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I'm not so sure that this cake photo is "A Feast for the Eyes". In fact, I was so disappointed with my lackluster photos of this delicious cake, that I pondered one of two things-- don't post these photos at all, or make the cake again.
The perfectionist in me, almost chose the latter option. However, as much I love to bake, I reserve cake baking for when I have dinner guests. (I know that my will power becomes weakened if I have a cake in my kitchen.)
I love citrus desserts, and when I bought some seasonal Cara Cara oranges, at a good price, I knew that the oranges would be destined to become the cake recipe that I spotted on "The Red Spoon". I hate to waste any change to use citrus zest and, because I wanted my cake to…
View Full Recipe at A Feast for the Eyes Food…
%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EI%20love%20citrus%20desserts,%20and%20when%20I%20bought%20some%20seasonal%20Cara%20Cara%20oranges,%20at%20a%20good%20price,%20I%20knew%20that%20the%20oranges%20would%20be%20destined%20to%20become%20the%20cake%20recipe%20that%20I%20spotted%20on%20%22The%20Red%20Spoon%22.%20%20I%20hate%20to%20waste%20any%20change%20to%20use%20citrus%20zest%20and,%20because%20I%20wanted%20my%20cake%20to%20have%20a%20lot%20of%20orange%20flavor,%20I%20set%20it%20aside.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EMeg's%20recipe%20uses%20store-bought%20orange%20juice.%20%20I%20decided%20to%20freshly%20squeeze%20mine,%20after%20zesting%20them.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EI%20used%20about%20six%20oranges%20to%20get%20one%20cup%20of%20fresh%20squeezed%20juice.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EAnytime%20I%20see%20vegetable%20oil%20and%20sour%20cream%20in%20a%20cake%20recipe,%20I'm%20pretty%20much%20guaranteed%20to%20have%20a%20moist%20cake.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EPlus,%20I%20don't%20have%20to%20worry%20about%20softening%20butter,%20since%20it's%20not%20to%20be%20found%20in%20this%20recipe.%20I%20like%20to%20add%20a%20couple%20teaspoons%20of%20Butter%20Sweet%20Dough%20Emulsion.%20%20I%20think%20it%20adds%20a%20special%20%22bakery%20flavor%22%20to%20my%20cakes.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EI%20also%20love%20Boyajian%20Pure%20Orange%20Oil,%20and%20I%20always%20keep%20a%20bottle%20in%20my%20refrigerator.%20%20So,%20I%20added%20about%201/4%20teaspoon%20of%20this%20to%20my%20cake%20batter.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EMix%20until%20smooth.%20%20Pour%20into%203%209-inch%20prepared%20cake%20pans.%20NOTE:%20I%20don't%20recommend%20using%20only%202%20pans,%20like%20I%20did.%20Why?%20Well,%20after%20baking%20the%20cakes%20for%20about%2022%20minutes%20at%20350F,%20and%20allowing%20them%20to%20cool...%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EI%20realized%20that%20the%20cake%20is%20so%20moist,%20that%20I%20struggled%20to%20cut%20each%20layer%20in%20half%20without%20risking%20it%20breaking%20into%20chunks!%20I%20thought%20I'd%20create%20a%20lovey%20four-layer%20cake,%20like%20I%20did%20with%20my%20Coconut%20Layer%20Cake.%20%20Not%20a%20good%20idea.%20%20However,%20I%20forged%20on,%20and%20my%20thin%20layers%20survived%20intact.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EI%20seriously%20thought%20about%20making%20a%20Swiss%20Buttercream%20frosting,%20with%20the%20orange%20zest%20and%20orange%20oil.%20%20But,%20I%20decided%20to%20go%20with%20the%20cream%20cheese%20frosting%20that%20Meg%20used.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EI%20used%203%20packages%20of%20cream%20cheese%20and%20one%20stick%20of%20buttah.