Orange Chocolate Chunk Cake By Ina Garten Food

BAREFOOT CONTESSA'S MINI ORANGE CHOCOLATE CHUNK CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Grease and flour 6 individual serving baking molds, such as the flexible non stick 100 percent silicone molds.
• Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for about 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
• Add the eggs, 1 at a time, then the orange zest.
• Sift together 1 1/2 cups flour, the baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
• In another bowl, combine the orange juice, buttermilk, and vanilla.
• Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately in thirds to the creamed butter, beginning and ending with the flour.
• Toss the chocolate chunks with 1 tablespoon flour and add to the batter.
• Pour into the pans, smooth the tops, and bake for 30 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.
• Let the cakes cool in the molds on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the syrup.
• In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, cook the sugar with the orange juice until the sugar dissolves.
• Remove the cake from the pans, put them on a rack over a tray, and spoon the orange syrup over the cakes.
• Allow the cakes to cool completely.
• For the ganache, melt the chocolate, heavy cream, and coffee in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally.
• Drizzle over the top of the cakes.

CHOCOLATE CHUNK BLONDIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour an 8 x 12 x 2 inch baking pan.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar on high speed for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, add the vanilla, then the eggs, one at a time, and mix well, scraping down the bowl. In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt and with the mixer still on low, slowly add flour mixture to the butter mixture. Fold the walnuts and chocolate chunks in with a rubber spatula.
• Spread the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 30 minutes exactly. Don't overbake! A toothpick may not come out clean. Cool completely in the pan and cut into bars.

CHOCOLATE ORANGE CAKE

Steps:

• In a large saucepan bring cream to the beginning of a boil. Remove from cook top. Add chocolate (in chunks). Stir until completely combined. Cool to room temperature before filling cakes. Set aside to cool.
• For Chocolate Cake: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter and flour cake pans of choice. Melt chocolate and set aside to cool to room temperature. Beat butter and brown sugar until fluffy (about 4 minutes on medium). Add eggs and vanilla and continue to beat until thick and creamy (about 6 minutes on medium). Add chocolate on low and mix until combined. Wisk dry ingredients together. Add 1/3 dry ingredients alternately with 1/3 sour cream beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Add boiling water and mix only for 30 seconds, scrape bowl and mix the rest by hand. Immediately pour into pans 2/3 full. Bake until tester comes out clean in center of cake, about 30 minutes for 9-inch round, more or less for other size cake pans. Cool for 1/2 hour before removing cakes from pans. Wrap in plastic wrap and cool in the refrigerator. When totally cold, unwrap cakes and fill with chocolate ganache.
• For Orange Cake: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter and flour cake pans of choice With a zester, zest the orange part of the peel of a fresh orange but do not zest the white section of the peel. Measure 4 tablespoons. Combine yolks, 11/2 cups milk and extracts. Set aside. Combine dry ingredients in mixer and mix on low. Add 21/2 cups of milk, orange juice, butter and orange zest to dry ingredients and mix on low for 2 minutes. Beat on high for an additional 3 minutes. Turn mixer to low and add yolk mixture in 3 batches, mixing for 40 seconds on low each time. Fill buttered and floured cake pans 1/2 full. Bake until tester comes out clean and center springs back when lightly touched. Cool in pans for 20 minutes.
• To assemble: Layer cake as follows: 1 layer chocolate cake, chocolate ganache, 1 layer orange cake, chocolate ganache, 1 layer chocolate cake. Frost as desired.

ORANGE POUND CAKE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2-inch loaf pans. Line the bottoms with parchment paper.
• Cream the butter and 2 cups of the granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for about 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. With the mixer on medium speed, beat in the eggs, one at a time, and the orange zest.
• In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, combine 1/4 cup of the orange juice, the buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour. Divide the batter evenly between the pans, smooth the tops, and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a cake tester comes out clean.
• While the cakes bake, cook the remaining 1/2 cup of granulated sugar with the remaining 1/2 cup orange juice in a small saucepan over low heat until the sugar dissolves. When the cakes are done, let them cool for 10 minutes. Take them out of the pans and place them on a baking rack set over a tray. Spoon the orange syrup over the cakes and allow the cakes to cool completely.
• To glaze, combine the confectioners' sugar and orange juice in a bowl, mixing with a wire whisk until smooth. Add a few more drops of juice, if necessary, to make it pour easily. Pour over the top of one cake and allow the glaze to dry. Wrap well, and store in the refrigerator.

ORANGE CHOCOLATE LOAF CAKE FROM FLORIDA

Steps:

• Adjust rack one-third up from the bottom of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees. You will need a loaf pan measuring about 8½ x 4½ x 2¾ inches, or one with about a 6‑cup capacity. Butter the pan and dust it all over lightly with fine, dry bread crumbs, shake out excess crumbs, and set the pan aside.
• Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, cocoa, and sugar and set aside.
• Beat the cream and vanilla in the small bowl of an electric mixer until the cream holds a definite shape. On low speed, add the eggs, one at a time, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula and beating only until the egg is incorporated after each addition. (The eggs will thin the cream slightly.)
• Transfer to the large bowl of the mixer and gradually, on low speed, add the sifted dry ingredients, scraping the bowl and beating only until smooth. Remove from the mixer and stir in the grated zest. That's all there is to it.
• Turn the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for about 1 hour and 5 minutes, until the top springs back when lightly pressed with a fingertip.
• For the glaze:
• As soon as the cake goes into the oven, mix the orange juice with the sugar and let it stand while the cake is baking.
• After you remove the cake from the oven, let it cool for 5 minutes. Then, a little at a time, brush the orange juice/sugar mixture all over the cake; encourage most of it to run down the sides between the cake and the pan, but thoroughly wet the top also. The cake will absorb it all.
• Let the cake stand in the pan until it is completely cool. Then cover the pan loosely with a piece of wax paper. Invert the cake into the palm of your hand-easy does it-remove the pan, cover the cake with a rack, and invert again, leaving the cake right side up.