Happy Halloween Cake!

Chocolate Orange Layer Cake

with Chocolate Filling and Orange Buttercream Frosting

Topped with Chocolate Ganache

Makes 1 10-layer, 8-inch round cake

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 lb. sour cream

For the orange layers:

1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest

1/4 cup fresh orange juice

For the chocolate layers:

1/2 cup boiling water

1/2 cup cocoa powder

Food coloring, if desired

FOR THE CHOCOLATE FILLING

1/4 cup boiling water

1/4 cup cocoa powder

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened

3 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons milk, as needed

FOR THE ORANGE BUTTERCREAM

6 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

5-6 cups confectioners’ sugar

1/4 cup fresh orange juice

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange zest

2 tablespoons milk, as needed

Chocolate Ganache

Marshmallow Fondant

To make the cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line up to 10 8-inch round pans with parchment.

In a small bowl, combine the boiling water and cocoa powder; set aside to cool.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, or the bowl of a standing mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl, as needed. Stir in the vanilla. Sprinkle 1/3 of the flour mixture into the bowl and beat until just combined. Add half of the sour cream, mix until combined, then scrape the bowl. Repeat with the remaining flour mixture and sour cream, mixing until everything is combined.

Divide the batter in half evenly. To one half, gently stir in the cooled cocoa mixture until combined. To the other half, stir in the orange zest and juice until combined. Add orange and/or black food coloring to the different batters, if desired. Place about 2/3 cup of batter into each pan, alternating between the 2 flavors, until you have an equal amount of chocolate layers versus orange layers. Bake up to 3 layers at a time for 10 minutes. Cool completely before stacking and decorating.

To make the filling: In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the boiling water and cocoa; set aside to cool. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and about a third of the confectioners’ sugar. Stir in the cocoa and mix thoroughly before beating in another third of the confectioners’ sugar. Next stir in the vanilla and the remaining sugar, beating until well mixed and light and fluffy. Add more milk, as needed, if the frosting is too thick. Add coloring as desired.

To make the frosting: In a large bowl, cream together the butter and 2 cups of the confectioners’ sugar. Stir in the zest and juice, and mix thoroughly before beating in another 2 more cups of the confectioners’ sugar. Next stir in the vanilla and the remaining sugar, beating until well mixed and light and fluffy. Add the milk, as needed. Add coloring as desired.

Assemble the cake: Stack the cake layers, starting with orange on the bottom. Frost the top of the layer with the chocolate filling. Spread the frosting to about one-inch from the edge of the cake. Next, layer a chocolate layer on top and frost it like you did the orange layer. Repeat that process until you’ve used all of your layers.

Frost the outside of the cake with the orange buttercream. If desired, use leftover chocolate filling to pipe swirls onto the outside of the cake (I did only the sides).

Pour the (room temperature) ganache slowly on the center of the cake, allowing it to spread toward the edges. Do not pour too much ganache on at once, or it will completely cover the cake, rather than drizzling over the sides. As the ganache begins to reach the edges of the cake, use a small spatula, if necessary, to help the ganache begin to drizzle down the sides.

Garnish with fondant pumpkins or other decorations, if desired. (Note: Small, decorative pumpkins can be purchased instead of using fondant, if desired.)

(Source) Bakingdom!

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