching this made me laugh a little too. I mean I wasn’t doing this to lose weight (though eat the amount of fiber I did and gum you chewed in 3rd grade will come out…just saying) as it was to get my eczema under control (it is) but I still thought there thinking man, if I died tonight the last things I ate I did not enjoy at all.
Oh the things we take for granted. Roofs over our head. Real beds and pillows. Peeing with doors on the stalls. Getting a hug from someone you love when you need it not just during visiting hours. Home cooked meals. And fresh baked goods. I know I have certainly missed getting to eat baked goods the last 10 days…couldn’t imagine for 15 months or longer!
If you are sitting there saying hey this cake looks familiar it’s already been on here….about 3 years ago. But we will call it a flashback Friday of sorts. Because baking was too hard to do for me (sorry I’m a wimp) but I still wanted something up! It’s a yogurt cake so it’s super moist and the orange fondant glaze gives it a nice bright touch of citrus.
Ingredients
- For the Cake:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup almond flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 vanilla bean, insides scraped, pod discarded
- ½ cup vanilla yogurt
- 3 large eggs
- 2 TBSP pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- For the Orange Fondant Glaze:
- 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 4 TBSP freshly squeezed orange juice
Instructions
- For the cake:
- Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Generously butter an 8 1/2-x-4 1/2-inch loaf pan, place the pan on a lined baking sheet and set aside. Whisk together the flours, baking powder and salt; set aside.
- Whisk in the yogurt, eggs, sugar, vanilla beans, and vanilla. When the mixture is well blended, gently whisk in the dry ingredients. Switch to a spatula and fold in the oil. The batter will be thick and shiny. Scrape it into the pan and smooth the top.
- Bake the cake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until it is golden and starts to come away from the sides of the pan; a knife inserted into the center of the cake will come out clean. Cool on a rack for 5 minutes, then run a knife between the cake and the sides of the pan. Unmold and cool to room temperature right-side up.
- Adapted from Baking From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan
- For the glaze:
- Combine the powdered sugar and the orange juice in a bowl, mixing with a wire whisk until smooth. Pour over the tops of the cakes and allow the glaze to drizzle down the sides.
Liz (formerly VeggieGirl) says
Hahaha you had the same initial reaction I did when I came across the show – but it’s definitely a well-written, well-acted show and I’m hooked!
Love this cake for the orange theme.
annick says
I love the picture:-)
Becca from Cookie Jar Treats says
I think I have seen commercials for the show, but I’m not totally sure, it seems familiar. Sounds very… interesting.
I do love the look of this loaf cake! And the icing look yummy! I’m slowly starting to develop a great admiration of glazes and frostings… maybe its just grocery store frosting I hate… Oh well.
Margaret Barry says
OMG, my guilty secret is this: My hubs and I have been watching it…it’s kind of our evening thing. What he doesn’t know is I secretly watched the whole thing in 3 days…I just couldn’t stop! Now I am pretending to not know what is going to happen…at some point I will probably slip up and refer to something that is going to happen in the future. He won’t mind that I’ve seen it, but I’m enjoying the slight illicitness of the experience….:^)
Adam says
I don’t have cable, so I live off of Netflix and online streaming and I’ve been meaning to watch this show for a while. I’ve heard ridiculously good things but have been caught up rewatching older things 🙂 — however it is a long weekend.
I’ve been looking for something simple to ease myself back into baking and this cake might be it (or pie… I’m not sure yet :)) .
Side note: I haven’t been around much (or at all) and the instant I started reading your post I realized how much I missed reading your stuff. You’re too awesome for words and I’m looking forward to catching up.
KB says
I have a confession: I hate oranges. Hate. Like, the smell of them makes me nauseous and the taste of an orange or a sip of orange juice make me lose my appetite if not my last meal too. But in true contradictory KB fashion, I LOVE orange-flavored sweet stuff – orange pound cake and orange cookies and even some orange candies. This loaf cake sounds right at home in my kitchen. 🙂
I wish I watched more TV, but I hate watching on my own and I just don’t think my mom (my TV BFF) would go for a show with lots of lesbian action. Then again, I can suggest it and see…and pretend total ignorance if she freaks out about it. 😀 She’s usually pretty cool about it, though.
Chris says
This looks like it will lend itself to an easy gluten-free make-over! Have you tried it in mini loaf pans ever? I think I have to try it!!! Otherwise, I’ll eat the entire thing….. As an only child, I never really did learn to share!!
JP says
I love the series (had to stop myself a lot from starting the next episode),but the book is even better. The series is an adaptation of her real life experience. So intriguing!
Zainab says
I’ve heard so much about this show and I need to watch it. It seems very interesting. We have netflix and basic cables as well but get the DVDs and looks like I need to switch to watch this show.
Olga's Flavor Factory says
Oranges… a very refreshing and tangy obssession. Thanks for sharing this dessert! Will surely try. 🙂
shelly (cookies and cups) says
First off, this cake looks amazing. Second, Orange is the New Black is our new show… One episode left to go.
Renee @ Awesome on $20 says
Congratulations on ditching your cable! It’s going to feel awesome. We save money each month and have to be much more deliberate about what we watch. I never find myself accidentally watching Toddlers with Tiaras. And thanks for sharing this cake again. I don’t know if I got it the first time around, and it looks amazing.
Avanika {Yumsilicious Bakes} says
This sounds like a great show.. Already downloading it after a quick Google search (yes we download, because it means not waiting a year for it to arrive in India). Thanks for the recommendation!
Nutmeg Nanny says
I fell in love with Orange is the new black, I got bummed when I found myself at the last episode so quickly though! This cake is calling my name right about now, it looks so flavorful and moist 🙂