Orange Olive Oil Cake

Ever since a recent trip to Tender Greens and tasting their Orange Olive Oil cake, I've been obsessed with making one myself. I've had two failed attempts and the third one tonight turned out well enough to tell you about it. This humble cake is slightly sweet, fragrant from the orange zest and very moist. A great treat to enjoy with tea or coffee.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs, at room temperature, separated
• 2 oranges zested, save juice from 1/2 orange
• 1 cup unbleached flour
• 1 cup semolina flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a muffin tin or grease a scone pan.
2. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs white until stiff peaks form. Set aside. 
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat egg yolks and sugar. Add olive oil, buttermilk and orange juice.
4. In a medium mixing bowl,  mix flours, baking powder, salt and orange zest. Add flour mixture to egg mixture in small batches until combined thoroughly. Fold in beaten egg whites. 
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, until just cake tester comes out clean and edges are slightly browned.

Chocolate Rum Cake

How can you go wrong with a description like that?! I keep this dessert in my back pocket when I need to make something quick and impressive. It's perfect for a potluck and the ingredients are easy to keep on hand. This cake is very moist, and tastes great for several days.

Ingredients:

• 1 box dark chocolate cake mix
• 1 box instant chocolate pudding mix (3.4 oz)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup rum
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs

Glaze:

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup rum
• 1/2 cup canned cherries (optional)

Directions:

1. Mix cake mix, pudding mix, water, 1/2 cup rum, vegetable oil and eggs, in an electric mixer. Grease and flour bundt cake pan. Pour batter into cake pan. Bake at 325° F for 50-60 minutes until cake tester comes out clean.
2. While cake is baking, place sugar, butter, 1/4 cup rum into a sauce pan and bring to a boil for 2-4 minutes (until sugar isn’t grainy). Add cherries, if desired.
3. Remove cake from pan and place on a cooling rack, pour glaze very slowly pour glaze over the cake.
4. Store covered at room temperature for several days.

Angel Food Cupcakes with Peaches, Raspberry Sauce, & Biscotti Crumbles

Angel Food Cupcakes with Peaches, Raspberry Sauce & Biscotti Crumbles. Now isn't that the longest recipe name ever? And I even left out the whipped cream. I just couldn't think of anything catchy and shorter to capture this dessert. Your naming suggestions are welcome!

My man and I created this recipe while trying to come up with a dessert for his birthday that would be light & summery and travel well. His birthday plans included dinner at our favorite local Chinese Restaurant follwed by a dessert picnic along the grassy strand at the Dana Point Harbor.


I packed all the dessert components individually in a cooler and we assembled the dessert at the harbor. For this occasion I packed frozen Cool Whip instead of whipped cream so it would keep well in the cooler during dinner. For the biscotti we used Nonni's Cioccolatti Biscotti which added a little layer of rich dark chocolate to the dessert. We also found that the almond flavor of the biscotti worked really well with angel food cake.

We loved this dessert and found that it was hard to eat just one serving even though we were stuffed from dinner. I can't think of a more perfect way to spend a summer evening than sitting out in the harbor watching boats float by and enjoying a summertime dessert.

[Aren't these cupcake liners adorable? My sister-in-law gave them to me for Christmas along with a whole box full of cupcake goodies. I highly reccomend these liners, the paper is thick and waxy and much sturdier that regular liners.]



[Raspberry Dessert Sauce recipe can be found here]

Angel Food Cake with Peaches, Raspberry Sauce and Biscotti Crumbles

Makes 12 portions

• 1 box of Angel Food Cake mix
• Water
• 12 cupcake liners
• 6 peaches
• Juice from 1/2 lemon
• 1 package of fresh raspberries
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 carton of Cool Whip or other whipped cream
• 4 Biscotti, crumbled

Step 1. Prepare the Angel Food Cake mix and bake according to the package directions for cupcakes. Cool and store in a cupcake carrier or other sealed container.

Step 2. Using the raspberries and 1/4 cup sugar, prepare the Raspberry Dessert Sauce according to the directions in this earlier post. Place into a storage container and refridgerate.

