Chocolate Orange Cake

A friend had her baby shower recently, and she requested a chocolate orange cake. I realized that I hadn't made this combo before, BUT I  had made all the components, so this is a bit of Frankenstein cake, complete with chocolate cake, chocolate buttercream, chocolate ganache, orange marmalade, and candied oranges! It weighs about 20 pounds, and now all of us that ate it feel about 20 pounds heavier. Worth it. I highly suggest that you make this a TWO day cake process. Start with the candied oranges the day before so they have time to dry out. This recipe makes a three layer 9-inch round cake.  

For the candied oranges:

I used this recipe for the candied oranges with slight modifications.

1 1/2 navel oranges sliced into about 1/8 - 1/4 inch thick.
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups water
2 tbsp orange juice (from the other half of the second orange)

1. Put a pot of water on the stove to boil.
2. Make an ice bath in a large bowl and set by the boiling water.
3. Place orange slices in the boiling water for about one minute and then transfer them to the ice bath to cool. *The recipe said to drain them before the next step.... I didn't. I just kept them in the ice bath until my syrup was ready.
4. Bring the 2 cups water, granulated sugar, and orange juice to a boil on the stove. Once the sugar has dissolved, reduce to medium-low heat. Add orange slices in a single layer. *mine was not a single layer... It was still okay.
5. Simmer the orange slices for about 45 - 60 minutes, flipping every 15 minutes, until the rinds are slightly translucent.

6. Place orange slices on a cooling rack (preferably with something underneath to catch the drip) and allow to cool completely. *the recipe says at least an hour up to overnight. I did two hours, and it's fine, but I think next time I will do it overnight. For this cake application, two hours is fine. For like candy, overnight probably makes for a better chew. *Also, once they set up, I cut them in half to be able to place on the cake. Definitely wait until they have hardened!

7. Dust with additional granulated sugar to help with the stickiness.

8. RESERVE the syrup! That's your soak for the cake!

 For the batter:

2 c granulated sugar 
2 1/2 c flour 
1 c cocoa powder 
3 eggs 
3/4 c vegetable oil 
2 tsp baking powder
1.5 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 c boiling water 
1/2 c buttermilk 
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease three 8-inch round pans using goop.
2. Combine sugar and vegetable oil in stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment.
3. Add eggs one at a time until incorporated. Add in vanilla extract as well.
4. In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients.
5. Alternate dry ingredients and buttermilk, incorporating each into the batter before adding more. Start and end with the dry ingredients.
6. Add the hot water *make sure your speed is on the lowest!* to the batter a little at a time. Once all incorporated, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and then turn to medium-high speed and whip for one minute. This batter will look really loose, but that's how it should be.

7. Pour batter evenly into cake pans.
8. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
9. Let cool on cooling rack. Turn out cakes when still a bit warm. Allow to cool completely before icing.

For the buttercream frosting:
4 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature *yes, this is pretty butter-heavy; trust me, it's delicious
1 c cocoa powder
4 c powdered sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

1. Put butter into stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment.
2. Sift cocoa powder and powdered sugar together. *I don't sift unless I need to. You know this, but with a frosting, it's best to sift.
3. Pour sugar mixture into butter a little at a time until incorporated. Add salt and vanilla.

For the Ganache:

1 c heavy cream
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips 
4 tbsp (half a stick) unsalted butter, room temp - I almost ALWAYS don't do room temp because I forget to pull the butter out for this; it's fine; just takes a few more mins to melt
Pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Place the heavy cream in a small pan on the stove and heat until just at a simmer. You don't want this to boil.
2. While the cream is heating, put your chocolate and butter chopped into small cubes into a heat safe bowl.
3. Once the cream has heated, pour over the chocolate and butter and cover bowl with plastic wrap for about 5 minutes. *This just ensures that your chocolate will melt and be easier to incorporate.
4. Stir the ingredients together. At first it will look like they aren't coming together. They will. Once it's smooth, I add some salt and vanilla to taste, and make sure to fully incorporate it.

5. You will want this to sit for a while so that it is pourable but will not fall off the cake. We want drips.

Assembly:

You will also need:

18 oz orange marmalade

1. Put a dollop of buttercream on cake stand to prevent slippage. Add first cake layer.

2. With a pastry brush, soak the cake with some of the orange simple syrup reserved from making the candied oranges. 

3. Put about 1/4 of the buttercream into a piping bag. Pipe a ring around the top of the first layer- this is a dam to hold in the marmalade. 

