Chocolate Orange Celebration Cake

Time for another flamboyant cake! I’m always excited by the prospect of making something big and elaborate, and this one was no exception. Today is my sister’s 21^st birthday, and so it followed that a super kick-ass cake was needed for the occasion. This one looks pretty fancy, but it’s actually not too complicated, so it’s a good one to try if you want to turn your hand to big cakes for the first time.

When looking for a flavour combo to go for this was the first that came to mind. It’s my sister’s favourite, and a total classic, so it’s hard to get wrong. We have two chocolate sponges, one orange sponge, lots of chocolate orange buttercream and some Terry’s chocolate orange segments to top it all off. If you know anyone who loves chocolate oranges, you need to make this for them!

Recipe

Serves 10

Time: 2 1/2 hours

Ingredients

For the chocolate cake

• 170g Unsalted butter
• 100g Dark chocolate
• 240g Plain flour
• 280g Caster sugar
• 3 tbsp Cocoa powder
• 1 tsp Bicarb
• 2 Large eggs
• 142ml Greek yoghurt
• 142ml Milk

For the orange cake

• 175g Butter
• 175g Golden caster sugar
• 175g Self-raising flour
• 3 Large eggs
• 1 Orange, zested and juiced
• 1/2 Tube orange food colouring (optional)

For the chocolate orange icing

• 300g Unsalted butter
• 675g Icing sugar
• 1 tsp orange extract
• Zest of 1 orange
• 1/2 Tube orange food colouring
• 150g Dark chocolate, melted and cooled

For the decoration

• 1 Terry’s chocolate orange

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 180˚C. Grease and line three 7.5inch cake tins.
2. First make the chocolate cake. Melt the butter and chocolate together in a heat-proof bowl over a pan of simmering water.
3. In a bowl mix the flour, sugar, bicarb and cocoa together.
4. Whisk together the egg and yoghurt. Add this mixture, and the chocolate mixture to the flour mixture, along with 100ml boiling water. Whisk quickly until combine and then pour into two of the lined tins.
5. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean once inserted. Leave the cakes to cool for 15 minutes before turning them out onto wire racks and leaving to cool.
6. Now make the orange cake. Put the butter, sugar, flour, and eggs into a bowl. Beat with a wooden spoon or whisk until smooth and fully combined. Add the orange zest, juice and colouring, and mix again until it’s all combined.
7. Spoon the mixture into the lined tin and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes. Check if it’s cooked through by inserting a skewer. If it comes out clean it’s ready. Leave to cool for 15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.
8. Whilst the cakes are cooling, make the buttercream icing. Beat the butter, 600g of the icing sugar, orange extract and orange zest until smooth. Spoon 280g into a bowl, mix in the orange food coloring and the other 75g of icing sugar, and then set to one side.
9. In the main bowl add the melted dark chocolate and mix with a spatula until fully combined. Spoon both icings into separate piping bags, fitted with round nozzles.
10. Now you can assemble the cake. Pipe a small blob of the chocolate icing onto the board or plate you’ll present the cake on – this will stop the cake from sliding around. Put one of the cooled chocolate cakes onto your board. Pipe blobs of chocolate icing onto the cake and then top with the orange sponge. Repeat the piping of blobs on the orange sponge, and then top with the chocolate sponge. Pipe alternate blobs of chocolate and orange icing over the top of the cake and then finish with segments of Terry’s chocolate orange.

Thanks so much for reading! This is the second in a trio of big cakes, so look out for the final one coming out in a week’s time. Meanwhile, the next post is going to be bonfire night themed, so get your sparklers at the ready!

Emma x