orange berry marmalade cake

last week i had 2 doctor appointments, 1 dentist appointment,

1 tetanus shot, and my blood drawn.

don't worry. i'm healthy. just annual check-ups and such.

my favorite part of the visits are the routine questions the doctors ask...

do you smoke? no

have you ever smoked? no

do you drink? yes

how much? 2 drinks, 2x per week

(under exaggeration)

do you eat healthy? yesss(?)

(i honestly have no idea how to answer this question)

in fact, when the lady asked me, i thought about this cake.

LOL.

my original cake didn't turn out as great as i wanted.

don't get me wrong, it TASTED great.

it just didn't LOOK all that great.

(don't judge a cake by it's cover)

so, i actually recreated the same recipe but in cupcake form

for my 2nd annual 4th of july party, pictured here.

recipe via epicurious, modified by me.

cake ingredients

nonstick vegetable oil spray

4 1/2 cups cake flour

4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (2 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 cups sugar, divided

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups whole milk

9 large egg whites

frosting ingredients

1 tablespoon orange extract

12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

5 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

1/2 teaspoon orange-flower water

1/4 cup orange marmalade

1 12-ounce container fresh strawberries

1 6-ounce container fresh raspberries

1 4.4-ounce container fresh blueberries

directions

(these direction are for the cake version. but you can easily modify for the cupcake version)

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. spray bottom and sides of two 10-inch-diameter cake pans

with 2-inch-high sides with nonstick spray.

line bottoms with parchment paper rounds; spray parchment.

dust pans with flour, tapping out any excess.

3. whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl.

4. using electric mixer, beat butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar

in large bowl until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. beat in vanilla.

5. add flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with milk in 2 additions,

beating until well blended between additions.

6. using clean dry beaters, beat egg whites in another large bowl until foamy.

with mixer running, gradually add remaining 1/2 cup sugar.

beat egg white mixture until stiff glossy peaks form, about 3 minutes.

7. gently fold egg white mixture into batter in 3 additions. 

divide batter between prepared pans; smooth tops.

8. bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 minutes.

cool cakes in pans on rack 10 minutes.

invert cakes onto rack; remove parchment paper,

turn cakes over, and cool completely.

9. for the frosting....

using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl until smooth. 

add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, beating well.

add 1 tablespoon orange extract; beat until smooth.

          

10. place 1 cup orange buttercream in medium bowl;

mix in orange marmalade.

set marmalade buttercream aside to use as filling.

11. to assemble...

hull and cut half of strawberries lengthwise into 1/2-inch wedges.

trim cake tops to flatten. place 1 cake on plate, cut side up.

12. place 1/2 cup plain orange-flower buttercream into pastry bag fitted with 1/3-inch tip.

pipe 1/3-inch line of buttercream around edge of cake.

spoon marmalade buttercream into center, spreading just to line.

gently press sliced strawberries, half of raspberries,

 and half of blueberries into filling, leaving 1/2-inch border

(chill remaining berries for garnish)

13. top with second layer

frost top and sides with remaining plain orange buttercream.

chill at least 2 hours.

14. remove cake from refrigerator 1 hour before serving.

hull and cut remaining strawberries lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick wedges.

sprinkle sliced strawberries and remaining raspberries and blueberries over cake.

(not my best work, but still delicious!)