4. Spread marmalade on the cake. 

5. Top with second layer- repeat. 

6. Top with final layer. Cover the cake with buttercream. 

7. Slowly pour the chocolate ganache on the cake. Start to push some of it off the sides at intervals to create organic drips. *I put my ganache in the fridge to firm up a bit because I was impatient... then it was a little too firm. If that happens, put the ganache over a double-boiler to loosen a bit. 

8. Decorate with additional buttercream and orange slices.  

Salted Caramel Shortbread Bars

This week in the 52 weeks of baking challenges is a timed challenge. What would you make if you were given 1 hour start to finish? This was hard for me to think of because I really just kept thinking of things that I would NOT be able to make in an hour. So I decided that I would finally try my hand at a recipe that my work wife, Jill, always makes. So, this is my rendition of her salted caramel butter bars. This recipe makes an 8x8 pan. Final time: 57 minutes and 29 seconds. It's damn good, so maybe make it when no one else is gonna be home so that you don't have to share. 

For the Shortbread

1 c (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp

1/2 c granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or if you don't have this you can use vanilla extract)

3/4 tsp salt

2 c all purpose flour

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Prepare 8x8 inch pan with parchment and non-stick spray.

2. Cream together butter and sugar. Add in vanilla bean paste and salt. 

3. Slowly incorporate flour. This mixture will be sandy, but when you squeeze it together in your hand, it will clump. See below. 

4. Take about half of the dough and press into the bottom of pan. Bake for about 15 minutes. Reserve the other half of the dough for the topping.  

For the Caramel

1 bag (11 oz) caramel bits - if you can't find these, you can use the same weight of the regular caramels; they just take longer to melt; OR you can make your own caramel. This was a timed challenge. I was not making my own caramel, but you know what, follow your heart. 

3 tbsp heavy cream (or milk is fine)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 tsp flakey sea salt

1. About 10 minutes into the baking of the bottom layer, combine caramel bits, heavy cream, and vanilla extract into a heat-safe bowl and microwave in 15 second intervals until smooth and melted.

 

2. Remove the pan from the oven after the 15 minutes and spread the caramel out onto the dough. 

3. Sprinkle 1 tsp of the flakey salt on top of the caramel. 

4. Take the remaining dough and top the caramel. I made big clumps of the dough with my hands and just plopped them on. It was easiest, and it also allows some of the caramel to stick out. Curb appeal, baby. 

5. Return to the oven for about 30 - 35 minutes or until just starting to get golden.

6. Sprinkle the remaining sea salt on top of the bars and allow to cool completely before slicing. This bake takes less than hour, but the cooling time will feel like a million years while you wait for this deliciousness. 

Guinness Chocolate Cookies

So this week on the 52 weeks of baking challenge is about CHOCOLATE! Look alive, people! I was also planning to try out some options for a March special, and March is all about St. Patrick's day. I am not a huge chocolate person, but when it's done well, AND when it includes Guinness, I'm down for a good time. This recipe makes about 3 dozen cookies. 

For the Cookies

1 tbsp Guinness reduction -*you will reduce one Guinness (you really only need about half of a Guinness, so you can sip on it a bit as well). You will use this for BOTH the dough and the ganache.

1 c (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp

1/2 c brown sugar

1/2 c granulated sugar

2 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 c all-purpose flour

1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder 

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp espresso powder *optional

1. Put Guinness in a small saucepan and reduce to about 1/2 the quantity. Bring to room temp before using. *If you want to do this the day before even, that's fine. 

2. Preheat oven to 350F.

3. In a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars. 

4. Add one egg at a time, mixing to incorporate, and then add the vanilla and 1 tbsp of Guinness reduction.

5. In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients- flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and espresso powder. Slowly add to the wet ingredients and mix to combine. 