Step 3. Peel and slice peaches. Place into a storage container. Toss with the lemon juice to prevent browning and 2 Tbsp of sugar. Refridgerate until ready to use. The sugar will dissolve with the peach juice and create a nice syrup coating on the peaches. Cover and refridgerate.

Step 4. Assemble your cupcakes! Place each cupcake on dessert plates, surround with 2 spoonfuls of peaches, top with a dollop of whipped cream, drizzle with raspberry sauce and sprinkle biscotti crumbles on top.

Raspberry Dessert Sauce

Fresh fruit sauces are so simple to make (it really only takes 5 minutes) and can really add a special touch to desserts of all kinds. This recipe is for a Raspberry sauce but you can substitute it with any type of berry. Try fruit dessert sauces on ice cream, cupcakes (like these Angel Food Cupcakes with Peaches and Biscotti), brownies, chocolate cake, creme brulee, cheesecake...I'm sure you could keep the list going with me!

Raspberry Dessert Sauce

• 1 package fresh raspberries (can substitue with frozen)
• 1/4 cup sugar (or to taste)
• 1/8 cup water

In a small saucepan bring all ingredients to a simmer. Let simmer for 5 minutes until sugar is disolved and fruit is softened and broken down. The longer you simmer, the less chunky the sauce will be. Remove from heat. Store covered in the refridgerator.

If using strawberries, you can mash berries after cooking to desired consistancy. If fruit is bland and lacking flavor (i.e. frozen) 1 Tbsp of lemon juice will help brighten up the flavor of the sauce.

Variation: substitue with strawberries, blueberries or blackberries

Orange Cupcakes Two Ways!

Mmmm! These cupcakes are my favorite! I'm so excited to finally share them with you. Just looking at the picture makes me wish I had one here to eat. Pictured are cupcakes I made for my sister's baby shower. I made fresh orange cupcakes, two ways. One being my favorite Orange Chiffon Cupcakes - they taste just like Sprinkles cupcakes to me. Nice and dense, not too sweet. Then I made an Orange Chocolate cupcake for all the chocolate lovers.

Orange Frosting

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 4 tablespoon butter, softened (1/2 stick)
• 2 tablespoon orange juice
• Zest from 1 orange
• 1 tablespoon milk or cream

Beat all ingredients with a mixer until smooth. Spread on cooled cupcakes with a table knife. Frosting may also be refrigerated and used the next day. To re-soften frosting, set out at room temperature for one hour. Then beat with mixer adding one tablespoon of milk at a time until frosting is smooth.

Glaze Option: Add more milk to frosting to thin down to a glaze type consistency.

Lemon: For lemon frosting, use lemon juice and zest instead of orange.

Orange Chocolate Cupcakes

• 1 box chocolate cake mix
• Eggs, according to package
• Oil, according to package
• Orange juice, instead of water according to package
• 1 tablespoon orange liquor
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven according to cake mix package. Line 24 cupcake tins with paper liners. Set aside. Mix the chocolate cake mix according to the directions on the package. Substitute orange juice for water. Add orange liquor. Fold in chocolate chips. Fill cupcake tins 2/3 full. Bake according to package directions for cupcakes. Let cupcakes cool in pan for about 5 minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Let cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

Orange Chiffon Cupcakes

Adapted from Kelly Madey’s recipe on Food Network

• 2 large egg whites
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons orange liquor
• 1 cup half and half
• ½ cup canola oil
• 2 teaspoon orange zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 24 cupcake tins with liners. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, beat egg whites to soft peaks with a mixer. Slowly add 1/3 cup of sugar and beat to stiff peaks. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the cake flour, sugars, baking powder and salt with a whisk (to sift ingredients together). Add remaining ingredients and beat with mixer (using same beaters) until combined. Carefully fold egg whites into the batter. Fill cupcake tins til 2/3 full. Bake for approximately 18 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let cupcakes cool in pan for about 5 minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Let cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

Tip: I like to use a ½ cup measuring cup to fill cupcake tins. That way I only have to scoop the batter once rather than spooning it in.

Lemon Cupcakes: Use lemon zest and limoncello instead of orange zest and orange liquor.