Florida Orange Cake

1 cup chopped dates
1 cup chopped Pecans
1 cup margarine or butter
2 cup sugar
4 eggs, separated
4 cups sifted flour
1½ cups buttermilk with 1 teaspoon soda
2 tablespoons grated orange peel

Dredge nuts and dates in a small amount of flour. Cream butter and sugar; add egg yolks. Add flour alternately with milk-soda mixture. Fold in dates, nuts and orange peel; fold in stiffly beaten egg whites. Bake in a large greased angel food cake pan for 1½ hours at 300°. Makes 16 servings.

Topping:
2 cups sugar
1 cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons grated orange peel

Mix before starting cake; stir occasionally while mixing cake so sugar will dissolve. After cake is removed from oven, while warm, puncture with ice pick and pour topping into holes. Let stand in pan until topping soaks in and cools. Turn out on wax paper; then turn top side up.