6. Allow dough to chill in fridge for about 30 minutes to firm up a bit. 

7. Scoop out balls and place onto baking sheet. Bake for about 10 - 12 minutes. 

8. Allow to cool completely before glazing. 

For the Chocolate Ganache

1/4 c heavy cream

4 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips 

1 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Pinch of salt

1 tbsp Guinness reduction

Some flaky salt to finish

1. Place heavy cream in a small saucepan on the stove and heat until just at a simmer. 

2. While the cream is heating, put chocolate, butter, and salt in a small, heat-proof bowl.

3. Once the cream has heated, pour over chocolate and butter and cover bowl with plastic wrap for about five minutes. *This just gives the chocolate some time to melt and makes it easier to incorporate.

4. Stir the ingredients together. At first this will look like this isn't going to come together, but it totally will. Once it's smooth, add the Guinness reduction and stir to combine. 

5. Allow to cool a bit so that it thickens, and then top the cookies. You can either dip the top of cookies or spoon some on to the top. I dipped; I think it is the easiest way.

6. Sprinkle a little flaky salt on top to finish.

7. Obviously, this should be enjoyed with a pint of Guinness.  

Pina Colada Cupcakes

My friend, Liz whom I've talked about before, made me homemade pineapple preserves, which made me obviously want to make cupcakes and top them with a rum buttercream and some toasted coconut. Isn't that where your mind goes immediately? I thought so. Also, there's about 10 inches of snow on the ground, and I needed a little fucking summer. This recipe makes about 3 dozen cupcakes or three 9in cake pans. 

For the Cupcakes

1/2 c vegetable oil

1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp

2 c granulated sugar

3 eggs, separated

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 c cake flour

2 c all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 c buttermilk

1/2 c pineapple juice

1 c chopped pineapple (I had pineapple slices, so I just chopped those).

1. Preheat oven to 375 F and prepare cake molds or cupcake tins. 

2. In two bowls, separate eggs and whisk the egg whites to medium peaks. Set aside. 

3. In a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream together oil, butter, and sugar. 

4. Add in eggs yolks one at a time until incorporated. Then add the vanilla. 

5. Mix together dry ingredients in a separate bowl. In another measuring cup, combine buttermilk and pineapple juice.

6. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to sugar mixture. 

7. Add in 1/2 of the wet ingredients.

8. Repeat with another 1/3 of dry, second 1/2of wet, and finish with the last 1/3 of dry. 

9. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter and fully incorporate. Once combined, add in the pineapple chunks and incorporate. 

10. Divide into your cake/cupcake tins. If you are making cupcakes, it's about 15 - 18 minutes in the oven. For cake, it's about 18 - 22 minutes. 

11. Allow to cool before filling. 

For the Buttercream

1/2 c dark rum

4 sticks unsalted butter, room temp

6 c powdered sugar

Pinch of salt

Splash of vanilla

*optional* splash of milk or heavy cream- I'm not gonna lie, I wanted more rum flavor, so I loosened with rum- this rum did NOT have the alcohol cooked out of it, so just keep that in mind (but it is miniscule).

1. Reduce the dark rum in a small pan on the stovetop until it's about 1/8 cup and allow to cool.*Beware of the vapors- girl, I felt like Scarlett O'Hara. 

2. In a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter and slowly incorporate powdered sugar, salt, rum, and vanilla extract. 

3. If it feels too thick, you can add a splash of milk or cream to loosen it a bit. 

Assembly 

You will also need:

Pineapple preserves (If you don't have a friend who makes it by hand, store-bought is fine.)

2/3 c coconut flakes (I used sweetened)

1. Toast the coconut on the stove top for a few minutes. Make sure to babysit it, because this shit will burn real quick. Allow to cool.

2. With a serrated knife, cut a hole into each cupcake, and fill with the pineapple preserves. 

3. Top with the rum buttercream. 

4. Add coconut flakes on top.

5. Make a real drink and enjoy together.

**IF you made a cake instead, this is what I would do:

1. Place first cake down. Add some buttercream, and with a piping bag, pipe around the top of the cake so that you have a dam. Add some pineapple preserves and coconut flakes. Repeat.  

Red Velvet Cupcakes

I am just gonna say it. I'm not a huge fan of red velvet. It's like it tries to be a chocolate cupcake but just can't quite make it. Now, I will say, I AM a huge fan of cream cheese frosting, so that helps red velvet's case in my eyes. I have been playing with this recipe for a while because I wanted it to be chocolatier but kept running into the issue of the extra cocoa powder muddying my color. So this is where I'm at now- I have found a pretty good balance of color and flavor. And besides, you HAVE to have red velvet for Valentine's Day.
This recipe makes three 9x9 inch cake rounds or about 3 dozen cupcakes.

