This Italian whole orange cake is moist and bursting with flavor. What makes it unique is that you use a whole orange to make it, the peel and all! It’s perfect for a light dessert after dinner or pair with your morning cup of coffee.

Why I Think You Should Make This Cake:

• Because it tastes amazing! Not too sweet and heavy, just a light cake with excellent citrus flavor.

• Because it’s fun and unique! Using the whole orange, peel and all, is so interesting. The end result is a moist cake that’s bursting with fresh orange flavor. 

• Because it’s fast and easy to mix up and get in the oven. It literally takes only 10-15 minutes to mix up this cake and get it in the oven. It bakes for almost an hour but that gives you time to finish making dinner while it’s baking. 

Ingredients Needed to Bake This Cake:

(Scroll down for full recipe with measurements) 

• white sugar
• salted butter
• eggs
• vanilla extract
• sour cream or plain greek yogurt
• baking powder
• all-purpose flour
• large orange, washed, cut into pieces, and pureed
• orange juice

Directions for Baking This Cake: 

For the cake:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Prepare an 8 or 9 inch round pan by greasing it evenly with vegetable shortening and dusting with flour or lining the bottom with parchment paper and buttering the sides. In the pictures on this page I used an 8” pan except for the picture of me glazing the cake, that is a 9” pan. Both work great, the 8 inch is just a little taller. 
• In a mixer, combine sugar and butter and mix till smooth.
• Add eggs and vanilla extract and beat.
• Next mix in the sour cream.
• Then add the baking powder and flour and mix till smooth.
• Add the puréed orange and mix to combine.
• Pour batter into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for 50-60 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Let rest in pan for 15 minutes and then take a knife and loosen the outside edge of the cake. Flip cake out onto a plate. Peel off parchment paper on the bottom if using and flip cake right side up on a cake platter or stand.

For the glaze:

• Mix the orange juice and sugar together in small pot and heat on the stove. Bring to a simmer and let simmer for 5-10 minutes until it becomes slightly thickened like syrup. Spoon over top of cake. If desired you can poke holes in the top of the cake with a kabob skewer and then pour the glaze on so it’s absorbed by the cake more. That’s what I do and it’s so good! 
• Let the cake cool completely and then slice and enjoy!

I hope you make this cake and enjoy it as much as we do. 

Happy Baking!

~Rachel Ballinger ☕️💕

”A lot of living happens in the kitchen.”    ~ Rachel 

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Italian Whole Orange Cake

This Italian whole orange cake is moist and bursting with flavor. What makes it unique is that you use a whole orange to make it, the peel and all!

Course Dessert

Cuisine Italian

Keyword Cake, dessert, Orange

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Servings 12 Servings

Author Rachel Ballinger

Ingredients

Cake:

• 1 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup salted butter softened
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup sour cream or plain greek yogurt
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 large orange washed, cut into pieces, and pureed

Glaze:

• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 1/3 cup white sugar

Instructions

For the cake:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Prepare an 8 or 9 inch round pan by greasing it evenly with vegetable shortening and dusting with flour or lining the bottom with parchment paper and buttering the sides.
• In a mixer, combine sugar and butter and mix till smooth.
• Add eggs and vanilla extract and beat.
• Next mix in the sour cream.
• Then add the baking powder and flour and mix till smooth.
• Add the puréed orange and mix to combine.
• Pour batter into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for 50-60 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Let rest in pan for 15 minutes and then take a knife and loosen the outside edge of the cake. Flip cake out onto a plate. Peel off parchment paper on the bottom if using and flip cake right side up on a cake platter or stand.

For the glaze:

• Mix the orange juice and sugar together in small pot and heat on the stove. Bring to a simmer and let simmer for 5-10 minutes until it becomes slightly thickened like syrup. Spoon over top of cake. If desired you can poke holes in the top of the cake with a kabob skewer and then pour the glaze on so it’s absorbed by the cake more.
• Let the cake cool completely and then slice and enjoy!

The post Italian Whole Orange Cake appeared first on My Everyday Ordinary Life.

These white chocolate cranberry scones are full of chocolate chips and dried cranberries and drizzled with a zesty orange glaze. They are a sweet treat with a cup of coffee, perfect for tea parties, and they make wonderful gifts especially during the Christmas season. 

Scones are one of my favorite things to bake because I can make the so fast and the result is always delicious. It takes about 15 minutes to whip these up and only 17 minutes to bake. 

