Orange Birthday Cake Bars Recipes

EDWARD KOSTYRA'S BIRTHDAY CAKE

Steps:

• Make the frosting: Place chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, bring cream to a boil and immediately remove from heat. Pour over chocolate and let sit, undisturbed, for 3 minutes. Gently whisk until combined and smooth. Whisk in the corn syrup.
• Let cool to room temperature, then transfer ganache to refrigerator and chill, stirring frequently and scraping the sides of the bowl with a spatula, until slightly stiff and cool enough to spread, about 1 hour. If frosting becomes too firm, briefly place bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and stir until desired consistency is reached. Frosting should be smooth and spreadable, but not runny.
• Make the cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 8-by-2-inch round cake pans; line the bottoms with parchment paper. Butter parchment and dust with flour, tapping out excess; set aside. Into a medium bowl, sift together flours, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in eggs, one at a time, and then beat in vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the milk and beginning and ending with the flour; beat until combined after each addition.
• Divide the batter between the prepared pans and smooth with an offset spatula. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through, until the cakes are golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the centers comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool 20 minutes. Invert cakes onto the rack; peel off the parchment. Re-invert cakes and let them cool completely, top sides up.
• Make the orange curd: Combine yolks, orange zest, orange juice, lemon juice, and sugar in a heavy-bottom saucepan; whisk to combine. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula (be sure to scrape the sides of the pan), until the mixture is thick, about 8 to 10 minutes. Let mixture come to a vigorous simmer and cook, continually scraping sides of pan, for 2 minutes.
• Remove saucepan from heat. Add salt and butter, one piece at a time, stirring until smooth. If desired, strain through a fine sieve into a medium bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface of the curd to prevent a skin forming. Refrigerate until chilled and very firm, at least 2 hours or up to 1 1/2 weeks.
• Assemble cake: Using a serrated knife, trim the tops of the cakes to make level. Split each layer into two, for a total of four. Place bottom layer on a rotating cake stand and with an offset spatula, carefully top with 1/2 cup of orange curd, leaving a 1-inch border. Place the second cake layer on top, spread with another 3/4 cup of the orange curd. Repeat with the third layer; top with the final cake layer. Insert 3 wooden skewers into the top of the cake to secure.
• For the crumb coat, spread the entire cake with a thin coat of frosting using an offset spatula. Chill for at least 30 minutes.
• Spread the entire cake with remaining frosting, swirling to coat in a decorative fashion. Serve immediately, or refrigerate, covered with a cake dome. Let sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes before serving.

EASY CAKE MIX BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, egg, milk and oil (mixture will be thick). Stir in baking chips and jimmies. Spread into a greased 15x10x1-in. baking pan., Bake 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Cut into bars. Freeze option: Freeze bars in freezer containers. To use, thaw in covered containers before serving.

NO-BAKE BIRTHDAY CAKE BARS

Steps:

• Spray 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray. Spray large bowl with cooking spray. Add cereal and 1/4 cup of the decors to bowl.
• Spray medium microwavable bowl with cooking spray. Add butter and marshmallows. Microwave uncovered on High 1 minute 30 seconds to 2 minutes or until smooth, stirring every 30 seconds. Stir in 1/2 cup of the frosting and the white vanilla baking chips. Continue to microwave uncovered on High 30 to 60 seconds; stir until well blended.
• Pour hot marshmallow mixture over cereal mixture; stir until cereal is well coated. Press firmly in pan.
• In small microwavable bowl, microwave remaining 1/4 cup frosting uncovered on High 5 to 10 seconds, stirring until melted and smooth. Drizzle over top of bar with fork. Sprinkle remaining sprinkles over top.
• Cool at least 1 1/2 hours until firm. For bars, cut into 6 rows by 4 rows. Store in airtight container at room temperature.

ORANGE OMBRE BIRTHDAY CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE FROSTING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F; position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Spray three 9-by-2-inch round cake pans with nonstick spray and line the bottom of each with parchment paper. Spray the parchment. Set the pans aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk to combine the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In a separate bowl or measuring cup, combine the milk, oil, orange juice and zest; set aside.
• In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 8 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients in three additions, alternating with the wet ingredients, and beginning and ending with the dry.
• Pour one-third of the batter into a medium bowl, add 1 or 2 drops of orange food coloring, and stir to combine. Pour into one of the prepared cake pans.
• Pour another third of the batter into the same bowl and add 3 or 4 drops of food coloring. Stir to combine, then pour into the second cake pan.
• Add 5 or 6 drops of food coloring to the remaining batter and stir to combine. Pour into the third cake pan.
• Bake the cake layers until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. Cool in the pans on wire racks for 5 minutes. Then invert the cakes, peel off the parchment and let cool completely on wire racks. Trim the tops if domed.
• To assemble the cake: Place the darkest cake layer on a cake stand and frost the top completely. Stack the next darkest layer and again frost the top. Stack the final layer and frost the top and sides of the cake. Slice to serve.
• Place the chocolate in a large heat-proof bowl set over (not in) a pan of gently simmering water. Heat until the chocolate is melted, then stir until smooth. Remove the bowl from the pan and let the chocolate cool to room temperature.
• In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and confectioners' sugar on medium speed until light and smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the melted chocolate and beat until combined. Add the cream and beat until the frosting is smooth and spreadable.

ORANGE-DATE BARS

Steps:

• In a saucepan, combine dates, sugar, oil and juice. Cook for 5 minutes to soften dates. Cool. Add egg; mix well. Combine all remaining ingredients and stir into date mixture. , Spread into a greased 8-in. square baking pan. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes. Cool before cutting.

ORANGE BIRTHDAY CAKE BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350*F. Lightly grease a 15x10" jelly roll pan with butter or vegetable oil.
• To make cake:.
• Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a small bowl and set aside.
• Using electric mixer on medium high speed, cream the butter, cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and orange zest together in a medium mixing bowl until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Stop the mixer once or twice to scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula.
• Add the eggs one at a time and beat on medium low speed until each yolk is partially blended, 10 seconds. Scrape the bowl after each addition.
• Now fold in half the dry ingredients with the spatula until partially incorporated, then turn the mixer to low and blend for a few seconds. Repeat with the remaining dry ingredients, blending 10 seconds with the mixer. Finish the mixing by hand with a few broad strokes of the spatula. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.
• Bake until the cake is lightly golden, springs back to the touch, and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Allow the cake to cool completely on a rack while preparing the glaze.
• Place all the ingredients for the glaze in a small bowl and stir heartily with a whisk until blended.
• Pour the glaze over the cake and spread it evenly with a frosting spatula. Allow the glaze to harden 3 to 4 hours before serving. Enjoy!