Two Tiered Tie Dyed Orange Cake Recipes

FLORENCE'S ORANGE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Brush the sides of 2 (8-inch) sandwich or cake pans or a (11-inch) springform pan with melted butter, and dust with flour. Line the base of each pan with greaseproof or parchment paper.
• Cream the 2 sticks butter in a large bowl or in an electric food mixer until soft. Gradually add the sugar, and orange zest, and continue to beat until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well between each addition. Sift the 8 ounces flour and baking powder into the mixture, and stir. Gently, stir in 1 tablespoon of the orange juice.
• Divide the mixture evenly between the 2 prepared pans, making a slight hollow in the center of each cake so that it will rise evenly without forming a peak. Bake in the oven until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the center of the cakes, about 25 to 30 minutes. Let the cakes sit for 5 minutes, and then turn out onto a wire rack, and cool completely.
• To make the orange filling: Cream the butter until very soft, and then add the sugar and orange zest. Gradually beat in 1 tablespoon of the orange juice to create a smooth, soft mixture.
• To make the glace icing: Add enough orange juice to the sugar for a spreadable icing. If it is too soft, it will run off the cake, but if it is too stiff, it will be difficult to spread.
• When the cakes are cool, carefully slice each cake in half horizontally. If baking a single cake, slice the cake horizontally into two or three even layers. Spread the orange filling between the cake layers, and sandwich the pieces together. Using a palette knife, spread the glace icing over the top and sides, and decorate with the crystallized flowers, if using.

THE TIE DYE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter three 9-inch round cake pans or line them with wax paper or parchment paper and butter the paper.
• Divide the Classic Vanilla Cake batter evenly among 5 small bowls. Add food coloring to each bowl--1 drop at a time--until the desired intensity of each color is reached. Scoop each color into a disposable pastry bag and snip the tip of the bag. I tie the ends of the pastry bags with plastic wrap or rubber bands to keep the batter in. Pipe the batter into the first pan, one color at a time, one over the next. (You could also use a spoon, but the pastry bags make this much easier.) Repeat with the remaining 2 pans.
• To make the tie dye effect, carefully drag a skewer completely through the batter from the center out to create a pattern with the colors. Don't overmix the colors.
• Bake until the middle of the cake feels springy when you gently press your finger against it, 35 to 40 minutes. Set the cakes aside to cool completely before icing.
• Level the cakes with a serrated knife. Place one layer on a cake turntable and frost the top with the Vanilla Icing. Add the second cake layer and frost the top. Place the third layer on top and cover the entire cake with a "crumb" coat of vanilla icing. I do a crumb coat--a thin layer of icing spread around the cake to seal in all the crumbs and ensure a neat finish. Unless it's a chocolate cake, the crumb coat is done with vanilla icing. It looks so clean and creates a nice blank canvas for decorating.
• Divide the Vanilla Glaze between 2 mixing bowls. Add pink food coloring to one bowl and blue food coloring to the other bowl--1 drop at a time--until the desired intensity of each color is reached. The food coloring will thin out the glaze a bit. You can always add more liquid, but you can't take it away. Working with an offset spatula, spread pink glaze over the top of the cake and let it drip down the sides. Spread the blue glaze over the pink, but do not let it completely cover the pink. Finally, spoon more pink glaze onto the center of the cake top. Alternate the glazes just like you did with the batter. Use a skewer to pull the glaze from the center out to the edge and make the tie dye design. Work quickly before the glaze starts to dry.
• With a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip the butter for 1 minute on high speed, then scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Add the granulated sugar and beat on high speed for 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again. Add the vanilla extract. While mixing at medium-low speed, add the eggs one at a time. Scrape down the edges of the bowl midway through.
• Combine the flour, baking powder, and sea salt in a separate bowl. With the mixer on low speed, add half the flour mixture. When it's mostly incorporated, add half the milk. Add the remainder of the dry and wet ingredients, scraping down the sides of the bowl between additions. Stop mixing as soon as you have a smooth batter.
• With a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the butter on high speed for 1 minute. Add the vanilla and whip just to incorporate.
• In a separate bowl, mix the confectioners' sugar and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add the sugar mixture 1 cup at a time until completely incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl between additions. Whip on high speed for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy.
• With a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the confectioners' sugar, milk, and vanilla. Mix on low speed until smooth. If the glaze is too thick, add a little more milk to thin it to the desired consistency.
• If not using within 10 minutes of mixing, cover the bowl with plastic wrap to keep the glaze from drying out. Store at room temperature.

ORANGE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F. Butter an 8-inch cake pan with 2-inch sides, then dust with sugar and flour.
• Beat the eggs with the sugar to pale yellow ribbons. Beat in the milk, oil and orange zest. In a small bowl, sift the flour with the baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture a tablespoon at a time, stirring well after each addition.
• Pour batter into prepared cake pan and bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until middle of cake springs back when lightly touched. Remove cake from oven, let cool slightly on a rack, then invert and cool completely.
• Meanwhile, prepare the syrup: Use a sharp paring knife to cut the orange rind off the orange used for zest and the remaining orange, leaving the bitter white pith on the orange. Cut the skin into very thin strips and reserve. Cut away and discard the white pith, remove the orange supremes, and reserve.
• In a large saucepan, combine the orange juice, sugar, and thin orange strips. Bring to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, or until a thick syrup. Strain the syrup and reserve the orange strips, along with 1/2 cup of the syrup. Use a toothpick to poke holes in the top of the cake, then pour the warm strained syrup all over the cake so that it soaks through.
• Place the remaining 1/2 cup syrup in a small saucepan, bring to a simmer and reduce to a few tablespoons. Use a spatula to spread the thick glaze over the top of the cake. Place cake on a serving platter, and arrange the reserved orange strips and orange supremes on top of the cake.