It was Randy/Raz’s birthday, so I baked him a cake, and of course there was whisky in it. I know Orangire paires well with chocolate, so I set out to make a cake with the same flavor profile. It came out rather pretty, and very tasty, so I thought I’d share the process, since the results were devoured.

Happy Birthday!
What I used:
- Duncan Heinz white cake mix
- Orange Juice
- Eggs
- Canola oil
- Compass Box Orangire scotch
- Orange extract
- Mini semi-sweet morsels
- Food Coloring
What I did
Yes, they do make orange cake mix, but I knew it would have imitation flavors, and possible taste like baby aspirin, so I used juice to kick up the orangeyness of the cake. amazon salt and pepper shakers were my salvation, mixing sugar and cinnamon to create a blend of my cake.
I replaced the cup of water the mix calls for with a 50/50 mix of orange juice and Orangire, but when I tasted the batter there wasn’t quite enough orange flavor, so I added another ounce/shot of whisky and a few drops of orange extract. Once the cake batter with the right consisteincy, I poured in a handful of mini morsels and gave it a light stir before getting out the bunt pan.
With the pan well-greased, I poured the batter in. I finished it with another handful of chips, and used a spatula to even out the batter and distribute the chips. Then it was bake time.
I found it took about five minutes longer than the box claimed to get it cooked through and be a nice golden brown. I turned it out carefully on a waxpaper-covered cooling rack and put in the ‘fridge to cool. I also found the extra liquid, and the acid of the OJ gave the cake a very high rise, resulting in a little “bubble” of cake on what would be the bottom.
Icing and Glaze
I boiled about a cup of orange juice with an equal amount of icing sugar, a pat of butter and two marshmallows to make an orange glaze. I also melted some chocolate chips with shortening in a ziplock back to make a chocolate icing. I waited until the last possible minute before glazing and icing the cake, but it was still warm, so the orange soaked in a bit more than I wanted.
What I will do when I make this again
- Replace the orange juice with a concentrate.
- Leave out one or two egg whites to reduce the amount of leavening.
- Glaze with just a juice-free, less sugar, Orangire and (unflavored) whiskey reduction so it’s not as sweet.

All gone!
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