things are nuts over here so i'm going to keep it short and sweet. sweet being the operative word. 

my life lately has been all cake. while i never set out to be a baker, my cake orders have rapidly picked up. i am so grateful and excited that they are so well received, but i'm having trouble readjusting to the increase in demand. basically, i'm all cake and no play. 

but i wanted to take a moment to share one of the tastier things i've been whipping up lately. there is something so decadent about a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. or just a big fat spoonful of chocolate frosting. whatever floats your boat. 

personally, i am not a fan of classic butter cream. too sweet for this blood. so you will find that all of my frosting recipes have a cream cheese frosting. 

chocolate cream cheese frosting

serves: 6lbs frosting

prep time: 10 minutes

active time: 5 minutes

total time: 15 minutes

ingredients: 2 lbs room temperature butter. 2 lbs room temperature cream cheese. 1 tbs vanilla extract. 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted. 1 lb dark chocolate, melted and cooled. stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. 

start by combining the butter and cream cheese in the bowl of your stand mixer.

mix on a medium speed until everything is well combined. as the butter and cream cheese are mixing, pour in the vanilla extract. it should take 2-3 minutes to be completely combined and smooth.

one third at a time, add in the powdered sugar. scrape down the sides of the bowl in between.

once all the powdered sugar is added and well combined, slowly start to add in your chocolate.

make sure that your chocolate has cooled significantly so nothing gets melty.

once your chocolate is just combined, turn off your mixer. do not over whip.

us immediately ore store in the fridge for up to two weeks. 

xo, a

chocolate cream cheese frosting

serves: 6lbs frosting

prep time: 10 minutes

active time: 5 minutes

total time: 15 minutes

ingredients: 2 lbs room temperature butter. 2 lbs room temperature cream cheese. 1 tbs vanilla extract. 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted. 1 lb dark chocolate, melted and cooled. stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. 

start by combining the butter and cream cheese in the bowl of your stand mixer. mix on a medium speed until everything is well combined. as the butter and cream cheese are mixing, pour in the vanilla extract. it should take 2-3 minutes to be completely combined and smooth. one third at a time, add in the powdered sugar. scrape down the sides of the bowl in between. once all the powdered sugar is added and well combined, slowly start to add in your chocolate. make sure that your chocolate has cooled significantly so nothing gets melty. once your chocolate is just combined, turn off your mixer. do not over whip. us immediately ore store in the fridge for up to two weeks. 

this week i decided that if i could only live with one fruit for the rest of my life, i'm going with blood orange. now, i really hope that doesn't happen since i use a plethora of fruit year round (thank you southern california & globalization). but if it did happen, blood orange would be my best gal. 

unfortunately, they are seasonal and i can only get them for a few months out of the year. but for those few months, i go big on blood orange. and today is no exception. check with your local grocer or produce store and see if you can get your hands on some. they are less tart and less sweet than a regular orange but have amazing orange flavor.  if you can't get your hands on some blood orange (or you don't dream about them at night like me), you could make this light and delicious olive oil cake with regular oranges, grapefruit or any other favorite citrus. OR, you could even skip the citrus if you are looking for a tasty treat thats not too sweet, but still feels very indulgent. 

blood orange olive oil cake + blood orange glaze

serves: 8-10

prep time: 10 minutes

bake time: 30 minutes

cool time :20 minutes

total time: 1 hour

ingredients: 3 blood oranges (or sub 1 grapefruit or pomelo, 2 larger oranges, 3 lemons or 5 limes) zested and juiced. 7 tbs melted butter + 1 tbs soft butter. .75 cup olive oil. 3 tbs milk at room temperature. 4 eggs at room temperature. 1 cup sugar. 1.75 cups all purpose flour, plus 2 tbs extra for dusting the pan.. 1.5 tsp baking powder. .5 tsp kosher salt. 2 cups powdered sugar. 1 bundt or an 8 or 9 inch round cake pan. hand mixer or stand mixer. 

start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees f. combine the 1.75 cups of flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl and set aside. then whisk together the olive oil, 7 tbs of melted butter and the milk. set that with the dry ingredients.

