Sorry for missing another day!! To make it up to you, I’m going to share this little holiday food tidbit: Costco has this fantastic triple layer cheese spread that is to die for. It is festively colored (white, green, and red), has layers of cream cheese, pesto, and sun-dried tomatoes, and is just about the most delicious party food ever. Go buy some; your friends will thank you!
Now for today’s recipe. I was going to wait to post this, but I don’t have anything else ready to post, so this will have to be a few days early. Our Cake Slice Bakers assignment for December is going to be posted on the 20th, but I was disappointed with everyone’s choice because the book we’re baking from has so many good holiday cake recipes. So in protest, I made a different cake, a holiday cake, a fruitcake no less. And you know what? It was fantastic and I won a Christmas dessert contest with it! Cooking Light Magazine featured a similar recipe on it’s December cover several years ago, and I’ve meant to make it each Christmas since. When I found this recipe in Southern Cakes, I took it as a sign that this was the year of the Orange Slice Cake!
Orange Slice Cake with Orange Glaze
from Southern Cakes by Nancy McDermott
Due to my lack of planning, this cake was served warm at a Christmas party, and I highly recommend it! 
3 3/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 lb orange slice candy, chopped (about 3 cups)
2 cups chopped pecans
1 8-oz package pitted dates, chopped
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup buttermilk
Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Grease a 10″ tube pan, line the bottom with parchment, and grease the paper. Combine flour and salt in a small bowl, and combine orange candies, pecans, dates, and coconut in a large bowl. Toss the candy mixture with about 1/3 of the flour mixture; use your hands to make sure each individual piece is coated with flour. Set aside. In a very large bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Stir in half of the remaining flour and mix until just blended. Add the baking soda to the buttermilk and pour half of that into the batter, mixing well. Add the remaining flour, then the remaining buttermilk, mixing after each addition. Add the candy mixture and mix well. I used a wooden spoon at this point; the batter is very thick. Scoop the batter into the prepared pan and bake it at 300 degrees for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until a skewer poked into the center of the cake comes out clean. While the cake is baking, combine 2 cups powdered sugar, 1 cup orange juice, and 1 Tablespoon orange zest to make a glaze. Pour the glaze over the hot cake; it will soak in while the cake cools. Cool the cake in the pan, then remove it to serve.
That cake looks so tasty. My grandmother makes gumdrop cake every year at Christmas, but your cake looks so much better. I know it’s cliche, but I don’t like dates, I’m wondering if I could sub in apricots or cherries or craisins? My dad’s favorite non-chocolate candy is an orange slice — I’ve got to make this for him!
haha looks like your a rogue cake slice baker too! I put cranberry and orange in my cake to try and get more into a holiday flavor. Seems like we are passing up some really great non-chocolate recipes in this book. glad you made this one I was curiouse about it.
Haha and I probably know what you mean by too many triple layer cakes. Anyway this looks fab and I love the fact that it’s full of orange. What a nice dessert to celebrate Christmas with and I wish you and your family a very merry one at that.
This cake really does look good! I love orange slices, so I was a bit curious about this cake too. Thank you so much for posting about it. I’m definitely going to try this one! 😀
It looks like a fantastic cake – I agree with getting tired of so many layer cakes. I’m impressed you won 1st rpize with it! Happy Christmas!
I made this cake and the only thing I would recommend is to cut the orange slices into tiny bits. I didn’t cut mine small enough and the cake was way too sweet. The glaze just added
more sweetness that was unnecessary. Perhaps less glaze?
This cake is the most delicious and addicting cake ever! My sister and mom used to make it for Christmas. You can’t eat a big slice or it will be too much. Thin slice each day is perfect! It’s so delicious!
It is good! I haven’t made it in years; better add it to this year’s holiday menu!