B52 Orange Mocha Cake

B-52 Cake

3 cups cake flour
2 1/4 cups sugar
2 tbsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 1/2 oz box Instant vanilla pudding mix
6 eggs
1 1/2 cups butter, melted
3/4 cup water
2-3 tsp blood orange essential oil
orange food coloring, optional
1/4 cup cocoa
3/4 cup strong brewed coffee

1 recipe Milk Chocolate Whipped Ganache: recipe below
2 tsp blood orange essential oil

1 batch Swiss Meringue Buttercream: recipe below

1/4 cup Bailey’s Irish Cream

Milk Chocolate Whipped Ganache:

This is a great alternative for buttercream, when frosting or filling a cake

 10/11 oz bag good quality milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp flavoring extract (optional)
2 tbsp butter         

Place chocolate chips into a glass mixing bowl, and put aside.

In a small saucepan, combine heavy whipping cream, flavor extract (if using), and butter. Heat to a boil, remove from heat.
Pour hot cream mixture into bowl of chocolate chips. Let sit for 3-5 minutes. Starting in the middle of the bowl, slowly start stirring the chocolate and cream until all of the chocolate is melted and the cream has disappeared into it – it should be smooth.
Cover with plastic wrap, preferably resting right on top of the surface – this prevents a skin from forming while it cools.
Allow to cool to room temperature, then whip with a stand or electric hand mixer for 2-5 minutes, or until fluffy.

Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
This is the base for all of our delicious frostings… Light, yet rich and soo creamy!

5 egg whites
1 cup granulated (NOT powdered!) sugar
3 sticks unsalted butter
2 tbsp pure vanilla extract
Mix egg whites and sugar in a *clean* metal mixing bowl, and place over a pot of simmering water on your stovetop. Whisk occasionally until it hits 160 degrees.
Move egg mixture to your stand mixer and whip on high (using the whisk attachment) until stiff peaks form, and mixture is relatively cool. While waiting, cut up the butter into chunks.
When Meringue has reached the stiff peaks stage, switch to low speed and add the butter a chunk at a time. Add vanilla.
Once vanilla and butter is incorporated into the mix, turn speed back up to high and whip until you have a smooth buttercream. It will go through some weird stages before this point – soupy, maybe curdled. Don’t worry! It will come together!

 
Cake Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Liberally grease two 8″ round cake pans with vegetable shortening, and/or spray with baking spray.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and pudding mix in a large mixing bowl.

 Add in eggs, beating just until smooth.

Carefully add melted butter to the batter, mixing on medium speed until smooth.

  Divide batter evenly into two bowls. Add water and blood orange essential oil to one bowl, beating until well incorporated and smooth.

 Taste, adding more blood orange essential oil if desired. Tint orange, if desired. Add cocoa powder to second bowl, stirring until evenly distributed.

 Add coffee, beat once more until fully incorporated and smooth.

Divide batter among prepared cake pans, one flavor per pan. Bake until golden and knife inserted into center of batter comes out clean and cake springs back – about 45-60 minutes.

 Allow to cool 10-15 minutes before turning cakes out onto baking rack to cool fully. Ideally, allow to cool to room temperature, wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Allow cake to sit overnight.

Prepare a batch of milk chocolate whipped ganache, flavoring the whipped cream – while heating – with blood orange essential oil.

Prepare Swiss meringue buttercream, flavoring it with Bailey’s instead of the vanilla.

To assemble cake:
Remove plastic wrap from cake layers. Carefully slice the domed top off each round, leveling the surface of the cake. Carefully cut each cake in half, horizontally, for 4 thin rounds of cake in all.
Place one round of orange cake on cake plate, spread with ganache. Top with a round of mocha cake, spread with buttercream. Top with second round of orange cake. Spread with a final layer of ganache, and top with remaining layer of mocha cake. Frost sides and top of cake with remaining buttercream. Serve at room temperature.


Note: This cake gets VERY hard when chilled. Always serve cakes at room
 temperature! Cold cake is DRY cake.
Your family will be amazed by your awesomeness as a baker.


Thanx to Marie Porter at Celebration Generation 

http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog