Orange Ombre Birthday Cake With Chocolate Frosting Recipes

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease two nine-inch round pans, line bottoms with parchment paper and grease the paper. In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.
• In a separate bowl, cream butter and grated orange and lemon zests. Sift dry ingredients into creamed butter and add about 3/4 cup (177 milliliters) milk. Mix until flour is dampened then beat on low speed for 2 minutes. Add remaining milk and eggs and beat on low for 1 minute more.
• Divide batter between two pans and smooth the top. Bake for 25 minutes or until the cake rebounds to touch when pressed.
• Cool cake in pans on cooling rack for 10 minutes, and then remove from pan. Discard parchment paper and turn cakes right side up on racks. Let cool to room temperature.
• Meanwhile, make the frosting: Cream butter and gradually add about a third of the confectioners sugar, blending well after each addition. Add pasteurized egg, then remaining sugar and milk, using enough liquid to give a good spreading consistency. Add orange extract and salt and blend thoroughly.
• Remove 1/2 cup of frosting to a small bowl and stir in melted chocolate. Cover with a damp cloth or paper towel and save for decorating cake. Place one round on cake plate and spread with orange frosting. Sprinkle with chopped chocolate or candy corn, if using. Top with second cake layer. Frost sides from top edge down over the sides. Spread remaining orange frosting on top and spread to edge. Pipe chocolate frosting. Let stand till frosting is dry.

Steps:

• To make the cake:
• Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Brush two 8-inch round cake pans with oil, line the bottoms with circles of parchment paper, lightly brush the paper and pan with oil, and dust with flour.
• Put the flour, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of a food processor. Add the sugar and orange zest and pulse a few times to combine evenly. Cut the butter into small pieces and add to dry ingredients. Pulse until the mixture looks like coarse sand, with some pea-size bits of butter, about 5 times.
• Whisk the milk, eggs, and vanilla together in a liquid measuring cup. With the processor running, pour in the wet ingredients and process to make a smooth batter (this takes less than a minute). Divide the batter between the prepared pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes.
• Cool the cakes on a rack for 15 minutes. Then run a knife around the edges of the pans, turn the cakes out onto a plate, and peel off the paper. Flip the cakes upright and cool completely on the rack, about 45 minutes. (This is important-icing a warm cake is not a happy thing).
• When ready to ice the cake, make the frosting:
• Put the chocolates in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on medium for a minute, stir, and repeat until chocolate melts, about 3 minutes in all. (Or put chocolates in a heatproof bowl set over an inch or so of water at a very slow simmer; set the bowl on the pan; don't let the bowl touch the water. Stir occasionally until smooth.)
• Let chocolate cool slightly. Stir the sour cream, coffee, and vanilla into the chocolates. Beat with a handheld electric mixer until frosting is silky and fluffy. (Spread frosting soon after making it; it firms up at room temperature.)
• Set a large flat plate on a large inverted bowl or bottom of a salad spinner (of course, if you have a cake stand, use that). Dab a little frosting in the center of the plate and place a cake layer, top side up, on top. With an offset spatula, scoop about one-third of the frosting onto the cake and spread it evenly to the edge of the cake. Place the other layer on top and press down lightly. Spread another third of the frosting around the sides. Spread the remaining frosting on the top of the cake. Lightly touch the frosting with the back of a spoon to make swirly peaks. Serve immediately or set aside at room temperature for up to 2 hours before serving. If refrigerating the cake, bring to room temperature 30 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• For cake:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 9-inch diameter cake pan with 2-inch-high sides with nonstick spray. Sift all purpose flour, sugar, whole wheat flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into large bowl. Add 3/4 cup water, oil, juice concentrate, vanilla, and vinegar and whisk to blend. Transfer batter to prepared pan.
• Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Cool cake in pan on rack. Carefully cut around pan sides and turn out cake onto serving platter.
• For frosting:
• Place chopped bittersweet chocolate in medium metal bowl. Set bowl over saucepan of barely simmering water. Stir constantly until chocolate is melted and smooth. Carefully transfer bowl to work surface. Cool melted chocolate to room temperature, stirring occasionally, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Using electric mixer, beat "butter" in large bowl until smooth. Add powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon juice concentrate, vanilla, and salt; beat until smooth. Add 2 tablespoons juice concentrate; beat until blended. Beat in agave nectar, then chocolate. Let stand 10 minutes. Frost top and sides of cake. DO AHEAD: Cake can be made up to 8 hours ahead. Cover with cake dome and store at room temperature.
• Also called whole grain pastry flour; available at some supermarkets and at most natural foods stores.
• ** A natural sweetener made from the sap of agave succulent plants; sold at some supermarkets and at natural foods stores.

