Happy Birthday to me! I don’t know why everyone is always so perplexed when I tell them I *like* making my own birthday cake. It’s a chance for me to try out a new technique or flavor and to splurge a bit on ingredients.
I think I went through three or four cake options over the past few weeks. Did I want chocolate? Lavender and matcha? Peanut butter? Nope, nope, and nope! This Blood Orange Chiffon Cake paired with this Whipped Frosting snuck up and blew the other contenders out of the water.
The blood oranges took forever and a day to candy, and I was a bit terrified of accidentally deflating the egg whites, but I’m quite pleased with the final results! The cake has a nice orange fragrance, and I cut the sugar by a half cup so the frosting isn’t overly sweet.
And not only do I have a cute 7″ cake for myself (Yes, I know the recipe called for 9″ pans, but I’m a rebel in my new age), but I also baked up a 9″ layer and cut it in half for a cake to bring to work on Monday. Part two of birthday extravaganza baking was a success!
Emerald Thunder 