Sunday Dinner: Orange Supreme Cake

Is there a taste that just calls to you from childhood?

Randall's Favorite Orange Cake

For my brother that would be an orange cake with orange icing. At least a couple of times a year our Grandmother would make an orange cake with orange icing. It wasn't anything exceptional, just a box cake and commercial frosting, but it was my brother, Randall's favorite.

Sometime in the 80s, they discontinued the icing. You can still find the orange cake, now labeled as Duncan Hines Orange Supreme, but you could not find the icing. My brother Dennis worked for a grocery store for many years and even tried to see if maybe it was offered in other parts of the U.S., but nobody could find it.

Until this weekend in Publix, I spotted it, Orange Crème Frosting. It does not come in the traditional tub, you buy that separately. The Orange Crème is a powder that you add and stir. I just about did a happy dance in the store. We've been looking for this frosting for thirty years.

Last year I found an orange frosting, but it was just colored for Halloween, it was not the true orange taste and color.

I almost called my brother yesterday to tell him, but I thought I would let the surprise speak for itself.

"Is that an orange cake, the real orange cake?" he said.

"Yes, it is." I tried to make my own orange icing last year for his birthday. He appreciated the effort, but we both knew it just wasn't the same thing then.

He sat at the table, the cake was in front of him. He held on to that plastic cake keeper like someone was going to make a mad dash out the door with it.

For dessert, I cut small pieces for everyone so that he would have some cake to take home with him. And I'm sure tonight he'll have a tall class of milk and a large piece of orange cake.

I plan on going back to Publix and buying several to keep in reserve just in case they decide to discontinue them again.

Last week, people were amazed at how many we had for dinner. This week I had 13 people for Sunday dinner.