For the Cupcakes:

1/2 c vegetable oil

1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp

2 c granulated sugar

3 eggs, separated

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 c all purpose flour

1 1/4 c cake flour

1/4 c cocoa powder *I bought this "red cocoa"- it helped a little, but I don't know that it is worth the money. If you want to use a little less cocoa (like 2 tbsp) instead of this expensive cocoa, do it. I've done it. 

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 c buttermilk

1 tbsp vinegar

red food coloring (I don't really have a measurement for this- keep putting it in until you get a color you like- it will darken in the oven a bit. I used 1 oz or a little more)

1. Preheat oven to 375 F and prepare cake molds or cupcake tins. 

2. In two bowls, separate eggs and whisk the egg whites to medium peaks. Add some food coloring into this as well. Set aside. 

3. In a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream together oil, butter, and sugar. 

4. Add in eggs yolks one at a time until incorporated. Then add the vanilla. 

5. Mix together dry ingredients in a separate bowl. 

6. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to sugar mixture. 

7. Add in the vinegar, some red food coloring, and about half of the buttermilk. 

8. Repeat with another 1/3 of dry, second 1/2of buttermilk, and finish with the last 1/3 of dry. 

9. Gently fold the egg whites (or egg reds now ;) into the batter and fully incorporate. 

10. Divide into your cake/cupcake tins. If you are making cupcakes, it's about 15 - 18 minutes in the oven. For cake, it's about 18 - 22 minutes. 

11. Allow to cool before frosting.

For the Frosting:

2 (8 oz) boxes cream cheese, room temp

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp

5 (ish) c powdered sugar

Splash of vanilla

Pinch of salt

*splash of heavy cream or milk- If it feels too thick, I like to add a bit of milk or cream to smooth out.

1. Put butter and cream cheese in stand mixer and mix to combine. 

2. Gradually incorporate the powdered sugar. 

3. Add vanilla and salt. 

4. Add a splash of heavy cream or milk if you want. 

5. Load up those cupcakes with delicious cream cheese frosting! *You will want to keep these in the fridge because of the cream cheese. I suggest taking them out about 20 - 30 minutes before eating so they can warm up a bit.  

Mini Pop Tarts

Still following the 52 weeks of baking challenge on Reddit, and this week is "bite-sized", so I made some mini pop tarts! These don't really taste like store bought pop tarts, but that's not really a bad thing is it? Plus, they're super easy to make. This recipe makes about 18 mini pop tarts (2 in X 2.5 in). 

For the crust:

2 c all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp granulated sugar

1/2 tsp cardamom *optional*

2/3 c unsalted butter, cold

1/3 c *ish* heavy cream (or milk is fine here too)

1 tbsp white vinegar

1 egg (for the egg wash when assembling)

1. Preheat oven to 425F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Combine flour, salt, sugar, and cardamom in a bowl. Using a cheese grater, grate in the butter and then incorporate with a pastry cutter until you have pea-sized pieces of butter throughout the mixture. *You can also do this in a food processor. I have a baby food processor, so here we are, doing it old school. 

3. Add vinegar and stir to incorporate. 

4. Add heavy cream in a bit at a time, mixing as you go, until the dough starts to come together. For me, I made these in February. It's dry. I added a good amount more of the heavy cream this time. 

5. Turn out onto a clean surface and form into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and allow to to chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes. *I'm gonna be honest; I didn't chill it this time because I wanted pop tarts stat, and it was fine, so follow your heart.  

For the fillings:

*I did three different fillings because I wanted to try out a couple of different options. 

Strawberry jam *I used store bought. I'm not Ina. I can do that. 

Nutella *Again, store bought. Come at me. 

Brown sugar mixture:

1. Place 2 tbsp butter in a bowl and melt in microwave. 

2. Add a pinch of salt and about 1/2 - 3/4 c brown sugar. *I'm not gonna lie, I didn't measure how much brown sugar. You want it to be pretty thick. We are trying to prevent it from just straight up running out off the pie crust. 

Assembly:

1. Roll out the pie crust dough to about 1/8 inch thick. Cut into rectangles (like I said, I did 2 inch x 2.5 inch). I DID also re-roll out the jagged edges again to get more rectangles, and it was fine. 

