Waiting and Weddings and Water, Oh My...

I feel like I've gone on hiatus again and I have no real reason other than Summer hit and we've been spending so much time outside in the yard with two tiny nudists!  The splash pad is out, the pool's going up, and the sunscreen's aplenty!

I've also booked myself silly for a couple of months with weddings and teacher's presents and birthdays. 

In celebration of my procrastination in posting and my crazy schedule, enjoy this chocolate orange crepe cake. 

I made it for Big Daddy for Father's Day,  He wanted a cake that tasted like a Terry's Chocolate Orange, and this is what I came up with.   After two unsuccessful "crepes", I got the hang of things. 

Chocolate Orange Crepe Cake

1 Box French Vanilla Cake Mix (I used Duncan Hines)
1 Large Orange
1 t. Orange Oil (I used LorAnn's)


Prepare cake mix according to directions, only substituting the oil for melted butter.  Add the zest of your orange, as well as all of its juice.  Stir to incorporate.

Add orange oil and stir again to blend. 

Heat a medium sized skillet or frying pan that has been sprayed with a non-stick cooking spray. 

Once heated, measure out approximately 1/2 cup of batter and pour into pan.  Tilt pan back and forth until the base is fully coated and let set until the top of your 'crepe' appears dry.  Using a long spatula, flip the cake over and cook for another 15-20 seconds. 

Place on a wire rack and once cool, place a sheet of wax paper on the top.

Continue with remaining batter until it's all gone.

I filled and topped mine with a chocolate buttercream and a few squares of a Lindt chocolate orange bar to round out the flavor combo.

Chocolate Buttercream

1 Cup Butter, softened
1/2 C Cocoa, sifted
1/2 t. Vanilla
6-8 C Icing Sugar

Beat butter until light and fluffy.  Scrape down bowl and add cocoa, vanilla, and icing sugar.  Beat until desired consistency is reached. 

Place one crepe on a serving platter, cake round, plate, etc, and frost generously.  Keep alternating crepes and frosting until you place the top one.  Here's where I added the chocolate squares. 

You could, in theory, frost the whole outside of the cake as well, but I liked looking at the layers.  So there.

Cut, enjoy, and try not to think about how different it feels to be eating tiny thin layers of cake rather than a large chunk. 

Totally different, totally awesome!