RodneyCk

Yes, although it is often referred to as a "poured fondant." I have no idea where the distinction is made between that and a glaze, or if there even is one.

Update... Well after having an orange muffin from "Take 4" above, the next day, I must say, these are right on the mark or close to in taste. It seems with the edition of the ground orange skin (maybe the Kool-Aid, but I doubt much flavor remained, just coloring), the oils have seeped into the muffin overnight; they are packed with orange flavor and almost 100% on the mark from the coffee house muffin. Funny, I thought the flavor part would be the last thing to perfect. It still needs a tweak, but most excellent results. Perfecting the texture is next and I think the missing butter, lol, will make these extremely moist and spot on. I was brainstorming my glaze problem and tried to think of how to impart the oily orange into it. Butter produces the oiliness, but it also imparts a strong butter taste, not what I am after, although good. So, I was thinking maybe light corn syrup or honey, either in part or a combo might be the ticket. Light corn syrup from my cake making knowledge is I think, part water and mostly sugar which is why it is often substituted for the boiled sugar and water in meringue buttercreams (does not form crystals due to its inherent water content.) Would this though give me the oily quality? Perhaps or maybe with the addition of a little honey, although honey imparts its own flavor and I do not remember a honey taste. Anyway, just thinking off the top of my head. Here are some recipes I found and I will probably hodge-podge something together to experiment; Orange glazes: Recipe #1 1/4 cup orange juice 2 tbsp light corn syrup 1/3 cup powdered sugar Meanwhile, in small bowl, stir together all glaze ingredients until smooth. Recipe #2 2/3 cup sugar 1/4 cup water 3 tablespoons orange liqueur 1 tablespoon grated orange rind 2 1/2 tablespoons light corn syrup Bring all ingredients to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring constantly; boil 2 minutes. Cover glaze, and chill 2 hours. Recipe #3 Tangerine glaze 1 1/4 cups freshly squeezed tangerine juice 1 tablespoon tangerine zest 3 tablespoons light corn syrup 3 tablespoons Grand Marnier Recipe #4 Honey Orange Glaze 1/2 cup orange juice 1/2 cup honey 1 tablespoons orange zest

Thanks for catching that Sarah! You and your website are always a wealth of information. Take care.

I did put it in the refrigerator because I made the best mango curd for the fillings. I added some spices to the yellow cake, cinnamon, nutmeg, etc. I then covered it with a coconut glaze. It was a bit dry after the second day, but I think you will get this with most cakes. Dede Wilson suggests that you use a good amount of moistening syrup on each layer for cakes you have to put in the fridge. The refrigerator extracts moisture, so you need to compensate.

How funny. I was just reading a recipe for Mandarin Orange Cake and they had a glaze of orange juice and powdered sugar. The recipe says to poke holes in the cake and pour it on top. Then, I read this post, lol. Thanks, I think this might work, that and brushing it on the sides as well.

Exactly, the only differences are bringing the sugar up higher and adding the caramel sauce at the end.

There is also dulce de leche which is a lot like caramel and so good. It is also easier to make, especially if you do not want to go to all the trouble of boiling sugar. Dulce De Leche This is a very sweet treat used in Mexican cooking usually prepared for the Day of the Dead. It can be compared to a caramel in texture. Use as a filling or transform into a buttercream icing. 1 can sweetened condensed milk Remove the label from the can of condensed milk. Do not under any circumstances open the can yet. Take the can and stick it in a pot. Cover it with water. Put the pot on a stove and turn up the heat. Let the pot and can boil for about two hours for runny dulce de leche or about three for solid dulce de leche. When it’s done, open up the can and eat directly (for the solid variety) or use as a dessert spread (for the liquid variety). OR... Alternatively, you can also empty the can of sweetened condensed milk in a double boiler, stirring every once in a while, for 2 to 4 hours, until it turns to a medium caramel color. Cool well and refrigerate if not using right away.

