Russian-Tea Cake
By: Toby Corn
Published: Saturday, October 12, 2013 - 8:47am

Ingredients




For the Caramel:
1 Cup Sugar
1/4 Cup Water
2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
3 Whole Cloves
For the Cake:
1 Stick (8 Tablespoons) Good Margarine (land o lakes) or Butter
Zest From 1 Navel Orange
2 Navel Oranges – Peeled and Sliced
3/4 Cup Sugar
2 Extra Large Eggs (or 2 Large + 1 additional yolk)
1/8 Teaspoon Ground Allspice
1/8 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
1 Tablespoon Instant Tea
1/3 Cup Tofutti Sour Cream
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 1/4 Cups Self Rising Flour

Preparation

1 For the caramel: 2 In a medium sauce pan add the water, lemon juice and cloves. 3 Bring to medium heat and simmer for 5 to 6 minutes. 4 Add the sugar and raise the temp to high.  Do not stir. 5 Allow the sugar to dissolve and reduce until the caramel is a golden brown. 6 Carefully remove and discard the cloves. 7 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Grease a 9″ deep dish pie plate with butter – Generously. 8 Place the orange slices evenly across the bottom of the pie plate, allowing them to lip up slightly on the edges. 9 Pour all the hot caramel over the orange slices. 10 Allow to cool while you make the batter 11 DSCN2814 12 To make the Batter: 13 Cream the remaining margarine with the sugar until light and creamy. 14 Beat in the eggs. 15 Lower the speed and beat in the sour cream, zest, spices and vanilla until combined. 16 Turn off the mixer and fold in the flour until just combined. 17 Pour the cake batter over the cooled caramel and oranges, smoothing for an even layer. 18 Bake for 45 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. 19 Place on a rack and allow to cool for 15 to 20 minutes (you want the caramel to gel a bit before you try to unmold the cake).