Orange White Chocolate Cake Bites

Hello everyone! I am back this weekend (kind of) with a new recipe. Sadly, this recipe took me longer than it normally would due to my having a head cold. I've been down with this cold since Thursday but I didn't want t waste this weekend just sleeping. I took my time, taking mini breaks between making the cake, making the frosting, and cooling the cake. I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to make another Spring inspired recipe. But to make sure anyone who eats my cake pops is safe, I wore a mask and gloves. Anyway, I did more work with fresh fruit! I love orange and white chocolate together so it only made sense to try to combine those two flavor profiles into one delicious cake bite. 

I am a big fan of cake pops. I know a lot of people don't like them because of adding frosting into a smashed up baked cake. But I don't believe in putting a lot of frosting in mine. I don't want them to taste raw, I just want to use enough frosting to make the cake stay together to make little balls. I also used the frosting as excuse to sneak in a little bit more orange flavor. I made them the way you might make cake pops but WITHOUT the stick. Just little bites of orange and white chocolate goodness.  

Because I'm me, I took this opportunity to use candy melts, gel food coloring, and SPRINKLES! I love adding sprinkles to any bakes I can. I think they add a nice little pop of color and a little crunch. 

Orange Cake 

Ingredients:

1.  1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
2. 1 teaspoon baking powder
3. 1 teaspoon salt
4. 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
5. 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
6. 2 large eggs, room temperature
7. 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (1 large orange)
8. Zest of 1 large orange
9. Orange gel food coloring

Instructions: 

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray 9 inch square pan with cooking spray. Add a piece of parchment on top of the spray and then spray more cooking spray onto the parchment paper. 
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. 
3. In a large bowl, using a stand or hand mixer, beat together the room temperature butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add one egg in at a time, beating the mixture until smooth. Next, add orange juice and orange zest. Mix well until combined. 
4. Gradually add the flour mixture until combined. Add two or three drops of orange food coloring to make the cake batter orange. 
5. Transfer cake batter to prepared cake pan, spreading the batter to all four corners. Bake until a toothpick can be inserted and comes out clean, about 35 minutes. 
6. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Using the excess parchment paper, lift the cake out of the pan and onto a wire rack, where it will cool for 25 more minutes. 

Orange Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:

1. 3 cups powdered sugar
2. 6 tablespoons milk
3. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4. 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
5. Orange gel food coloring

Instructions: 

1. In a medium bowl, combine powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons of milk, vanilla extract, and butter. Combine ingredients until smooth, gradually adding in the last 3 tablespoons of milk. The frosting will be stiff. 
2. Gradually add the orange gel food coloring until desired color. 

For Decorating

Ingredients:

1. White candy melts
2. Orange gel food coloring
3. Sprinkles

Instructions: 

1. In a large bowl, crumble up orange cake. Add half of the orange frosting and mix. Add more frosting as needed.  
2. Using a cookie or cupcake scoop, scoop out some of the cake and frosting mixture. Roll in to balls. Put on a baking tray and chill in the fridge for 25 minutes. 
3. Melt candy melts according to the directions on the bag. Add in a few drops of the gel food coloring. 
4. Once chilled, dip the cake bites halfway into the candy melts and swirl around. Allow excess candy melts to drip off. 
5. Sit the half dipped cake bites on a piece of parchment paper, add sprinkles, and let set. 

I decided on making cake bites instead of cake pops because I haven't been successful in making cake pops. And being sick, I didn't want to bother fighting with the cake and making sure it stuck to the stick. So instead, cake bites were born! And they are just as tasty as cake pops would be. And I think they look so cute, being small little cake bites. It's a nice orange flavor, between the cake and the frosting, and a really nice Spring flavor. 

What should I bake next? 

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