Orange Layer Cake with White Chocolate Frosting and Shavings

There is nothing like a family get-together and this past weekend we had one in celebration of my big brother's birthday!  I wanted to do something extra special for him as he is an extra-special guy!  I don't know why, but it struck me that I'd love to do an orange cake with white chocolate frosting and white chocolate shavings.   My frosting recipe was inspired by the new Philadelphia Indulgence White Chocolate Cream Cheese Spread, which I discovered when recently grocery shopping.  You'll find my method of making the chocolate shavings or curls really easy once you've done it.  Children of all ages just seemed to love this cake and I'm delighted to share it with you!

                                   A Really Sweet Way To Celebrate!

I adapted the recipe for the layers to orange cake layers (from Lucy M. Clark's 1-2-3-4 Cake in her Delightfully Southern Cookbook).

Ingredients

The 3-Layer Cake

• Non-stick baking spray for pans
• 1 c. butter (2 sticks)
• 2 c. sugar
• 4 eggs
• 3 c. all-purpose plain flour, sifted
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3 tsp. baking powder
• 1 c. milk
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. orange extract
• 1/4 c. unsweetened orange juice w/pulp
• 1 TB orange zest

The Frosting

• 2 lbs. powdered sugar
• 1/2 c. butter (1 stick), room temperature, cut into large cubes
• 8 oz. tub Philadelphia Indulgence White Chocolate Cream Cheese Spread
• 1/4 c. + l TB evaporated milk
•  2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1 (6 oz) pkg. premium white chocolate baking squares (for shavings garnish on frosting)--optional
• 2 tsp. orange zest (for garnish on frosting)

                             Any Way You Look At It...It's Delicious!
                           

Directions

First Things First...The Shavings

1. Though you only need about 4 oz. of chocolate, to simplify the process, melt the whole pkg. of white chocolate in a 1 qt. microwave-proof bowl for 30 seconds on high.  Stir and melt again for 30 seconds on high.  Stir until all the chocolate is melted.  
2. Pour onto a parchment-lined small shallow pan, forming about a 1/4" layer with a spatula.  Refrigerate about 25 minutes, or until soft set...watch carefully so the chocolate does not get completely hard.  It should be somewhat giving when lightly pressed with your finger, without sticking to your finger. 
3. Carefully turn the chocolate onto a parchment-lined cutting board.  Working close to a counter edge, run a vegetable peeler just deep enough to make about 1" shavings that will hold.  Flip your chocolate as necessary to make more shavings. (You can use this same process to make curls...just form curls from about 1" strips with the vegetable peeler as you run it across the chocolate.)
4. Let the shavings harden on the counter before you use.  If you have extra shavings, you can store them in the refrigerator in an air-tight, plastic container.  Store extra chocolate block in the fridge or pantry in an air-tight plastic container or bag.

The Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350º.
2. Spray 3 ea.  9" cake pans with the non-stick baking spray.
3. Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then scrape the bowl.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each just until the egg color disappears and scrape the bowl again.
5. Sift the flour with the salt and baking powder.
6. Mix the vanilla with the milk.
7. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the milk and vanilla mixture.
8. Mix the orange extract with the orange juice and add to the batter.
9. Stir the orange zest into the batter.  Scrape the bowl and give the batter one last quick mix.
10. Pour the batter equally between the pans. (To achieve this, I weigh each pan with the batter and divide the batter as necessary until each filled pan weighs as close as possible to the same weight.)
11. Bake about 25 minutes, or until light-golden brown and the layers spring back when lightly touched with the finger and a toothpick comes out clean.
12. Cool in the pans about 30 minutes, then carefully turn out onto racks to finish cooling.

The Frosting

1. If you have one, add a mixer shield to your mixer to avoid the powdered sugar flying.
2. Beat the powdered sugar well with the butter, then beat in the white chocolate spread.
3. Add the evaporated milk and vanilla and mix well.
4. Divide and spread the icing between the layers, saving a good amount to frost the top and sides. (Do a thin layer of frosting initially on the outside and let set to avoid crumbs showing through the icing.)
5. Finish icing the cake, then sprinkle the top and sides with the orange zest.  Randomly press, very lightly and with care, the white chocolate shavings into the frosting. Decorate the plate by placing any smaller extra shavings around the bottom of the cake.

Carefully guard your cake, as tempted hands will try to steal the chocolate shavings off your creation!  Enjoy!

                                May I Have Another Piece, Please!

 

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