2. Place half of your rectangles onto the parchment lined baking sheets. 

3. Take one spoonful of your desired filling and put it in the middle of each square. *You don't want to over fill here. It will all come out the sides if you do. Ask me how I know... 

4. Crack the egg in a small bowl and mix it with a splash of water to make an egg wash. 

5. Take another rectangle and brush the edges of it with egg wash. Place that side down on top of a rectangle with filling. You're making a glue for the two crust pieces to stick together. 

6. Use a fork to crimp the edges so that the crust stays together. *I tried the first one without the egg wash, and it didn't hold well, so the egg wash is a must. 

7. Once all assembled, brush the tops of each tart with egg wash. 

8. Bake at 425F for about 20 - 25 minutes or until golden brown. 

9. Allow to cool before glazing. 

For the glaze:

1/4 c heavy cream or milk 

1/2 c powdered sugar, sifted *again, I didn't really measure these. We are making a glaze. We measure with our hearts (and our eyes). 

Pinch of salt

Splash of vanilla extract

1. Pour heavy cream and vanilla extract into a bowl. 

2. Sift in the powdered sugar and add the pinch of salt. Stir to combine. If it's too thin, add more powdered sugar. If it's too thick, add more heavy cream. I wanted a THICK paste that I could slather on with an off-set spatula instead of a dunking situation. See below. 

3. Once tarts are cooled, slather with glaze and add sprinkles or sanding sugar. 

Grapefruit Shortbread Cookies

This was the second challenge for the 52 weeks of baking (2021): seasonal ingredients. I decided on grapefruit because I love it. I think I'm probably about 70 because I eat it straight up all the time. Anyway, these aren't super grapefruit-y; they are more like a nice shortbread with a little hint of citrus, but I am writing the recipe down so that I don't forget what I did (because it's delicious), and I can try to punch up the grapefruit flavor more in the future. So what I'm saying is, even if you're not a huge grapefruit fan, just give these a try. Also check out my sweet ass cutting board that my husband made me. Perfect picture setting.

This recipe makes about 2 dozen large cookies. 

For the dough:

1 c unsalted butter (2 sticks), room temp

1/2 c granulated sugar

2 1/4 c all-purpose flour *this is what I used, but it may change depending on the humidity and the amount of juice you get from the grapefruit 

1/2 tsp salt

zest of 1 grapefruit

juice of 1/2 a grapefruit

1 tsp vanilla 

1/2 tsp cardamom *I didn't do this yet, but I think it will help with the citrus tones

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Combine butter and sugar in a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. 

2. Add juice, zest, and vanilla and mix to combine.

3. Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients: salt, *cardamom*, and flour. 

4. Turn out onto a clean surface. It is a little crumbly at first, so work the dough into a ball that stays together. 

5. Flour a rolling pin and roll out to about 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick; use your favorite cookie cutter to stamp out cookies. *you will re-roll the dough again for more cookies. It's okay, I promise. 

6. Take a spatula and transfer them on to a baking sheet. Bake for 12 - 14 minutes or until lightly golden on the bottom and just barely on the edges. 

7. Allow to cool on a wire rack before glazing.

For the glaze:

Juice of 1/2 a grapefruit

1 - 1 1/2 c powdered sugar *again, you know the rules. You can see in the video below the consistency you are looking for.

*I think more zest here would also be good, but then you have to have more than one grapefruit, so there's that. Do with this information what you will.

1. Put juice in a bowl and sift in the powdered sugar a bit at a time. I'd start with about half a cup and then mix it up. If it needs to be thicker, add more powdered sugar. If it needs to be thinner (probably doesn't), add more juice or water. 

2. Dip the top of the cookies into the glaze and then return to the wire rack to allow glaze to firm up. 

Pecan Pie Bundt Cake

So, I want to try to follow along with the 52 week baking challenge on reddit. Will I make it through all 52 weeks? Maybe not, but I do want to try; you know how motivated January Jenna is. We will see how far we get. I also will not be making my own recipes for all of the weeks, but this week I am. The first week was "new year, new recipe". Surprise: another cake recipe with a pie theme. Am I becoming predictable? I don't even care because it's fucking delicious. This recipe makes one 10 inch bundt cake. 