I had some time today to test another recipe. I wanted to try the sour cream recipe, but did not have any on hand and really did not feel like going to the supermarket. So, I decided to fiddle around with a recipe listed above by Cadbury. I modified it for one important reason, a lesson learned in my first attempt above, orange juice in the batter imparts very little flavor. Sarah Phillips confirmed this for me and I believe told me that milk is a much better choice, giving up some fat along with it. I also modified my dunking liquid. Having done my research, I found a recipe that actually dunked the whole muffin in melted butter (remember that oily orange texture I was after.) So, I decided to try including a bit, more on this later. Here is the recipe I used, modified; Extremely Orange, Orange Muffins, take 4 2 oranges 13 tablespoons melted butter 1 cup sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons orange extract 1/2 cup milk – whole 1 package of Kool-aid Orange Drink Mix 3 large eggs 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder 3/4 tsp salt Preheat oven to 350F and grease muffin tins. Prepare the oranges: Chop off the ends of to remove the pith of one orange. Extract the juice from the two halves through a strainer/sieve over a bowl. Place the orange pieces into a food processor. Zest the second orange and add to the food processor. Extract the juice again through a sieve over the same bowl from the two halves. Discard this rind. Process in the food processor until ground, no large bits showing. Add the packet of Kool-aid and extract to the milk and stir to combine, and then add to the processor, along with the eggs, melted butter, and sugar. Then add the dry ingredients. Process until well combined but do not over-mix. Spoon the batter into muffin tins, about 2/3 full. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with crumbs, but no wet batter. Meanwhile: Make the dunking glaze by combining the orange juice and 1/2 cup of sugar in a small pot on the stove. Bring to boil, then simmer for 1 minute or until sugar is combined. Remove from heat and add 1 tablespoon of butter add a time, stirring to combine. Set aside to cool. Place muffin tin on wire rack and allow them to cool for 5 minutes, and then extracting muffins onto rack. Dunk each muffin into the dunking glaze, completely turning to cover the muffin, let the excess drip off and place on rack to finish cooling, repeat process for the other muffins. Results? Probably the most flavor-induced, extremely orange muffin I have created so far, despite messing up a few steps. The flavoring was yummy. The dunking glaze still needs work though. I thought the Kool-Aid was perfect and I might even add a bit more on my next attempt just to see how far I can push it. Baking removes a lot of flavor (orange juice) so I never got an artificial or over the top orange taste from it or the zests, extracts, etc, which is good. These muffins also baked in the oven nicely, much like the previous attempt, good crust, but not to hard, perfect. I obtained domed tops and my first “orange colored” muffins, but still not the deep tangerine color like the original. You can really see the orange color in the third picture below. Maybe more Kool-aid will increase the intensity. Lol. Texture, good, but it had that open, sponge-like pocket much like Extremely Orange, Orange Muffins take 2 above, but nowhere near that bad. The reason you ask? I forgot to include the melted butter. Lol. Surprisingly, despite the off texture, they weren’t that bad without the butter. I also, in this attempt, forgot to grind up the orange peel initially, so I just ground it with the ingredients. I did not want to over-mix, so there were tiny bits of orange in this example. I was spacing it big time today, still, blunders aside, not that bad. The other problem was with the dunking liquid. What I am finding is that the outside of the muffin and about ¼ inch in is completely saturated, actually to much so. It never penetrates to the inside of the muffin. I also need to cut back on the butter, because I could really taste it. So, will injecting it work or should I just try brushing it on the entire muffin, or both, or any other ideas? Good attempt, still really can’t tell if this is the recipe or not since I messed up, so I need to try this again. I learned a lot, made progress with the flavoring and hopefully can use some of this. Until next time… As always, feedback is welcome.

