Orange Blossom Cake with Pineapple Orange Filling

Orange Blossom Cake

1 stick butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, separated (chill whites)
1 cup orange juice (no pulp)
3 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon orange extract
Peach food coloring (3 drops yellow, 1 drop red)

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugar together. Next, add egg yolks and beat well. Stir in orange juice and beat again. Mix all the dry ingredients together, then add (a third at a time) to batter.

In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until peaks form. Fold egg whites carefully into batter, mix well. Pour batter into two buttered 8-inch cake pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on rack for 10 minutes then remove layers and finish fooling. Make filling.

Pineapple-Orange Filling

6 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
pinch of salt
Zest from 1 orange
1/2 cup orange juice
1 egg yolk, slightly beaten
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 cup crushed pineapple
1 teaspoon orange extract (or Grand Marnier liqueur)

Over medium heat, mix sugar, cornstarch and salt. Alternately add water, orange peel, orange juice and egg yolk. Cook and stir until mixture thickens. Carefully stir in butter, pineapple and orange extract. Remove from heat, chill well. When ready, spread filling between cooled layers. Frost with Orange Buttercream Frosting.

Orange Buttercream Frosting

1 box confectioners' sugar
1 stick butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon orange extract (or Grand Marnier liqueur)
peach food coloring (3 drops yellow, 1 drop red)
3 tablespoons milk (as needed for spreading consistency)

Cream butter and sugar, add orange extract and food coloring. Add milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, to reach spreading consistency. This recipe can be doubled, depending on how much frosting you like. Sprinkle cake with coconut or top it with sugared pansies.