Keeks Bakes: Chocolate Orange Cake

So I haven’t done a proper baking blogpost in donkey’s years, and there are two reasons for this. One, I didn’t really have the time, and two I didn’t really know what to bake when I did. Baking for the sake of baking isn’t really my thang, I want to want to bake. Anywho this weekend I was in the mood and the groove to bake something rich and decadent. Enter chocolate cake. This cake is a bit different from your average as it uses SIX eggs, only 4 tablespoons of plain flour and no raising agent (the egg whites are the raising agent). This is a lovely, rich cake for tea and chat with the girls or a dessert with a dollop of cream or ice cream.

Ingredients

Cake

225g Dark Chocolate

175g Butter

225g Caster Sugar

4 tbsp Plain Flour

6 Eggs (separated)

2 tsp Orange Extract

Ganache

225g Dark Chocolate

225ml Double Cream

2 tsp Orange Extract

1 - Pre heat the oven at 170c

2- Break up the chocolate into small chunks 

3 - Separate the eggs and then place to the side. 

4 - Take the butter and chocolate and melt together over boiling water until smooth.

5 - Add the orange extract 

6 - Once the mixture has cooled slightly then add the caster sugar, flour and egg yolks.

7 - Whisk the egg whites until stiff (wahey!) 

8 - Gently fold in half of the egg whites, then the other half.

9 - Pour the mixture into a 20cm greased tin

10 - Bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer comes out cleanly

11- Allow the cake to cool completely before icing. The cake might collapse slightly, that's fine. Fret not. 

11 - For the Ganache melt the chocolate and double cream over hot water until smooth. Allow to cool. 

12 - Slice oranges for decoration

13 - Pour the ganache over the cake and sides, evening out the middle if it has sunken slightly.

14 - ENJOY

Love Keeks xo