Orange Cake with Pastel Gradient Buttercream

I have a great orange cake recipe to share with you today, using a method that's very different from cakes I've done before but isn't too much of a hassle; and it makes a great, moist cake!  I topped mine off with orange flavoured buttercream for a coworker's birthday.

Recipe adapted from: Sweetapolita
Ingredients - cake (20cm (8 inch) round cake)
345g flour
400g white sugar
19g baking powder (1 tbsp + 1 tsp)
1/2 tsp salt
4 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
240mL milk
60mL orange juice
170g cold butter
Zest from 2 oranges

Ingredients - orange buttercream
454g butter (room temperature is best)
565g icing sugar
60mL strained orange juice

Method - cake
1. Preheat the oven to 175 C (350 F).  I did this in a two layer cake, so I buttered and lined two 22cm round tins, but you can use three for a three layer cake if you like!

2. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in an electric mixer with the paddle attachment.

3. Chop the butter into rough cubes.  With the mixer on a slow speed, add the cubes one at a time, waiting a few seconds in between.

4. Once all the butter is added, keep mixing until the mixture is crumbly and all the butter is combined.

5. Mix the milk and orange juice together, then gradually add it to the flour mixture and mix until combined.

6. Mix the whole eggs and the egg yolks with a fork, then add them gradually to the batter and beat until combined.

7. Finally, add the orange zest and mix gently.

8. Portion the batter evenly between your cake tins and bake for about 30 minutes (if you're using two cake tins), or until an inserted toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs.

9. Let the cakes cool in the tin then turn them out onto wire racks.

Method - orange buttercream
1. Beat the butter until smooth and creamy.  I use the paddle attachment on my mixer.

2. Add the icing sugar and orange juice, and beat until the icing is light and fluffy.  This will take a few minutes.

3. If desired, tint the icing with food colouring.  For this cake, I left some buttercream un-coloured and tinted some a pale peachy orange.

Assemble the cake by sandwiching the cake layers with buttercream, then fully icing the outside of the finished cake.

I made an attempt at Sweetapolita's beautiful swirly gradient decoration (video tutorial here) with my peach coloured and white buttercream, and I feel pretty good about how it turned out!  I gave the top of the cake an extra bit of colour by swiping some of the peach coloured buttercream around the outside in a circle, then finishing off with some orange sprinkles.

Orange Poppy Seed Muffins

These orange poppy seed muffins (you can make them lemon flavoured, if you so choose, which is the form the original recipe came in) are sweet, moist and they're best when they're warm.  They're good for an afternoon tea snack or as a dessert!

Recipe Adapted From: The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Pastry Arts by The French Culinary Institute
Ingredients - cupcake
250g plain flour
1 tsp bicarb soda
1/4 tsp salt
115g butter/margarine
175g white sugar
2 eggs
200g sour cream
50g lemon or orange juice
Zest of one lemon or orange
14g poppy seeds (2 tbsp)

Ingredients - syrup
150mL lemon or orange juice
50g white sugar

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 175C (350F).  Line a 12-cup muffin/cupcake tin with patty pans, or alternatively just grease the bottom and sides with butter.

2. Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

3.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.

4. Add the sour cream and lemon juice (I used the juice of the orange that I zested, and made up the rest of the weight with bottled lemon juice).  Beat until incorporated.

5. Add the flour, bicarb soda and salt.  Mix slowly or fold in until just combined.

6. Add the lemon zest (I used orange zest) and poppy seeds.  Stir gently until incorporated.  Make sure that the poppy seeds are evenly dispersed amongst the batter!

7. Spoon the batter into the cupcake tin and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

8. Transfer the muffins a wire rack to cool slightly.

9. To make the syrup, combine your orange or lemon juice with the sugar in a saucepan over medium heat.  Stir over the heat until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture begins to boil.

10. Using a pastry brush, coat each muffin with the syrup.  Really douse them so they're all moist and delicious!

11. Serve the muffins as soon as possible!  

They look good when dusted with icing sugar, and they also go well with buttercream!

Marbled Choc-Orange Cake

When I first found this recipe, I was very sceptical.  Fruit with my chocolate?  Pssh, no thank you!  Then I made it.  The batter was one of the best I'd ever tasted as well as being silky smooth, and the finished cake was fantastic.  

Recipe adapted from: The Australian Women's Weekly Cakes & Slices Cookbook
Ingredients (20 cm (8 inch) cake)
60g dark chocolate
125g butter
2 tsp vanilla essence
333g caster sugar
2 eggs
310g self raising flour
3/4 cup milk
1 tbsp orange rind (heck, just chuck the rind of the whole orange in there, don't pussyfoot around with it)

Method
1. Line two 20cm square cake pans with baking paper.  I used three shallow circular tins.

2. Preheat oven to 190 C (375 F).

3. Melt chocolate and set aside to cool.

4. Cream butter with the vanilla essence and caster sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.

5. Fold in half the flour, then add all the milk and mix until combined.  Add the remainder of the flour and fold in.

6. Separate the mixture into two bowls.  One is your chocolate cake bowl, the other is for the orange part!
To your chocolate bowl, stir in your cooled melted chocolate.
To your orange bowl, stir in some orange zest.

7. Spoon the chocolate mixture into your cake tins.

8. Spoon the orange batter into the spaces and swirl the edges together with a knife.

9. Bake for about 35 minutes or until golden brown and an inserted skewer comes out clean.

10. Transfer to wire racks and let cool.

11. Ice your cake.  I used chocolate ganache to sandwich two of the cakes together then coated the outside in ganache, and topped it off with giant Jaffas.  (This cake was an ordered one, so no photos of the inside!)

Here's a slice of the other layer with some ganache slathered over it.  So delicious.