Alright, I promised I'd post the recipe of the Sweet Orange Cake I made for work on Halloween Night...aaand pictures of me as Glimmer! And if I do say so myself...I thought the costume came out pretty well =]
But first! The cake, because its more important than me haha ;]
Now in the cookbook, the full title is: The Taste of Gale's Kiss - Sweet Orange Cake
This is officially an inside joke between me and my co-workers now!
here's the recipe:
>Crunch Layer:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
>Cake:
1 package yellow cake mix
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup fresh-squeezed orange juice
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 teaspoon orange extract
>Frosting:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon fresh-squeezed orange juice
1/2 cup whole milk (optional)
1. Preheat oven to 350. Oil and flour two 9-inch pans
2. FOR THE CRUNCH LAYER: In a small bowl, mix together the graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, almonds, butter, and vanilla extract. Divide the mixture evenly between the two prepared pans. Set aside.
3. FOR CAKE: Combine the cake mix, water, orange juice, and oil until just blended. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in orange extract. Stir until thoroughly combined. Pour mixture evenly over the crunch layer in the pans.
4: Bake the cakes for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove pans from oven and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes. Invert pans onto a wire rack and let cakes cool completely before frosting.
5. FOR FROSTING: In a medium-sized bowl, beat together the butter, cream cheese, vanilla extract, sugar, and orange juice. If too thick, add up to 1/2 cup whole milk.
6: Once cakes are thoroughly cooled, frost crunch-side-up. Layer cakes on top of one another, and thoroughly frost top and sides.
TIPS FROM YOUR SPONSER
As an added touch of class, try placing some mandarin orange slices or curled orange skins on top of the cake for an extra-tasty garnish!
(This recipe is taken from The Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook)
And this is what it should (hopefully) end up looking like!
I added those orange jelly candies, and it looked awesome until mine caved right down the middle! I wasn't too worried about it because it was just me and co-workers who were gonna eat it. Now if I was gonna enter this thing into a contest...THEN I would've been mad! And if you're worried about it tasting too orange-y, don't! It was the perfect orange-y taste, and OHMYWORD, the frosting was the best part! Seriously, if you ever make a cake, make homemade frosting too...it's 27 times better than store-bought!
And now, introducing...Glimmer!
The trademark Glimmer fishtail braid!
So, there ya go!
And one last thing before I sign off...In 2 weeks from now, IT WILL BE BLACK FRIDAY! It's so insane to think about! Of course, the commercials have already started, and the other day I heard Christmas music in a store. Poor Thanksgiving always gets shoved to the side now...
Anyway, have a Merry Thanksgiving...I mean, a Happy Thanksgiving *wink*
ERW
