Bad Recipe!

So last week-end was Easter and my family came over for dinner so of course we had a big dinner and for dessert I decided to make this cake because I thought it looked amazing.

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/408615/chocolate-orange-and-almond-simnel-cake

I decided to use some cocoa powder that my sister bought me back from Bali when she went there on her honeymoon so it added a different twist then regular cocoa powder. It was a really nice cake batter, and next time I would use deeper cake tins so that when I sliced each layer in half, they were thicker. But what I really want to talk about is the AWFUL frosting recipe. First off I knew this already, but some people may not, the mascarpone needs, NEEDS, to be at room temperature and no where does it say that for people who don't know. Second there is way too much orange juice needed, orange extract would give you a very orange-y flavor and you would only need about 1-2 teaspoons, not 100 mL of orange juice. It also doesn't say that you should add the icing sugar, a cup at a time, and beat after each addition, and slowly add the orange juice. It splits even before you add the orange juice, and when you do add the orange juice it just gets worse and worse, and there really is no way to save it. So it's a very bad frosting recipe, every comment I read on this cake, afterwards, said their frosting split as well, so I decided to do an orange cream cheese frosting instead which was really nice. Give the cake part a try, but forget the frosting and make your own. Mascarpone isn't cheap and it's somewhat an expensive frosting for it just be ruined. I mean you can try it, but I can guarantee that it will split, just like everyone else's. So here is the frosting recipe I used instead.

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting:

3/4 cups (1 1/2 sticks) soft butter

3 bars (8 oz each) soft cream cheese

3 cups sifted icing sugar

1 tablespoon freshly grated orange zest

2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger

(if you prefer less ginger and more orange reverse the amounts)

and a pinch of salt

1) Cream the butter until its soft, pale, and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the cream cheese, and beat into the butter until it's fluffy, about another 2 minutes. Add the sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating in after each cup. Then add the zest, ginger, and salt and beat for about 5 minutes.