then in a bowl of a stand mixer or a bowl with a hand mixer, combine the eggs, zest and 1 cup sugar. start on a medium low speed to combine your ingredients and once combined, turn the mixer up to high and mix until the it turns light yellow in color and is thickened a bit. about 2 to 3 minutes. 

while your beating the sugar and eggs together, butter and flour your baking pan so that the cake will easily slide form the pan after baking. when our batter has thickened, alternate adding your dry and wet ingredients both starting and ending with your dry ingredients.  blend until just combined. 1-2 minutes.

pour your batter into your prepared baking sheet and bake for 20 - 30 minutes depending on the depth of your pan. start checking your cake at about 20 minutes. when a toothpick comes out of the cake clean it is done.

remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool. while the cake is cooling, make your glaze. if you make your glaze in advance, cover it with plastic wrap to prevent a skin on the top from developing. it is just the wet sugar drying when it hits the air, so if a skin does form, just recombine and it should be worked right back into your glaze.

to make your glaze, combine the blood orange juice and powdered sugar in a medium bowl and whisk well till all the lumps are out. about 2 minutes. if your glaze is a bit too dry, you can add in water 1 tsp at a time till you get a nice consistency.

you want your glaze to ribbon back into the bowl when you pull it up with the whisk. if the glaze is too wet and runny, you can add in some powdered sugar 1 tbs at a time till you get the desired consistency.

when the cake has cooled, turn it out onto a wire rack.drizzle the cake with your glaze.

serve or store covered at room temperature for up to 3 days. 

xo, a

blood orange olive oil cake + blood orange glaze

serves: 8-10

prep time: 10 minutes

bake time: 30 minutes

cool time :20 minutes

total time: 1 hour

ingredients: 3 blood oranges (or sub 1 grapefruit or pomelo, 2 larger oranges, 3 lemons or 5 limes) zested and juiced. 7 tbs melted butter + 1 tbs soft butter. .75 cup olive oil. 3 tbs milk at room temperature. 4 eggs at room temperature. 1 cup sugar. 1.75 cups all purpose flour, plus 2 tbs extra for dusting the pan.. 1.5 tsp baking powder. .5 tsp kosher salt. 2 cups powdered sugar. 1 bundt or an 8 or 9 inch round cake pan. hand mixer or stand mixer. 

start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees f. combine the 1.75 cups of flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl and set aside. then whisk together the olive oil, 7 tbs of melted butter and the milk. set that with the dry ingredients. then in a bowl of a stand mixer or a bowl with a hand mixer, combine the eggs, zest and 1 cup sugar. start on a medium low speed to combine your ingredients and once combined, turn the mixer up to high and mix until the it turns light yellow in color and is thickened a bit. about 2 to 3 minutes. while your beating the sugar and eggs together, butter and flour your baking pan so that the cake will easily slide form the pan after baking. when our batter has thickened, alternate adding your dry and wet ingredients both starting and ending with your dry ingredients.  blend until just combined. 1-2 minutes. pour your batter into your prepared baking sheet and bake for 20 - 30 minutes depending on the depth of your pan. start checking your cake at about 20 minutes. when a toothpick comes out of the cake clean it is done. remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool. while the cake is cooling, make your glaze. if you make your glaze in advance, cover it with plastic wrap to prevent a skin on the top from developing. it is just the wet sugar drying when it hits the air, so if a skin does form, just recombine and it should be worked right back into your glaze. to make your glaze, combine the blood orange juice and powdered sugar in a medium bowl and whisk well till all the lumps are out. about 2 minutes. if your glaze is a bit too dry, you can add in water 1 tsp at a time till you get a nice consistency. you want your glaze to ribbon back into the bowl when you pull it up with the whisk. if the glaze is too wet and runny, you can add in some powdered sugar 1 tbs at a time till you get the desired consistency. when the cake has cooled, turn it out onto a wire rack. drizzle the cake with your glaze. serve or store covered at room temperature for up to 3 days.