Yes, I made the James McNair yellow cake the other day. It was really good, moist. The only thing I did differently, was use the pastry method of mixing, adding dry ingredients, including sugar to the KA, mix for 30 seconds, then add in the butter 1 T at a time until cornmeal texture occures. I then mix all the wet ingredients including eggs into a bowl and add this in a stream to the KA, mix until well combined, but don't over mix. This method gave me the perfectly even crumb. I try and use this method on all my cakes except chocolate or specialty cakes. I also highly encourage you to try Toba's recipe. I have heard such good things about it. Good luck!!!

Thanks Jaymes! If you can not find this in the supermarket, then using real coconut in the same amounts (about 2 cups) should work, even better actually.

They usually do, yes, but I am never one to stick with tradition. An Italian meringue buttercream, flavored to your preference, would do just fine. Keeping it tropical is always nice, maybe a mango IMB or just plain vanilla would suffice.

I have made IMB with brown sugar. It is actually called "butterscotch" and more like a butterscotch flavor. It is VERY good. For carmel, a deeper brown flavor, use the recipe posted above or use my favorite; Caramel Buttercream Important - Make the Caramel Sauce (recipe below) before making the Italian Meringue Buttercream. Change to Italian Meringue Buttercream recipe: Bring the sugar/water mixture up to 325°, instead of 248° to 250°. It should turn a deep golden amber color. Do not let it turn dark brown, or it will taste burned. Remove syrup from the heat and allow to cool to about 260°. Then, use it in place of the regular sugar syrup and proceed with the Italian Meringue Buttercream recipe. When the buttercream is finished and all of the butter has been added and the mixture is smooth, beat 1 cup of the Caramel Sauce into each batch (7 cups of buttercream.) The Buttercream is now ready to use and may be stored and reconstituted as for regular Italian Meringue Buttercream. While this buttercream can be made 1 month ahead and frozen, it tastes best when fresh. Caramel Sauce 2 cups heavy cream 2 cups sugar 1 cup water 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1. Bring the cream to a boil over medium heat in a medium-sized saucepan; set aside, keeping warm. Place the sugar and water in a large heavy-bottomed pot. Stir to moisten the sugar and cook over a low-medium heat, without stirring, until the syrup begins to color. Wash down the sides of the pot once or twice with a damp pastry brush. 2. When the syrup is a golden amber color, remove from the heat and carefully pour in the warm cream. The mixture may bubble up furiously. Allow the mixture to calm down, then gently whisk until smooth. (If the cream is too cool, it will cause the caramel to seize. If this happens, place the pot back over a low heat and stir until the sauce liquefies.) Stir in the vanilla off the heat. Store refrigerated in an airtight container. It should be room temperature and fluid when added to the buttercream. Reheat in a double boiler or microwave before using, if necessary. Makes 2 2/3 cups *edited to include recipe*

Yes, that is next on the agenda, trying the cream cheese recipe while my oils are being delivered. I also want to bake off a batch of the kool-aid added muffins just for fun, to see what flavors and colorings are introduced. I need to set up a cupcake stand outside my door to get rid of them, lol.

CanadianBakin', getting back to the issue of injecting the glaze/syrup inside… I really like this idea. I tasted the muffins again this morning and they are better once they have cooled down completely, texture-wise. I tasted the part that had been dunked in the syrup and it contained more orange flavor, very moist and almost perfect. My friend who remembers the coffee house muffin said, "oh my gosh, you are getting there." It really does change the texture. Sarah's muffins are great btw, I hope my posts do not suggest otherwise. My intent is just for something slightly different, so my criticisms must be absorbed with this in mind. For any other muffin than the original coffee house muffin I am trying to mimic, her recipe is spot on, perfection even. So, back to the syrup… When dunking in the glaze, I lost a couple because they are tender and tore apart due to the initial impact of the liquid. So, I want to develop this method where the baker will not be on pins and needles trying to douse carefully. I like the injection method idea. Then I could brush on the outside as well, as the original was saturated. I was also thinking about a spray bottle, but this could get really messy or create a room air freshener, lol, a two-in-one. The one thing texture-wise I am missing was remembering a slight oiliness (probably with the addition of orange/tangerine oil), but I will wait until I play more with the dunking glaze to determine if there is a means of using oils, as in vegetable oils or otherwise, as a glaze. It may not even be needed.

