We tried Metaxa in Greece and when we got home we were able to find it here in our local liqueur store. When recently making Keik, a Greek-style pound cake with a touch of orange flavor, I decided to flavor and soak it in Metaxa, and the resulting flavor was amazing!
Ingredients: (adapted from about.com)
4 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
grated peel of 1 orange
1/4 cup Metaxa
1 cup unsalted butter (1 1/5 sticks), softened
1 1/2 cups milk
4 eggs
butter for greasing
1/2 cup Metaxa
Royal Icing or other frosting (optional)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Whisk together dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder) to combine well.
In a mixing bowl, combine orange peel, Metaxa, and softened butter. Beat until smooth. Continuing to beat, add milk slowly, and then eggs. Slowly beat in the flour mixture and continue to beat for 3 minutes at medium-high speed until the batter is smooth.
Pour into a lightly buttered 12-inch round cake pan and bake for about 1 hour or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Cool, then prick the cake with a toothpick on all sides. Drizzle the Metaxa slowly all over the top, bottom and sides of the cake. Place in a air-tight container and refrigerate overnight.
Frost and decorate the cake with an icing of your choice, then refrigerate for at least another hour before serving. I used a Royal Icing, made simply with egg whites, confectioners' sugar, and a touch of vanilla extract.
