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EAT | Ombre Citrus Cakes

 Ombre Citrus Cakes - in lemon, lime and orange! | www.highwallsblog,com
Hey! Guess what! Today marks the 4th anniversary of this blog! Way back when I started this blog in 2010 we had a different name, a different format and the only person who read it was me! Look how far we’ve come! 4 years isn’t exactly one of the big milestones, but why not celebrate with cake, right? There’s always room for cake!

Let’s talk about cakes and the pressures of making a cake look ‘perfect’. With the amazing talent showcased on Pinterest and food blogs, it’s easy to feel like your cake needs to have that perfect frosting, be perfectly even and always look ready to be splashed across the pages of a magazine. While I am a perfectionist of the highest degree, I gotta say: there’s something kind of special about a messy cake.

Ombre Citrus Cakes - in lemon, lime and orange! | www.highwallsblog,com Ombre Citrus Cakes - in lemon, lime and orange! | www.highwallsblog,com

A messy cake can still be pretty. It doesn’t matter if its a little lopsided, or if the icing isn’t perfectly smooth. A messy cake is a cake with no pretence. It’s made with love and always enjoyed with love. I think we all need a little mess in our lives every now and then, don’t you?
These ombre citrus cakes are the perfect ‘non-perfect’ messy cake recipe. The brightly coloured layers are so vibrant and fun, no one is even going to notice if your layers are uneven or a little wonky. That’s the beauty of it! The layers, when stacked and covered in the sweet and sticky glaze, are so enticing that you don’t need perfection!
The other great thing is how interchangeable this recipe is. I made my cakes in lemon, lime and orange, but you can really use any citrus you like! I have a collection of mini cake tins, so I made each layer individually, but if you are only making one flavour (instead of three) you can just as easily make your layers in larger tins and use a cutter to get even layers. It takes a little bit of extra time, but the ombre layers are totally worth it. (Besides, you can always forgo them if you are in a hurry!)
Ombre Citrus Cakes - in lemon, lime and orange! | www.highwallsblog,com
Ingredients:

3/4 cup of butter
3 large eggs
1/2 tsp of salt
2 2/3 cups of plain flour
2 1/4 tsp of baking powder
1 2/3 of cups sugar
1 cup of natural yogurt
2 tsp of citrus rind
2 tbsp of citrus juice
Food colouring 
Glaze:
1 1/2 cups of icing sugar
3 - 4 tbsp of citrus juice
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius (375 F ) and grease 3 small baking pans. Set aside until later.
2. Place the flour, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl and stir to combine. Set aside. 
3. In a separate bowl, beat the butter on medium speed for 30 seconds before adding the sugar gradually, beating in between additions. Beat until light and fluffy. 
4. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating again after each addition.
5. Alternating between the two, add the flour mixture and yogurt in small amounts at a time. Beat on low speed in between each addition.
6. Split the mixture into 3 bowls and stir in peels and juices of the citrus you are using (if you one only making one flavour you do not need to split these into 3)
7.  a) Take the first bowl of mixture and add 1 or two drops of your choice of color and stir combine - you only want the mixture to be lightly coloured for now. Fill the first prepare baking pan half way. 
b) Add an additional 2 or 3 drops of colouring, stir again to combine so that your mixture is now a medium color. Fill the second pan half way. 
c) Add a couple more drops of colouring to deepen the remaining mixture to a dark shade and pour into the last pan. 
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Turn out onto a wire rack and allow to cool completely. 
Repeat Steps 6 - 8 with the other two bowls of mixture. Again, if you are only making one flavour of cakes you will not be able to 
9. Once cooled, trim away the sides of the cake to show the coloured inside - I used a round cookie cutter to keep my edges even, but you can also do this by trimming with a sharp knife. Also trim down the top of the each layer so that they can sit (relatively flat) on top of each other. 
To serve: layer the three different shades on top of each other from darkest to lightest. Pour glaze in between each layer and on the top - the glaze can be made by mixing icing sugar and citrus juice until smooth and glossy. Top with a slice of citrus. 

Ombre Citrus Cakes - in lemon, lime and orange! | www.highwallsblog,com  Ombre Citrus Cakes - in lemon, lime and orange! | www.highwallsblog,com Ombre Citrus Cakes - in lemon, lime and orange! | www.highwallsblog,comOmbre Citrus Cakes - in lemon, lime and orange! | www.highwallsblog,com

4 Comments
  • annarosamos

    August 22, 2014 at 12:27 am Reply

    Happy happy birthday!!!!!!!! These look yummy!!!

  • Haylee

    August 23, 2014 at 9:24 am Reply

    Wow these are incredible!! They are like complete works of art. I think I’d have trouble eating them, I’d feel bad like I was eating something that should be on display or something. haha they look absolutely delicious though, love the citrus accents.
    Happy birthday by the way!

  • Shell

    August 24, 2014 at 10:03 pm Reply

    4 years! Nice work, and those cakes are totally pinterest worthy ;P

  • chelsea jacobs

    August 25, 2014 at 10:06 pm Reply

    These are adorable!

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