Heavenly Orange Cake with Orange Frosting
rec.food.recipes/Mary Fillmore (2000)

This is a wonderful dessert cake. The recipe originally called for cakes of Mexican chocolate but it has been modified for plain semisweet chocolate by adding almond extract and cinnamon.

The cake can be made in either two layers or three layers. The original cake comes from Mary Seiler. I like to make it with an additional 2/3 cup chopped fresh cranberries added to the batter.

2 3/4 cup cake flour or 2 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup golden raisins, chopped
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1 Tbsp orange zest (2-3 rinds)

Grease and flour 2 or 3 eight-inch cake pans.

Cream sugar, butter and shortening.

Combine the soda, salt and flour.

Beat eggs and vanilla into butter mixture.

Beat buttermilk and flour mixture into butter alternately.

Fold in orange zest, raisins and nuts.

Pour into cake pans and bake at 350 F until done.

Frosting for two layers:
1/3 cup butter
3 cups confectioners sugar
2 Tbsp Cointreau
2 Tbsp orange juice
2 tsp orange zest

Beat together and spread over cake.

Frosting for three layers:
1/2 cup butter
4 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
2 1/2 Tbsp Cointreau
2 1/2 Tbsp orange juice
1 Tbsp orange zest

Beat together and spread over cake.