A Delicious Holiday-Dinner Menu

Preparing the Feast

Inspire sweet dreams for a long winter’s nap with scrumptious White-Chocolate Mousse Cake scented with orange, frosted with Vanilla-Orange Buttercream icing, and garnished with decadent white-chocolate curls, kumquats, and orange blossoms. The creme de la creme for any soiree, this recipe will be requested for years to come. 

Orange-Scented White-Chocolate Mousse Cake
Makes 1 (3-layer) 9-inch cake
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Ingredients
  1. 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
  2. 2 cups sugar
  3. 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  4. 1 teaspoon orange extract
  5. 1 teaspoon orange zest
  6. 3 cups cake flour
  7. 3 teaspoons baking powder
  8. ½ teaspoon salt
  9. ÂĽ teaspoon ground cardamom
  10. ÂĽ teaspoon ground coriander
  11. 1 cup buttermilk
  12. 5 egg whites, beaten until stiff
  13. White-Chocolate Orange Mousse (recipe follows)
  14. Vanilla-Orange Buttercream (recipe follows)
  15. Garnish: white-chocolate curls, kumquats, and orange blossoms
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350°. Spray 3 (9-inch) cake pans with baking spray; line with parchment rounds, and spray again.
  2. In a large bowl, beat butter with a mixer at medium speed until creamy, about 4 minutes. Gradually add sugar, beating until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in vanilla extract, orange extract, and orange zest.
  3. In a small bowl, combine cake flour, baking powder, salt, cardamom, and coriander; sift twice. Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Gently fold in beaten egg whites.
  4. Pour batter evenly into prepared pans. Bake until a wooden pick inserted near the centers comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pans, and let
  5. cool completely on wire racks.
  6. Spread half of White-Chocolate Orange Mousse between two cake layers; top with remaining mousse and remaining cake layer. Spread Vanilla-Orange Buttercream on top and sides of cake. Use any remaining buttercream to pipe around edges, if desired. Garnish with white chocolate curls, kumquats, and orange blossoms, if desired. Store in refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Victoria https://victoriamag.com/
White-Chocolate Orange Mousse
Makes about 4 cups
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Ingredients
  1. 1½ (4-ounce) bars white chocolate, chopped
  2. 1½ cups heavy whipping cream, divided
  3. ÂĽ cup water
  4. 2 tablespoons orange liqueur
  5. 1 (0.25-ounce) package (or 1 teaspoon) unflavored gelatin
  6. 1 teaspoon orange zest
  7. ¼ cup confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
  1. In a medium bowl, combine white chocolate and ¼ cup cream. Microwave on high in 30-second intervals, stirring between each, until white chocolate is melted and smooth (about 1½ minutes total).
  2. In a small saucepan, bring water and liqueur to a boil over high heat; remove from heat. Pour mixture into a small bowl. Sprinkle with gelatin, and let sit until dissolved, about 5 minutes. Add gelatin mixture to white-chocolate mixture, stirring occasionally, until cool, about 20 minutes.
  3. In a medium bowl, beat remaining 1¼ cups cream, orange zest, and confectioners’ sugar with a mixer at medium high speed until soft peaks form.
  4. Add one-third of whipped-cream mixture to chocolate mixture; beat on low speed until combined and smooth. Add remaining two-thirds of cream mixture; beat on medium speed until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
Victoria https://victoriamag.com/
Vanilla-Orange Buttercream
Makes about 4 cups
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Ingredients
  1. 3 egg whites
  2. 1 teaspoon orange liqueur
  3. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  4. 1 cup sugar
  5. 1 cup unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons and softened
  6. 2 teaspoons orange zest
Instructions
  1. In the work bowl of a stand mixer set over a pan of simmering water, whisk egg whites, liqueur, vanilla extract, and sugar until combined. Continue to whisk, constantly, until mixture registers 140° on a candy thermometer.
  2. Place bowl on a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; beat mixture at high speed until glossy and cool, about 10 minutes.
  3. Reduce mixer speed to medium-low. Add butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, until all is combined. Add orange zest. Replace whisk attachment with paddle attachment; beat mixture until all air bubbles are removed and mixture is smooth, about 5 minutes. Use immediately, or refrigerate for up to 1 week. If refrigerated, bring buttercream to room temperature, and beat on medium-high speed until smooth, about 3 minutes.
Victoria https://victoriamag.com/

“Preparing the Feast” can be found in the Holiday Bliss 2015 issue of Victoria magazine. 

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