Fudgy Orange Brownie Cake with Orange Cream Cheese Icing

  • Fudgy Orange Brownie Cake with Orange Cream Cheese IcingPlanning a dinner party?  Maybe a party of one (that being you)?  Then you’ve found the dessert to serve.

    Chocolate and orange have been romantically involved for years, so it’s time to forge your own relationship with the two flavors.  Take this oranged-up adaptation of the World’s Best Fudge Brownie and toss it into a cake pan… slather some orange cream cheese icing on top and watch the sparks fly.

    Oh- please note my newest serendipitous technique, as made evident in the photo.  See where the icing snuck into the cake in an odd but strangely appealing way?  Yeah well, keep reading and learn the trick of the More Sweets, Please trade :).

    Orange Brownie Cake:

    4 oz. chopped unsweetened chocolate (premium stuff, if you can)

    3/4 cup unsalted butter

    2 cups sugar

    1 tablespoon Grand Marnier (orange liqueur; use orange extract if you’d prefer to not booze it up)

    1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

    2 teaspoons orange zest

    3 lightly beaten eggs

    1 1/2 teaspoon salt

    1 cup flour

    1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease a 9 inch springform cake pan.
    2. Melt chocolate & butter in microwave for 2:15 minutes and stir.
    3. Stir in sugar, then Grand Marnier, then vanilla, then eggs, then zest, then salt & flour.
    4. Bake for 36 minutes (until center just set).
    5. Cool & stab top inch of cake with the tip of a sharp knife in about a dozen spots (allowing for places for the icing to ooze into).

    Orange Cream Cheese Icing:

    2 oz. room temperature cream cheese

    1 tablespoon room temperature butter

    1/2 teaspoon orange zest

    1 tablespoon fresh orange juice

    1 cup confectioners’/icing sugar (or more, depending on your consistency preference)

    1. Beat cream cheese, butter, zest and OJ until creamy.
    2. Beat in confectioners’ sugar until blended and smooth.  Consistency should be soft enough to allow icing to sneak into the crevasses you created with the knife, so add more sugar or OJ accordingly.
    3. Spread onto cooled Fudgy Orange Brownie Cake and chill before slicing.  Serve at room temperature, and…
    4. Indulge!

    Tips:

    • When zesting an orange… don’t forget to scrub it first and buy an organic orange if you can.
    • What if I don’t have a springform pan?  No worries.  You might want to line the bottom or your regular cake pan with a parchment round, or you could even line the pan with foil (then add butter or cooking spray) so you can remove without any headaches.
    • Too lazy to make this icing because it has too many ingredients?  Yeah, I was thinking the same thing after typing it up.  So here’s a Slacker Orange Icing Recipe icing for you:  Mix about a tablespoon of OJ into 1 1/2 cups of icing sugar, and add more sugar/OJ to gain the consistency you’d like.  Not hard.  Easy.  And still good.
    • Looking to garnish the cake in an impressive way if you are actually serving this at a dinner party?  Scatter some candied orange zest on top (adapted from Eating Well magazine):  Remove zest from one orange in long strips with a vegetable peeler. Cut the strips lengthwise into julienne strips. Place the zest in a saucepan, cover with cold water and bring to a simmer; cook for 5 minutes. Drain and return the zest to the pan. Add 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup water; bring to a simmer. Cook over low heat until the zest is translucent and tender, about 10 minutes. With a fork, remove the candied orange zest to a piece of wax paper to cool.
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    January 20th, 2012 | More Sweets Please | No Comments | Tags: , , , ,

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