ORANGE FROSTING - on Chocolate Cakes w/Ganache

 This is the orange Frosting on Brownies.  They may have a bit too much frosting here but they were killer good.  The ganache on top makes them more heavenly.

 This is a heavy chocolate cake from scratch baked in a large cookie sheet.  I doubled the frosting recipe and the milk chocolate ganache.

Cupcakes with the frosting piped on and a dollop of ganache and a preserved orange slice. Here is how to preserve the oranges.  I took these to a church party and they got rave reviews.

Last Christmas my friend, Cheryl Johansen, brought brownies with an orange frosting and a chocolate topping to a party I was having.  They were much better than mint brownies, in my opinion, and Mike loved them.  Here is a combination of my recipe and hers with some variations.

Orange Frosting:  Beat together:

1 Cube real butter

1 T.  grated orange peel

3 T. fresh orange juice

2 T. whipping cream

3 C. powdered sugar or until desired consistency

1/2 tsp. good natural orange flavoring (I like Kroger brand)

2-3 drops each of red and yellow food coloring

Spread carefully on top of the cake and smooth to prepare for the ganache.

Ganache

Heat 1/3 cup whipping cream for 40 seconds on high in the microwave add 1 C. chocolate chips, dark, semisweet or milk as desired.  Stir until the chocolate is melted.  Let sit until spreadable and smooth carefully over the frosting.  I like to put the cake or brownies in the freezer, after adding the orange frosting, until it is solid before spreading the ganache,  Then I freeze a bit more to make cutting easier. 

If you are making a cake or brownies in a large cookie sheet double the frosting and ganache.