Cakes and Frostings

Chocolate-Orange Cream Cake

  • 1/2 cups Dutch process cocoa*
  • 1/2 cups Boiling water
  • 2/3 cups Shortening
  • 1 3/4 cups Sugar, granulated
  • 4 large Eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups Buttermilk
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoons Salt
  • 2 1/2 cups All-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoons Orange extract
  • 1 recipe Cream Filling
  • 1 recipe Grand Marnier Frosting

    • *We prefer dutched cocoa such as Drostein the cake layers for the richest flavor (but the recipe will still taste goodif you use Hershey's cocoa).

    ~Preheat oven to 350° .

    ~Grease 3, 8-inch round cakepans; line with wax paper. Grease and flour wax paper and sides of pans. Set aside.

    ~Combine cocoa and boiling water in a small bowl; stir until smooth. Set aside.

    ~Beat shortening at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add sugar, beating until light andfluffy (about 5 minutes). Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition.

    ~Combine buttermilk, soda, and salt. Add flour to shortening mixture alternately with buttermilk mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Beat at low speed after each addition until blended. Stir in cocoa mixture and orange extract. Beat 2 minutes more.

    ~Pour batter into preparedpans. Bake for 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cake layers cool in pans 10 minutes; remove from pans. Peel off wax paper, and let layers cool completely on wire racks.

    ~Spread Cream Filling betweenlayers to within 1/2-inch of edge. Spread Grand Marnier Frosting on sides and top of cake. Garnish, if desired with orange slices and curls, and chocolate ribbons.

    ~Note: To make the orange curl garnish, use a citrus peeler to peel strips from an orange; or peel an orange with aknife, leaving white pitch on the fruit. Cut orange rind into long, thin strips. Wrap rind strips tightly around a pencil to create curls. Freeze briefely; then remove strips from pencil.

    This recipe courtesy of the From My Kitchen Cookbook. 

    Contributed by Bill Cotton of Roseburg, OR. 

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