Ingredients needed to bake these scones:

• flour – all purpose or bread flour 

• granulated sugar

• baking powder

• salt

• butter, I use salted butter for everything 

• whole milk or cream

• vanilla extract

• orange juice – the juice of one orange but depends on how juicy it is

• orange zest – about the zest of one orange 

• dried cranberries

• white chocolate chips

• powdered sugar

   

How to make these scones:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In your mixer combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

Cut the cold butter into smaller pieces and add to the dry mixture. Mix together until the butter is broken into small little pieces. It will take time so just be patient and it will break down!

Mix in milk, vanilla, orange juice, and orange zest until moistened. Add white chocolate chips and cranberries and mix till combined. Turn out the dough onto a floured surface.

Divide dough in half and by hand form both sections into circles. You want the dough about an inch thick. Then cut each circle into 8 pieces like a pie with a knife or dough cutter.

Place 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet. Bake for about 17 minutes or until golden brown.

Mix glaze ingredients and drizzle on cooled scones. Store in an airtight container.

You can mix it by hand with a pastry cutter or in a stand mixer. Just mix till combined. Don’t over work the dough or it can become tough.
A scone is a mix between a biscuit and a cookie. Sweeter than a biscuit, flakier than a cookie. Full of flavor and I dare say they’re more moist than dry. Such a yummy pastry! 

Happy Baking my friends! 
~Rachel Ballinger ☕️💕

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White Chocolate Cranberry Scones

These white chocolate cranberry scones are full of chocolate chips and dried cranberries and drizzled with a zesty orange glaze. They are a sweet treat with a cup of coffee, perfect for tea parties, and they make wonderful gifts especially during the Christmas season. 

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword dessert, Scones

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 17 minutes minutes

Total Time 32 minutes minutes

Servings 16 Scones

Author Rachel Ballinger

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 6 tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup milk or cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 2 tbsp orange zest
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
• Glaze:

Glaze:

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp orange juice or milk
• pinch of orange zest

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• In your mixer combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
• Cut the cold butter into smaller pieces and add to the dry mixture. Mix together until the butter is broken into small little pieces. It will take time so just be patient and it will break down!
• Mix in milk, vanilla, orange juice, and orange zest until moistened. Add white chocolate chips and cranberries and mix till combined. Turn out the dough onto a floured surface.
• Divide dough in half and by hand form both sections into circles. You want the dough about an inch thick. Then cut each circle into 8 pieces like a pie with a knife or dough cutter.
• Place 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet. Bake for about 17 minutes or until golden brown.

Glaze:

• Mix glaze ingredients in a small bowl with a spoon. Put the glaze ingredients in a small ziploc bag, zip it shut, snip a small corner of the bag off with scissors, and drizzle the glaze on the cooled scones.
• Let the glaze harden and then store scones in an airtight container.

The post White Chocolate Cranberry Scones appeared first on My Everyday Ordinary Life.

This cranberry apple pie is the perfect Christmas pie! Filled with all the quintessential flavors and spices, it’s as beautiful to look at as it tastes in your mouth. Apples, cranberries, orange zest, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. Mmmm! I look forward to this pie all year and the Christmas season isn’t complete until I’ve had a piece with a cup of hot coffee.

This delicious pie starts with a good pie crust. Here is my pie crust recipe. It’s been handed down to me from my mother who got it from my grandmother. It’s simply the best! 

I use shortening to make this crust recipe and the results are amazing. But you can substitute it for butter or lard. 

Ingredients needed to bake this pie:

• apples
• fresh cranberries 
• orange zest 
• sugar
• cornstarch
• cinnamon
• allspice
• ground cloves 
• ground nutmeg
• butter – I always use salted butter 
• two pie crusts 
• milk and sugar – for the top of the crust 

How to make this delicious pie:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. In a bowl stir together the apples, cranberries, orange zest, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and nutmeg and let sit while you prepare the crust.
3. Place one pie crust in bottom of pie pan and spoon the apple mixture into the crust.
4. Dot the filling with the 2 tablespoons butter.
5. Top the pie with the second crust. Cut slits in the crust to allow steam to escape while baking. Crimp edges.
6. Lightly brush top of pie with milk and sprinkle sugar on top.
7. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes and then at 375 for 30 minutes or until lightly brown.

