Ingredients 

1. 2 ¾ cups all purpose flour
2. ¼ cup corn starch
3. 1 teaspoon kosher salt
4. ½ teaspoon baking powder
5. ½ teaspoon baking soda
6. 1 teaspoon cinnamon
7. 1 teaspoon cardamom powder
8. ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
9. 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
10. ½ cup brown sugar packed
11. 1 cup butter softened
12. 4 eggs
13. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
14. ½ teaspoon orange extract
15. ¼ cup orange juice
16. 1 cup buttermilk or yogurt
17. ⅔ cup powdered sugar
18. 2 tablespoons orange juice
19. 1 teaspoon orange zest
20. zest star anise optional

Instructions 

1. Preheat oven to 350F and grease a bundt pan or a 9×5 loaf pan. In a medium sized mixing bowl whisk together flour, cornflour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg.
2. In a large mixing bowl whisk together butter and sugars. Whisk until fluffy for about 2 minutes. Whisk in eggs, vanilla extract, orange extract and orange zest. Whisk in orange juice. Then whisk in buttermilk.
3. Gently add in half of the dry mixture to the wet mixture. Slowly whisk until just combined. Add in the remaining dry ingredients and again whisk slowly until just combined.
4. Pour the batter into the pan and bake in the oven at 350F for 40-50 minutes. Test that the loaf is finished cooking by sticking a toothpick into the middle. If the toothpick comes out clean, it is cooked all the way through. Remove the spice cake from the oven and allow it to cool completely.
5. While the loaf cools, prepare the icing by mixing together powdered sugar, orange juice and orange zest until a smooth icing remains. Add more orange juice if too thick or more powdered sugar to get the consistency you are looking for. Once the cake is cooled, pour the icing over top. Cut into slices and serve.