Orange for Valentine's

My best friend loves those big, rich chocolate oranges they sell around Christmas time. I imagine they sell them around Valentine's Day, too, but I wouldn't know because those things aren't for me. I'm not even big on the orange-filled chocolates that I get in those boxes of delightful candy from my sweetheart. Yes, I squeeze them to see what the filling is then toss the rejects back in the box. Bad Momma!

One thing my best friend and I have in common, is we like cake. She likes to bake and decorate them, I pretty much like to bake and eat them. My favorite chocolate cake recipe in the entire universe is Orange Chocolate Cake. It's heaven in a pan. We got the original recipe from The Cake Doctor cookbook series, but with our own twists, we merged together an orange-chocolate cake together with sinful orange-chocolate frosting that curls the toes. 

My BF's cake work for her daughter.

There's no reason to feel stuck in a rut if you plan on baking something for your Valentine this February. Make this recipe below as a cake or as cupcakes, and you'll be thrilled that you not only found an amazing new recipe, but you've taken the pink out of romance and gone a little orange. 

ORANGE CHOCOLATE CAKE

Cake:

1 box of Devil's Food cake mix

1 1/3 cup of fresh squeezed orange juice (I use Tropicana Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice.)

½ cup of vegetable oil

3 eggs

1 teaspoon of orange zest

Grease a 9X13 pan. Blend ingredients in mixer one minute on low. Beat on high for two minutes. Bake about 30 minutes or until cake springs back to the touch.

Frosting:

1 8 ounce package of cream cheese

½ stick of butter

¼ cup of dark (Dutch) cocoa

½ teaspoon of orange peel

2 tablespoons of fresh squeezed orange juice

3 and ¾ cup of powdered sugar

Blend cream cheese and butter on low. And the other ingredients except for the powdered sugar, and blend on low. Beat in powdered sugar to spreading consistency. YUM!