I hope y’all enjoy this Christmas pie as much as I do! Of course you can eat this pie anytime of year, not just at Christmastime. 😁

~Rachel Ballinger ☕️🥧

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Cranberry Apple Pie

This cranberry apple pie is the perfect Christmas pie! Full of apple, cranberries, orange zest, and the quintessential warm spices, it’s as wonderful to look at as it tastes in your mouth!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword Apple, Christmas, Cranberry, Orange, pie

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Servings 1 Pie

Author Rachel Ballinger

Ingredients

• 3 large apples peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries
• 1 tbsp orange zest
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 9 inch pie crusts
• Milk and sugar for crust

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• In a bowl stir together the apples, cranberries, orange zest, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and nutmeg and let sit while you prepare the crust.
• Place one pie crust in bottom of pie pan and spoon the apple mixture into the crust.
• Dot the filling with the 2 tablespoons butter.
• Top the pie with the second crust. Cut slits in the crust to allow steam to escape while baking. Crimp edges.
• Lightly brush top of pie with milk and sprinkle sugar on top.
• Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes and then at 375 for 30 minutes or until lightly brown.

The post Cranberry Apple Pie appeared first on My Everyday Ordinary Life.

These delicious chocolate chip orange scones are moist and bursting with flavor. Perfect treat for brunch or breakfast. Not too sweet but sweet enough and goes beautifully with a hot cup of coffee or tea. 

I can mix these up in 15 minutes and then they bake in only 17 minutes so it’s something you can quickly make in the morning to serve guests or for a treat on the weekend. 
The secret to good scones is using cold butter and not over mixing the dough. It’s easy to mix up by hand but I also use my mixer being careful to just bring the dough together and not over mix and knead it. 

Ingredients needed for Chocolate Chip Orange Scones: 

(Scroll down for complete recipe with exact measurements and the ability to print out.) 

• all purpose flour, bread flour works great too
• white sugar 
• baking powder 
• salt
• butter, I use salted butter for everything 
• whole milk, heavy cream works great too
• vanilla extract
• orange juice and zest, one large orange is usually enough
• semisweet chocolate chips, I like using the mini chocolate chips if I have them but big ones work great too 

How to make the scones: 

• First you mix together your dry ingredients and then add the butter. You can do this with the mixer or by hand using a fork or dough cutter. I cube the butter and incorporate it into the dough until it’s broken down into pea sized pieces. It’ll take some time but just be patient and break it down. This will make the dough moist and flaky. It’ll be worth it in the end!  
  
  
• Add the wet ingredients and mix to just bring the dough together. 
  
  
• Dump the dough onto a floured surface and divide in half. Shape into two balls. Squish the dough down with your hands to form a uniform circle about an inch thick. Cut each circle into 8 pieces. You could totally just leave the dough in one big ball and make eight big scones. I prefer the smaller scones simply because they stretch further and little kids can handle the smaller ones better than if they’re too big. 
  
  
• Place the scones on a baking sheet and bake in 400 degree preheated oven for 17 minutes. Place on baking rack or parchment paper until cool. Store in airtight container. 
  
  

Scones make great gifts for Christmas, teachers, friends, anybody and any occasion really. My family is always excited when I bake some.

Enjoy! 
~Rachel Ballinger☕️💕

“A lot of living happens in the kitchen.”   ~Rachel 

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Chocolate Chip Orange Scones

These delicious chocolate chip orange scones are moist and bursting with flavor. Perfect treat for brunch or breakfast.

Course Dessert

Keyword Chocolate Chip, dessert, Orange, Scones

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 17 minutes minutes

Total Time 32 minutes minutes

Servings 16 Scones

Author Rachel Ballinger

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour all purpose or bread
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 6 Tbsp butter salted
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 2 Tbsp orange zest
• 1/2 cup semisweet mini chocolate chips

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• In your mixer combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut the cold butter into smaller pieces and add to the dry mixture. Mix together until the butter is broken into small little pieces. It will take time so just be patient and it will break down!
• Mix in milk, vanilla, orange juice, and orange zest until moistened. Add chocolate chips and mix till combined. Turn out the dough onto a floured surface.
• Divide dough in half and by hand form both sections into circles. You want the dough about an inch thick. Then cut each circle into 8 pieces like a pie with a sharp knife or pizza cutter.
• Place 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet. Bake for about 17 minutes or until golden brown.

The post Chocolate Chip Orange Scones appeared first on My Everyday Ordinary Life.