Makes one 10-inch cake

Although I would normally make this cake in a bundt or tube pan, I love my sunflower cake pan so much that I forego the practicality of the tube and bake the solid cake a bit longer and slower.

¾ cup unsalted butter, at room temperate

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon freshly grated orange zest

Optional topping:

½ cup sugar

½ cup fresh orange juice

¼ cup orange liqueur

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Lightly spray the interior of a bundt pan with nonstick vegetable spray made especially for baking (either Baker’s Joy or Pam for Baking).  Set aside.

Place the sugar in the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle and beat to soften.  Add the sugar and beat on medium until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Stir in the vanilla.

Sift the flour, soda, and salt together and then add to the butter mixture, alternately with the sour cream.

When well-combined, remove the bowl from the mixer and stir in the orange zest.  If you add it while the mixer is running, the zest tends to congregate on the paddle.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan smoothing out the top with a rubber spatula.  Place in the preheated oven and bake for about 50 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

If not using the topping, remove the cake from the oven and immediately invert the pan onto a wire rack.  Tap the cake out onto the wire rack and let cool before cutting.

If using the optional topping, just before the cake is ready to come out of the oven, combine the sugar and orange juice in a small, nonreactive pan over medium heat.  Bring to a boil.  Remove from the heat and stir in the liqueur, if using.  Keep hot.

Remove the cake from the oven and set the pan on a wire rack.  Immediately pour the topping over the cake.  Let the cake rest in the pan until cool.  When cool, turn upside down onto a cake plate.