Orange Slice Cake

This cake is from an old recipe book....300 Ways To Use Your Bundt Pans.  Such a fun recipe I couldn't resist trying it out.  So very tasty.

Chopping the orange slices did take forever so brace yourself for that part.  Be sure to grease the dickens out of the pan because man did the top of the cake want to stick....harsh language was used to coax it out.  ;)

I didn't plan to do a chocolate drizzle, but the cake looked unfinished to me with just the white glaze.


Orange Slice Cake

Cake:
1lb orange slices, cut fine
8oz chopped dates
1 1/3 cups sweetened flaked coconut
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup milk, soured

Glaze:
14oz can non fat sweetened condensed milk
12oz white milk chocolate chips
2 tsp orange extract
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips (garnish)

Mix 1/2 cup of the flour with the dates, orange slice pieces, and coconut and stir to coat.  Set mixture aside.

Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy.  Mix in eggs.  Add in vanilla, salt, and baking soda.  Alternately add milk and remaining flour to batter.  Fold in orange slice mixture. Pour batter into greased bundt pan and bake at 325 for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until cake tests done.  Cool.

Mix together sweetened condensed milk, white chocolate chips, and orange extract.  Microwave, stirring often, until smooth and creamy.  Spoon glaze over top of cooled cake.  Chill to set the glaze.

Melt dark chocolate chips.  Spoon chocolate into ziplock bag with tip cut off.  Drizzle chocolate over bundt in whatever pattern you prefer.  Chill.

The first slice of cake never comes out pretty.....and yet I took a picture of this slice anywho....ehehehe.

Valentine's Day Truffles

Standing in line at the grocery store I spotted little boxes of message hearts.  Who can resist this kind of nostalgia candy?  ;)  Truffles just had to be made.

I had planned on doing the drizzle before applying the hearts, but the messages were printed a little wonky on a lot of candy pieces so the drizzle went on top.  I scattered the remaining hearts on the serving tray for a little extra cuteness.


Chocolate Orange Cream Truffles

14oz non fat sweetened condensed milk
2 cups powdered sugar
1 envelope Orange Kool-Aid
24oz milk chocolate chips
2tbls shortening
Message hearts

Mix together sweetened condensed milk and Kool-Aid.  Beat in powdered sugar.  Melt 12oz chocolate chips in the microwave until smooth.  Add the melted chocolate to the milk mixture, blending until creamy.  Form into balls and place on waxed paper.  Chill for an hour or so.

Melt remaining 12oz chocolate chips and shortening in the microwave until smooth, stirring often to prevent overheating.  Dip centers in chocolate with a fork and place back on waxed paper.  Top truffles with message hearts.  When you have finished dipping in chocolate, use your fork to flick lines of drizzle across the tops of the truffles.  Chill until set.

Cranberry Orange Rolls 1.0

Man these rolls hit the spot for me....light and fresh.  They are a nice twist on the usual cinnamon roll.  I've been feeling a compulsion to make sweet breads lately so expect a string of yeasty glory down the road.  ;)

I might experiment next time with adding some zest to the actual bread dough...or even some orange juice...sometimes that small tweak can create a huge boost in flavor.  I divided the dough into thirds before I rolled it out to make some mini rolls....I think I like the larger size better though so I changed the recipe below to reflect that.

I learned an important lesson while adding in the cranberries....the cherry flavored cranberry pack looks exactly like the regular cranberry pack unless you are actually paying attention....ahem.  ;)


Cranberry Orange Rolls 1.0

3 cups unbleached flour (approx)
1 package active dry yeast
1 cup skim milk
1/3 cup raw honey
1/3 cup tub margarine
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs, beaten lightly
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbls orange zest
1 cup dried cherry cranberries


Icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
2oz cream cheese
1/4 cup tub margarine
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp orange zest

Dissolve yeast in about 1/4 cup warm water. Water from the tap works just fine. Heat milk and butter together until milk is warm and butter is melted. I use the microwave to heat the milk instead of the stove top, but either works fine. Stir into dissolved yeast. Mix in honey and salt. Add in a cup of flour. Stir in eggs. Work in enough flour to create a soft dough. Turn it out onto a floured surface and knead in remaining flour. Continue to work your dough for 8 to 10 minutes.

Place dough in covered bowl and let rise for an hour in a warm place. The microwave makes a great spot to rise dough. Take a glass of water and heat it to boiling in the microwave. Leave the glass inside and put the covered bowl inside and shut the door. It's a warm, steamy spot.

Turn your dough back out on your board kneading it a bit. Divide it in half and place one half off to the side. Roll the dough into something like a 9x13 rectangle. Mix together 1/2 cup sugar and orange zest. Brush the rectangle with water (melted butter is also an option)  and sprinkle half the sugar mixture over the top of the dough. Sprinkle half the cranberries on top of the sugar.  Roll the dough up starting with the longest side. Cut into segments and place each piece on a greased cookie sheet. Repeat this process with the other half of the dough. Cover the cookie sheets and let rise 30 minutes in a warm place.

Bake rolls at 375 for 15 to 20 minutes, or until they brown nicely. Mix together powdered sugar, cream cheese, margarine, zest, and vanilla. Remove rolls from cookie sheet and drizzle or spoon the icing over the tops. Consume with great joy!

Pistachio Citrus Squares

I found this recipe and had to give it a whirl....with some modification of course...ehehehehe. I was a little worried about the amount of filling vs the amount of crust since it came out about 50/50, but the flavor was very nice. I toyed with doing a little lemon/orange glaze drizzle over the top, but I ended up deciding against it. One thing I am definitely going to try down the road is cutting the squares into small cubes and dipping in chocolate...I think they would make a great candy center.


Pistachio Citrus Squares

1/3 cup tub margarine, melted
1 cup pistachios, salted
1 cup graham cracker crumbs (I used one sleeve of crackers)
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbls lemon zest
2 egg yolks
1 14oz can non fat sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup lime juice
2 tsp orange zest

In food processor, grind together pistachios and graham crackers. Pour crumbs into bowl and mix in sugar, lemon zest, and melted margarine. Press into greased 8x8 pan and bake at 350 for 10 mins.

While crust is baking combine egg yolks and sweetened condensed milk. Stir in lime juice and orange zest. Pour over baked crust and spread evenly. Return to oven and bake another 15 mins or until filling is set. Cool and then chill before slicing into squares.