Hummingbird cakes are delicious, athough I have not tried Martha's recipe. I like to use Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting on them. To do so, add to Martha's recipe; 4 cans coconut (3 1/2 oz. cans ea.) 2 cups chopped pecans or walnuts 1 cup raisins, chopped (I use golden) Beat all of Martha's ingredients until smooth, then add the above ingredients. If too thick, thin with milk or buttermilk. Yummy!!!

Perfect CanadianBakin, I was just going to ask anyone for a good sour cream muffin recipe to test. I like the fact they are bake house muffins, that sounds promising. My chocolate cake recipe I developed uses sour cream as one of the secret ingredients. Thanks again.

Thanks Sarah for the feedback! Maybe it was because I used the KitchenAid instead of the hand mixer. It was not a bad cornmeal texture, nothing like the first muffin I made above, just a slightly dry aftertaste. I like it with the dunking glaze, like I said, it altered it to a more cake like texture, which makes me think that it needs more moisture, which also makes me think that cream cheese, as some are pointing to, might be the ticket. One quick question, would taking out the blueberries in your recipe take away some of the moisture they excrete, and thus result in the slight dry texture? I know what you mean about the orange varieties. I was using the cheap ones for testing, but will try different varieties when I get the texture and moisture down. A lot of chefs use the Valencia oranges in higher-end cakes, so these might be worth trying.

Good suggestions from both you and SweetTraditionsNY. I am not sure about the Tang though, as it has a very off orange taste from what I remember, lol. That stuff always scared me. I do like the cream cheese idea. I have a recipe for cake that uses any flavor of Kool-aid. This is interestings. It would take care of the color issue, just not sure if it would come across as too artificial tasting. I will test this theory, thanks.