%20%20I%20had%20about%201/4%20cup%20of%20orange%20zest,%20so%20added%20half%20to%20the%20frosting...%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3E..plus%201/4%20more%20of%20orange%20juice.%20%20I%20used%20about%204%20cups%20of%20confectioner's%20sugar,%20but%20you%20can%20certainly%20use%20double%20that--%20if%20you%20want%20a%20thick%20and%20really%20sweet%20frosting.%20I%20have%20a%20sweet%20tooth,%20but%20I%20do%20have%20my%20limits!%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EI%20was%20pleased%20with%20the%20silky%20texture%20of%20the%20frosting--%20and%20I%20gave%20it%20a%20taste.%20Then%20I%20added%20the%20rest%20of%20the%20orange%20zest.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EPerfect!%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3ESo,%20I%20managed%20to%20slice%20the%20two%20cakes%20into%20four%20layers--%20and%20soon%20realized%20I%20barely%20had%20enough%20frosting!%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3ELucky,%20I%20pulled%20it%20off%20and%20put%20the%20cake%20into%20the%20fridge.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EI%20had%20an%20inspiration%20that%20I%20would%20make%20candied%20orange%20slices,%20as%20a%20pretty%20garnish.%20%20I%20used%20mandarin%20oranges,%20actually,%20so%20they%20would%20be%20small-ish.%20%20Only,%20I%20broke%20my%20Golden%20Rule%20of%20Common%20Sense--%20and%20when%20our%20guests%20arrived,%20I%20left%20the%20oranges%20slices%20unattended,%20while%20greeting%20our%20guest.%20In%20a%20matter%20of%20minutes,%20the%20sugar-water%20went%20to%20the%20hard%20ball%20stage...and....%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3E..they%20became%20as%20hard%20as%20glass%20and%20many%20of%20the%20slices%20turned%20a%20very%20dark%20color.%20The%20few%20that%20I%20salvaged%20%20were%20pretty,%20but%20hard%20to%20work%20with.%20SIGH.%20That%20goes%20to%20show%20that%20one%20must%20never%20leave%20hot%20sugar%20unattended.%20Never!%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EIt's%20really%20hard%20to%20try%20to%20plate%20and%20photograph%20a%20recipe%20when%20you%20have%20dinner%20guests.%20They%20know%20I'm%20a%20food%20blogger,%20but%20they%20were%20as%20anxious%20as%20the%20rest%20of%20my%20family%20to%20dig%20in%20to%20dessert.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3ESo,%20here%20is%20a%20less%20than%20stellar%20photo%20of%20the%20cake.%20%20But,%20taste%20is%20really%20what%20matters,%20right?%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3ETASTING%20NOTES:%20%20The%20cake%20was%20super%20moist%20and%20tender.%20%20I%20believe%20that%20the%20orange%20oil%20really%20helped%20to%20make%20that%20beautiful%20orange%20citrus%20flavor%20to%20be%20at%20the%20forefront%20of%20our%20taste%20buds.%20%20The%20frosting%20was%20excellent--%20and%20I'm%20usually%20not%20the%20biggest%20fan%20of%20cream%20cheese%20frostings.%20%20I%20loved%20the%20little%20bits%20of%20orange%20zest,%20too.%20%20I%20sent%20a%20large%20section%20of%20the%20cake,%20home%20with%20our%20dinner%20guests.%20My%20friend%20told%20me%20that%20she%20enjoyed%20the%20cake%20for%20the%20next%20couple%20of%20days.%20%20Would%20I%20make%20this%20cake%20again?%20You%20bet!%20In%20fact,%20I%20plan%20to%20make%20a%20version%20with%20fresh%20lemons,%20lemon%20zest%20and%20pure%20lemon%20oil.%20%20%20I%20think%20that%20a%20Swiss%20Buttercream%20frosting,%20with%20either%20orange%20or%20lemon%20would%20be%20a%20lovely%20variation%20to%20this%20cake%20recipe.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EHappy%20Spring!%3C/p%3E){kind=link}