Orange Crush

If a watched pot won’t boil, then it’s probably safe to assume a watched baby won’t be born – or at least not any time soon. We all know that pot’ll boil eventually. You just might go a little batty waiting for it to happen.

Since not thinking about the soon-to-arrive beach baby is proving to be practically impossible, I’m directing my beach thoughts in another direction. Thinking about favorite beach treats and ways to cake-i-fy (yes, it’s a word) them is always fun.

The coconut muffins at Harpoon Hannah’s are at the top of my “recipes to re-create” list, but I haven’t yet replenished my coconut supply (see German chocolate cake truffles). There are the fried pickles from Dr. Unks, but only Oscar the Grouch would appreciate pickled buttercream. The crepes served with the ginormous omelets from Bayside Skillet fluttered around my brain for a few moments, but then the orange crush from Harborside stuck in my head.  

The orange crush is the specialty drink of one of my family’s favorite restaurants in West Ocean City. Freshly squeezed orange juice makes this drink particularly tasty.  The triple sec, vodka, and lemon-lime soda don’t hurt, either.

Because, as my sister says, the drink goes down so smooth you don’t realize how much it’s affected you until you try to stand, I opted for mini cupcakes with a light buttercream frosting.  Also, since I’m bringing these into work tomorrow, I thought it’d be best not to get my coworkers too liquored up with a big serving of cake.

 

Orange Crush Mini Cupcakes (adapted from epicurious.com)

2/3 c butter, softened

1 ¾ c sugar

2 eggs

3 c flour

2 ½ t baking powder

½ t salt

Finely grated zest of 1 orange

½ c whole milk

¼ c freshly squeezed orange juice

¼ c triple sec

¼ c lemon-lime soda

Preheat oven to 350° F. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until thoroughly combined.

In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, salt, and zest. In a measuring cup, combine liquids.

Alternately add liquids and flour mixture to butter and sugar, starting and ending with the liquids.

Pour into lined cupcake tins and bake approximately 10-12 minutes, until toothpick inserted in cake comes out clean.

into the oven

Orange Crush Buttercream (adapted from Cake Central)

waiting for the buttercream

1 c butter

1 c shortening

1-3 T whole milk

2 lbs powdered sugar

½ t salt

1 t vanilla

1 t triple sec

1 t lemon-lime soda

Finely grated zest of 1 orange

1 T freshly squeezed orange juice

Cream butter and shortening until light and fluffy.

Add 1 T milk, sugar, and salt and mix well.

Add vanilla, triple sec, soda, zest, and orange juice and mix well. 

If necessary, add remainder of milk to obtain consistency you want.

More Theater Cakes

Okay, confession time. Once in a great while, life demands the use of a cake mix.

I know, I know, but stick with me here. When using a prepared mix, I always like to play with flavor combinations. (You didn't think I just added water and eggs, did you?) Pumpkin chocolate chip is one of my favorite last-minute recipes. And it all starts with a yellow cake mix. Cinnamon-brown sugar cream cheese filling complements this cake nicely.

the woods

Jack's cow. . .



The Into the Woods cake was for my “nephew” and “niece.” The woods part of the cake was a given, but it needed something more.

I read about this fairy tale character-filled show and discovered that two of the main characters were on a quest to find “the cow as white as milk, the cape as red as blood, the hair as yellow as corn, and the slipper as pure as gold.” There was my something extra.

. . .Cinderella's slipper, Rapunzel's hair,
and Red Riding Hood's cape

The “Enchanted April” cake was to celebrate my niece’s fabulous performance last fall. In the play, four very different women answer a newspaper ad offering “sunshine and wisteria” at a seaside Italian villa for rent during the month of April.

I hand painted fondant applied to the side of the cake to make the villa and grounds and created the sea with blue, green, and white buttercream around the bottom of the cake. The rest of the cake I decorated with wisteria.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake (adapted from Cupcake Fun)

1 (18.25 oz) yellow cake mix

½ t nutmeg (I prefer freshly grated)
½ t cinnamon
1 ¼ c water
2 T vegetable oil
3 eggs
¾ c canned pumpkin
6 oz (half a package) mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F and grease and flour two 8-inch cake pans.

Combine cake mix, nutmeg, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Add water, oil, and eggs and beat for two minutes with an electric mixer. Add pumpkin and mix until well incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips.

Pour batter into prepared cake pans and bake 30-35 minutes. Cakes are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cinnamon-Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Filling

8 oz package cream cheese, softened

½ c confectioners’ sugar
½ t cinnamon
1 t brown sugar
¼ c milk

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients with an electric mixer until well combined and fluffy.