For the pecan pie filling:

This is the filling from the pecan pie cupcakes recipe; I will go ahead and share those ingredients here too so you don't have to click around too much. 

3 eggs

3/4 c light corn syrup

1/4 c unsalted butter, cubed

1/2 tsp salt

2 c chopped pecans *So you are going to need another 1/2 c of pecans for the cake, so keep that in mind, and toast them all together; just set aside 1/2 c for later.

1 tsp vanilla extract 

1. Throw pecans in a dry pan and toast them. Do NOT walk away; just toast them until you start to smell them. Set aside. *I had whole pecans and then chopped them after toasting. If you do this too, when you are measuring, you will want about 3 c of whole pecans or so. 

2. Combine all ingredients into a saucepan except the pecans and vanilla extract. Heat over medium heat until it starts to boil, stirring constantly. 

3. Add the pecans and vanilla extract to the saucepan and boil for another 30 seconds or so. 

4. Remove from heat and allow to cool; you can stick in the fridge if you want it to cool faster. *I am not gonna lie, I didn't let it cool very long, but I think you should. I'm wondering if it will help it to not stick so much in the pan? Follow your heart. 

For the bundt cake:

3 sticks unsalted butter, room temp

1 c granulated sugar

1/2 c brown sugar

6 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 3/4 c all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 c chopped pecans, toasted

1. Prepare bundt pan with goop and preheat oven to 325F. 

2. Cream together butter and sugars in a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment until the mixture becomes slightly fluffy. 

3. Slowly incorporate eggs, one at a time, making sure to combine between each egg. Add vanilla extract. 

4. Combine dry ingredients in a small bowl and then add them to the wet mixture slowly until incorporated. 

5. Fold in the toasted pecans. 

Assembly:

1. Put about half of the pecan pie filling into the bottom of the prepared bundt pan (this will be the top of the cake eventually). 

2. Put about half of the cake batter on top. 

3. Add the rest of the pecan pie filling and marble it a bit into the cake batter. 

4. Finish with the rest of the cake batter. 

5. Bake for about an hour, but check at 50 minutes or so. When a toothpick inserted comes out clean, you are good to go. 

6. Allow to cool before turning out. *Mine stuck to the pan a bit, but doesn't matter. As you can see in the images below, you can just take a rubber spatula to lift the rest out of the pan and smoosh it onto the cake. Technical term there. Smoosh. 

Oops!

Before

 

All better :) 

Spiced Clementine Pound Cake

Yeah, you read that title and were like what the hell? It's okay, I promise it's good. So my friend Liz made some candied clementines and gave me some, and I thought, you know what, let's make a cake with those. I asked her to send me the link to the recipe she used, and she sent me three links and told me about the bastardization of a recipe that she did, so I'll try to give you what she did. 

For the Clementines:

12 clementines 

4 c granulated sugar

3 c water

1 cinnamon stick

1 piece candied ginger

3 - 4 cardamom pods

1. Wash the clementines well and poke with a toothpick or fork several times to pierce the skin. In a pot, combine all the ingredients above. 

2. Bring to a simmer, cover, and simmer for 1 - 2 hours (the longer, the softer the rind will be). Be careful not to boil them. Let the clementines cool in the syrup. 

3. Chop up 4 of them and reserve for the cake. The rest, you can chop and use almost like a marmalade on toast. and the simple syrup is delicious in a drink as well! 

For the Cake:

3 sticks unsalted butter, room temp

1 c granulated sugar

1/2 c brown sugar

6 large eggs

1 3/4 c all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon 

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1. Prepare bundt pan with goop and preheat oven to 325F. 

2. Cream together butter and sugars in a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. 

3. Slowly add in eggs, making sure to incorporate between each egg. 

4. Combine dry ingredients in a small bowl (flour, salt, baking powder, spices). Add them to the wet ingredients slowly until incorporated. 

5. Add chopped up clementines to the batter and combine. 

6. Bake for 45 - 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. 

For the Glaze:

1/4 c clementine syrup (again, I'm sorry; I am very bad at actually measuring things for a glaze... this is an estimate)

Juice of 1 lemon

2 ish c powdered sugar (also an estimate- you want it to be thick, but also pourable)

1. Combine in a bowl until you get a fairly thick consistency. 

2. Once cake is turned out onto a tray and cooled completely, drizzle glaze over the top. Allow to harden.