Simple Orange Cake

I was searching the internet for a new recipe a few days ago and ran across this recipe.  I found this recipe from Jill McKeever at Simple Daily Recipes.  I made it tonight and both Chilly and I really liked it.  Jill said it would be so good to get what we wanted and take the rest away because you will want to keep eating it.  She is 100% correct.

The recipe is as follows:
1 box of yellow cake mix
1 small box of orange gelatin
1 cup orange juice (the kind you drink
3/4 cup oil  (I used canola oil)
4 eggs
2-3 teaspoons orange zest

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Generously grease a bundt pan.

Beat cake mix, dry gelatin, orange juice, oil, eggs and zest in a large bowl on low speed 30 seconds, then on medium speed for 2 minutes or so.  Pour into the bundt pan.  Bake for 1 hour. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pan.  Meanwhile, mix up the orange glaze for the cake.

Orange Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoon orange juice
1 teaspoon orange zest

Whisk the powdered sugar, orange juice and zest in a small bowl.  After you move the cake to the serving plate and while the cake is still warm, prick the cake with a fork or toothpick.  Pour glaze evenly over the cake.  Allow the cake to completely cool before serving.

(((We couldn't wait for it to completely cool.  We had it while it was warm and it was delicious.)))

Thanks so much for this great recipe Jill.  I look forward to trying that Coconut pie too.  :-)
Stop in and check out Simple Daily Recipes when you get a chance. :-)

Pumpkin Crunch Cake

This recipe was just recently given to me by my dear friend, Catherine. I made it for the first time today and will be making it again. It is easy and taste delicious.

Pumpkin Crunch Cake
1 yellow cake mix
1 15 ounce can of pumpkin
1 5 oz. can of evaporated milk
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 cup melted butter
whipped topping (optional)

Grease a 9 X 13 X 2 pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the pumpkin, milk, eggs, sugar, salt , and pumpkin pie spice together and pour into the cake pan.
Sprinkle the dry cake mix over the pumpkin mixture and then nuts on top of the mix. Pour the melted butter over the cake.

Bake for 55 minutes. Can be served warm or cold with or without whipped topping.

Wedding Cakes

Instead of adding another recipe today, I decided I would share a picture of our bride and grooms cakes from our wedding two years ago. I made both of them and wanted both of them to be something completely different from anything I had ever done before. I did an uncommon thing on the bride and grooms on each cake. Instead of the bride and groom standing next to each other, the brides cake has the bride carrying the groom. On the grooms cake, the groom is carrying the bride.

Tomato Soup Cake

3 cups of flour
2 cups of sugar
2 teaspoon of baking powder
2 teaspoon of baking soda
2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoon of nutmeg
2 teaspoon of cloves

mix that together and then add the following:

2 eggs
1/2 cup butter
2 cans tomato soup

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes in a 13X9 pan

Cheesecake

Crust:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs,
2 tablespoons sugar
Pinch fine salt
Filling:
2 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
1 cup sour cream
6 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons vanilla paste or extract
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
Berries, optional
Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F.
For the crust: Melt the butter, covered in the microwave, in a medium microwave safe bowl, or a saucepan. Brush a 9-inch springform pan with some of the butter. Stir the remaining butter together with the crumbs, sugar, and salt. Press the crumb mixture over the bottom of the pan, taking care to get the crust evenly into the edges. Bake until golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool. Wrap the bottom and up the sides of the pan with foil and put in a roasting pan.
For the filling: Beat the cream cheese on medium speed with a hand-held mixer until smooth. Add 1 1/4 cups sugar and beat just until light and fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl and beaters as needed. Slowly beat in 3/4 cup sour cream, then eggs, 1 tablespoon vanilla and both citrus zests; take care not to over whip. Pour into the cooled crust.
Bring a medium saucepan or kettle of water to a boil. Gently place the roasting pan in the oven (don't pull the rack out of the oven). Pour in enough hot water to come about halfway up the side of the springform pan. Bake the cheesecake for 1 hour and 10 minutes---the outside of the cake will set but the center will still be loose.
Meanwhile, stir together the remaining sour cream, sugar and vanilla paste. Spread over the top of the cooked cheesecake and return to the oven for 5 minutes. Turn the oven off, cook the cheesecake in the residual heat in the oven for 1 hour. This gentle finish minimizes the risk of the dreaded crack in your cheese cake.
Remove cheesecake from the roasting pan to a rack. Run a knife around the edges and cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.
Bring cheesecake to room temperature 30 minutes before serving. Remove the springform ring. Dip a knife in warm water, wipe dry before slicing each piece. Serve with berries, if desired.