Chocolate-Orange Cake Balls & Whoopie Pies

I have been craving something orange and chocolate lately and so I set out to find a recipe that included only the ingredients I had on hand (since it was POURING rain outside). I absolutely love rain and it inspires me to cook but I would rather stay inside and bake then go out in it to buy things. Needless to say, I couldn’t find a recipe that fit the ingredients I had at home so I decided to come up with my own.

I decided to make Chocolate-Orange Whoopie Pies with Orange Cream cheese frosting. Surprisingly everything was going according to plan… until I went to remove the Whoopie cakes from the pan. Half of them came out perfectly from one of the pans but the other half absolutely refused to release. Not a single one came out of the separate pan and I was forced to scoop them out, crumbling them into bits.

I really didn’t want to let any of it go to waste so I decided to make the crumbled remains into cake balls! This recipe make me 6 Whoopie Pies and 9 Cake Balls.

Well here they are… my Chocolate-Orange Cake Balls and Whoopie Pies :)

 

Cake Ingredients:

½ cups butter (room temperature)

1 ¼ cups sugar

2 large eggs (room temperature)

Zest of 1-2 oranges (depending on size)

1 tbsp fresh squeezed orange juice

¾ cup flour

½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

½ cup cocoa powder

½ cup milk

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1.5 oz of dark chocolate (chopped)

Frosting:

1 can of cream cheese frosting

Zest of 1-2 oranges (depending on size)

Instructions:

Pre-heat oven to 350⁰ F

Beat butter in mixer until soft. Add sugar and beat until fluffy.

Add eggs, one at a time. Add in orange zest and juice

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder in a separate bowl and blend together.

In another small bowl mix the milk and the vanilla.

Melt the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl until completely melted and set aside.

Add the dry and wet ingredients to the butter mixture, alternating wet and dry continuing to beat the mixture.

Add in the melted chocolate and beat until combine.

If you are making Whoopie Pies, butter and flour the tray and fill each indentation half way up.

Bake for 10-15 minutes or until tester comes out clean.

If you are making cupcakes line the trays and bake for 18-22 minutes.

If you are making a cake (to make cake balls/pops) butter or spray pan with cooking spray and bake for 40-45 minutes. (You will also need melting chocolate to dip the cake balls in)

Apple Cinnamon Muffin Tops

You don't have to be ashamed of these Muffin Tops ;) They are down right TASTY! The spice topping creates a sweet flaky crust across the top, its perfect! These muffin tops are delicious and are the perfect size for a quick snack (although I went back for more).

Muffin:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder (heaping)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon (can use more or less)

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1 cup light brown sugar (can use more)

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 1/4 cups unsweetened applesauce

Spice Topping:

6 -7 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions: (makes about 20 muffin tops)

Set the oven to 350°F and butter the Whoopie Pie tins

For the muffins, mix the first 7 dry ingredients in a bowl.

In another large bowl whisk together the eggs and the brown sugar until well combined.

Add in the melted butter whisking continuously until mixture is creamy. Stir in applesauce.

Fold in flour mixture until just combined.

Divide the batter evenly between Whoopie Pie tins. About ¾ full.

To make the topping, stir together all ingredients then sprinkle over tops of muffin batter.

Bake for about 15-18 minutes, or until done.

Cool in pan for 5-10 minutes then dump out Muffin Tops.

I cannot wait to try other Muffin Top ideas! :)

 

By the way this it what the Whoopie Pie Pan looks like you can get them all over the place. 

I got mine at Bed Bath and Beyond. Click the picture to go to the site.

Caramel Apple Cupcakes

Sorry I have been M.I.A. lately Club:BAKED I have been so busy and distracted. Thanks to my sister Gloria, The Ginger Snap Girl, and her many texts ;) I didn't skip out on this one!

I am not going to say too much in this post because I need to leave for work soon but I am glad I didn't sit this one out because they are delicious! I made cupcakes instead of cake because it seemed like a HUGE time saver and I am pretty sure it was. I did have a hard time making these. This recipe is a bit beyond my skill level so this morning did involve a few curse words and I almost gave up once or twice but I made it through! :)

So here are my Caramel Apple Cupcakes!

YUM!!!

Well check out everyone's beautiful versions of the Caramel Apple Cake from Baked Explorations: Classic American Desserts Reinvented here at CLUB:Baked. Thank you Melissa for this great choice! Check out how she did here.