Grandma's Recipe Box: Orange Slice Candy Cake

My grandpa loved to eat orange candy slices and also loved this kinda fruitcake-sh dessert my grandmother made from them.  Since he loved the candy and the cake (recipe below), he often got bags of the orange slices for Christmas and his birthday from his children and grandchildren.  After all his gifts were open, Grandpa would count the candy bags and be laughing the whole time.  Later on, he would open one of the candy bags and share it with whatever kid wanted a slice.

At certain times of the year, you may find the candy in grocery stores or at old-fashioned candy shops.  However, your best bet year-round is to buy orange slices from Amazon.

Orange Slice Candy Cake 

Ingredients:

1 cup margarine or shortening (or butter), softened
2 cups granulated sugar
5 eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1 pound orange candy slices, cut-up
2 cups pecans
1 cup coconut
8 ounces dates, cut-up
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup buttermilk
4 cups flour (reserving 1/4 cup for candy mixture)

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Cream together shortening and sugar well.  Add vanilla.  Add eggs, one at a time blending well with each addition.
3. Combine candy, nuts, coconut, and dates.  Sprinkle over with 1/4 cup flour.  Mix well and set aside.
4. Sift together remaining 3 & 3/4 cups flour and baking soda in large bowl.
5. Add alternating with buttermilk to shortening/sugar mixture, mixing well.
6. Add candy mixture last.
7. Spoon cake mixture into greased (or sprayed) 10-inch tube pan (or bundt pan).
8. Bake 2 & 1/2 hours at 300 degrees.
9. Remove cake from pan and pour glaze (recipe below) over hot cake.
10. Allow to set and cool so cake absorbs glaze.

Tips:

• Make glaze as soon as you remove cake from oven.  Let cake stand for about 5 minutes before removing it from pan and pouring on laze.
• Instead of putting glaze over cake after it is removed from pan, you can poke holes in cake while in pan and pour glaze into baked cake for a more moist cake. 
• If cake seems too dry, you might try baking at 250 degrees next time for 2 & 1/2 hours or at 300 for only 2 hours, as this is the recommendations for stoves now, which circulate heat much better than the old gas ovens like my Grandma had.  
• Many websites say the cake is best made a day or two ahead so it is really moist when served.
• Use loaf pans if you want to give away multiple cakes, but watch them as they may take less cooking time.  Use a toothpick to test readiness to remove from oven and note the actual time if you wish to repeat the process in the future.

Orange Juice Glaze

Ingredients:

1 cup orange juice (fresh or made from thawed frozen)
2 cups powdered/confectioner sugar.

Steps:

1. Mix ingredients together in saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil and stir well until blended and clear.
3. Pour over warm cake.

Tips:

• I could find the recipe card for Grandma's glaze, but I am sure she said it had orange juice in it.  So use the recipe above which appeared on similar recipes on the web. 
• If you prefer a less sugary glaze, try 1 small can of frozen orange juice with 1/2 cup of light brown sugar.  Cook it the same as steps above.