AMAZING ORANGE CAKE

Ingredients
500g butter
500g caster sugar
8 eggs
1 tbsp grated orange zest(optional)
500g self raising flour
180ml fresh orange juice

Icing:
50ml orange juice
250g icing sugar

Method
Heat the oven to 325F/165C/Gas Mark 3.  You will need a 30cm cake tin with removable sides, lined with non-stick baking parchment or well greased with butter.  Cream the butter and sugar well until very pale.  This will take a while.
Add the eggs one by one, beating well after each addition, and the zest if using.  Add the flour all at once and beat well, then slowly add the orange juice.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and bake for 1 hour and then minutes – or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.  Slow is best, so don’t be afraid to cook it longer.  If it starts to brown too much on the top, cover loosely with a sheet of buttered foil.
Leave the cake in the tin on a wire rack to cool, then gently remove the sides of the tin.
To make the icing, stir the orange juice into the icing sugar until you have the right spreading consistency and apply with a palette knife, allowing it to drip down the sides of the cake.  Leave the icing to set before cutting the cake into wedges.  Store in an airtight container.
NB If using sweet orange juice, add 1 tbsp of grated orange zest to the mixture after eggs.