Steps:

• This recipe assumes you already have an 8- or 9-inch 4-layer cake, frosted between layers with favorite white buttercream frosting, then frosted thinly on outside and top to seal crumbs.
• To make Ombre Buttercream Frosting, in large bowl, beat butter and shortening with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add powdered sugar; beat on low speed until crumbly. Gradually add milk, then vanilla, beating until light and fluffy.
• Measure 1 cup frosting into each of 3 small bowls. Measure 2 cups frosting into fourth bowl; mix 1/8 teaspoon blue food color into the 2 cups frosting with whisk or fork.
• Add a little more food color to the next bowl of frosting to get a shade darker; mix well with whisk or fork. Repeat with next 2 bowls frosting, making each another shade darker. You will end up with 4 bowls of frosting, all different shades of the same color.
• Spread darkest blue frosting around bottom third of cake. Spread next darkest shade blue frosting above first one around middle third of cake. Spread next shade of blue frosting around upper third of cake. Spread lightest blue frosting on top of cake.

Steps:

• ---- THE CAKE ----.
• Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit.
• Sift together flour, sugar, baking soda and salt into an 8" x 8" baking pan.
• Make 3 holes in the dry ingredients.
• Place oil in the first hole, vinegar in the second hole, and vanilla in the third hole (again, I kid thee not- trust me on this one!).
• Pour orange juice over everything and mix well.
• Spread batter evenly in the pan and bake in dish that the batter was mixed in.
• Bake 30 minutes or until center is firm.
• Allow to cool.
• Refrigerate leftovers (if any).
• ---- THE FROSTING ----.
• Combine gelatin, orange juice, and cold water in small saucepan.
• Let stand until thick.
• Place over low heat, stirring constantly, just until gelatin dissolves.
• Remove from heat and cool, but do not allow to set.
• Whip cream, sugar and vanilla until slightly thickened.
• While beating slowly, gradually add gelatin to whipped cream mixture.
• Whip at high speed until stiff.
• Spread thickly on the cake.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter three 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides. Dust with flour; tap out excess. Using vegetable peeler, remove peel (orange part only) in strips from oranges. Coarsely chop enough peel to measure 1/2 cup. Combine flour, 1 cup almonds, baking powder and salt in processor; blend until finely ground. Transfer to medium bowl. Place 2 cups sugar and orange peel in processor; blend until peel is finely minced.
• Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until blended. Add sugar mixture and beat until fluffy. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Mix milk and both extracts in small bowl. On low speed, beat flour mixture into egg mixture alternately with milk mixture in 3 additions each. Divide batter among prepared pans.
• Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on racks 5 minutes. Turn cakes out onto racks and cool completely. Boil 1 1/2 cups fresh orange juice and remaining generous 1 tablespoon sugar in small saucepan until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 8 minutes. Brush warm juice mixture over tops of cooled cakes.
• Place 1 cake layer, orange syrup side up, on cake platter. Spread 1 cup Chocolate Icing over. Top with second cake layer, then 1 cup icing. Top with third cake layer, syrup side up. Spread remaining icing over top and sides of cake. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome and store at room temperature.) Arrange additional almonds, orange triangles and mint leaves around top edge of cake. Slice cake and serve.