You thought I forgot about the orange muffins, didn't you? Hah! New update, new recipe, a step closer. You really do learn more from mistakes than anything else. Sure, getting it right the first time would be a cinch and cause less stress and loose bowels. But where is the fun in that? I baked off a new batch with a modified recipe from Sarah Phillips. (This recipe is a revision of her "Lemon Blueberry Cake Muffins," available here at baking911.com.) Copyright laws and all that dictate that I can list the amounts and ingredients, but I need to change the recipe into my own words, which is fine, so here is what I am working from... Extremely Orange, Orange Muffins, Take 3 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour; spoon into dry measuring cup and level to top 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt M 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter 3/4 cup sugar 1 teaspoon orange extract 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract Zest and juice from 2 oranges (use the juice in the dunking glaze, so place in separate bowl) 2 large eggs 1/2 cup whole or 2% milk 1/2 cup sugar The recipe this is based of off said to use a hand mixer. I used a KA and it worked out fine. Heat oven to 350F and grease a muffin pan or two with oil. Mix together in a medium bowl the first three ingredients and set aside. In a KA or hand mixer, cream the butter for a bit until smooth, then drizzle in sugar, then add the extracts and zest; continue to mix for about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, on low; beating for 20 seconds after each addition, then stop the mixer. Scrape the sides. On low, add the flour in thirds and the milk in two portions, beginning and ending with the flour. I like to add 2/3 of the flour in the first addition. Scrape the bowl in a folding motion, and then continue on lowest setting to beat for 30 seconds. Place equal portions in the muffin tins, about 1/2 to 2/3 full. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown and a tooth pick comes out with a few crumbs, but no wet batter. Meanwhile, prepare dunking glaze. For the dunking glaze: combine 1/2 cup sugar with strained orange juice of 2 oranges in a pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 minute, then remove and let cool to room temperature. Place muffins on wire rack and let sit for 5 minutes, then turn out on rack. When muffins have slightly cooled for handling, dunk either muffin top or all of muffin briefly in glaze to saturate. Place on rack to continue to cool. What does that give us? For starters, a very nicely shaped muffin, one of the best looking I have had so far. The coned muffin top was perfect. Other nice qualities were the browning of the outside, perfect crust, not to tough, but supportive, lots of flavor. The top was firm but soft to break through, nice. Now the problems… The taste, not so orange, which really surprises me and which begs the question, how do I get more orange into this muffin? Possible solutions: 1. Add orange oil - more concentrated and intense flavor. 2. Add more orange extract. I like the 2 1/2 teaspoons in the previous muffin. 3. Perfect the dunking glaze technique. See next note. More on the texture and dunking glaze: The texture was a bit off. It was very cornmeal like, a bit dry on the back of the throat, probably a true muffin. Again, I want a hybrid muffin/cupcake. This was before adding the dunking glaze. Once I added the glaze it got better, more orange flavor and very moist. I accidentally broke a muffin in two, causing it to land and really soak in the liquid. I fished it out and placed the broken pieces on the rack. I tasted it after letting sit for a minute. It was awesome, a totally different texture and VERY CLOSE to what I remember. I think this is the key. Solution for moisture and flavor: Maybe letting the muffins sit after a first dunk, and then dunking again. Need more testing here. Solution for texture: I had two problems with texture; one listed above was the cornmeal muffin tooth. I think trying half all-purpose and half cake flour next may be the solution here. The other problem was that half of my muffins stuck to the pan causing them to tear. I used pan release (oil and flour spray), so maybe I did not use enough or I need to really grease with shortening. I will work on this, but very disappointing. All in all, a good try I am making progress. I will rework the recipe later and repost for the next try. I also want to score some orange oil and tangerine oil which may take a week or so since I have to order online. BTW, the original muffin had tangerine in it, at least partially if not all of it. Tangerines are out of season here, so I have been looking everywhere. Hopefully I will find some soon. Feedback is welcome as always... Best, Rodney

Yeah, I hardly ever see pastry flour, at least where I shop. I found this little tidbit... "It can be a challenge to find pastry flour. Even well-stocked supermarkets seldom carry more varieties than cake flour, all-purpose flour (9% to 12% protein), and bread flour. If you can't find pastry flour, you can mix you own by combining cake flour and all-purpose flour in a ratio somewhere between of two parts cake flour to one part all-purpose and one part cake flour to one part all-purpose."

Here is a website for all other colors, unfortunately, no black, in the event someone wanted another color... http://www.confectioneryhouse.com/

So, just to be clear, you did not use the required amount of ingredients, or you did? Two of the main reason for sunken cakes is oven temperature to low, so check you oven with a separate thermometer, not your oven's. The other reason could be that there was more flour than liquid in the recipe.

One other cake recipe that everyone keeps recommending is Toba Garrett's Yellow Cake. I have her book, but have not tried the recipe yet. I also want to try James McNair's Yellow Cake from his "Cakes" book. Recipe-wise, it looks interesting. Has anyone tried either of these? Toba Garrett's Yellow Cake recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/109358 James McNair's Yellow Cake recipe: http://www.familytime.com/asp/showRecipe.a...=&recipeID=4516 Edited to include recipes.

I baked this recipe off tonight. I actually found it on another forum, someone highly recommended it. I give it a 6 out of 10. It was on the medium side of the moisture scale, not to moist, not to dry. The crumb was slightly crumbly and contained some uneven air pockets in the texture, course. So far, I prefer the CI yellow cake, just right for me. Sarah's was more like a pound cake, and very buttery, a true "buttercake", but not a light "yellow cake." I am going to try the Whimsical Bakehouse cake next.

Try using the upside down nail first and see if that works I agree with etalanian above regarding the leavening. I believe Sarah Phillips also mentions the need to sometimes adjust the leavening for larger sized cakes on her website baking911.com .