Cake, fruit and chocolate are three of my favourite things. I've literally become addicted to making chocolate cake lately, I love it! I have so many recipes and this one is the latest addition courtesy of Rachel Allen's new book called 'Cake'. There's no flour or ground almonds so it's also gluten free which is a bonus if you like that kind of thing. :)
Chocolate and orange torte with caramelised oranges (adapted from 'Cake' by Rachel Allen)
150g (5oz) Kerrygold Butter
300g (11oz) dark chocolate (70% cocoa)
5 eggs separated
50g (2oz) golden caster sugar
Finely grated zest of 2 small oranges
For the caramelised orange slices to serve
4 oranges
125g caster sugar
Water
20cm (8") springform or loose bottomed cake tin
1. Pre-heat the oven to 180oC / 350oF / Gas mark 4 and butter the base and sides of the cake tin.
2. Place the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and place over a pan of simmering water to melt, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
3. Whisk together the egg yolks and half of the sugar until it's pale and thick. It can take about 5 mins using an electric whisk.
4. Fold in the melted chocolate and the orange zest and mix until it's combined.
5. Whisk together the egg whites and the other half of the sugar until they are stiff and glossy. I find this easiest in my food processor, but if you don't have one, use a clean bowl and an electric mixer. This takes a little longer than the egg yolks.
6. Gently fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture, being careful not to beat to hard so that you don't lose too much air but so that it is all combined.
7. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 20-25 minutes until it's puffed up and slightly cracked around the edges. Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 20 minutes, then carefully remove from the tin and onto a serving plate.
8. While the cake is cooling, make the caramelised oranges.
Caramelised oranges.
1. Using a small sharp knife, peel the oranges, cutting away the two ends first and then the peel and pith in a spiral until you only have the flesh showing. Work over a bowl to catch the juices.
2. Cut the peeled oranges into 5mm slices (1/4in) then add these to the orange juice.
3. Place the sugar and 75ml (3floz) of water in a saucepan and set over a medium heat. Stir the mixture to bring to the boil. Without stirring, continue to boil uncovered for about 5 minutes until you have a deep whiskey-coloured caramel. You can swirl the ban to make sure it browns evenly. Be careful to keep a close eye on this as I burnt my first mixture!
4. Pour a further 75ml (3floz) of water and swirl over the pan over a low heat, then add the oranges and juice and leave to cool.
Add the slices to the chocolate cake and serve.
This cake was tasty and lasts quite a few days. I experimented with the caramelised oranges and made a couple of batches. As I said, I accidentally burnt my first attempt so the second time around I didn't leave it that long to caramelise. The result was a light tasting juice that went really well with the cake. I then put the remaining slices & juice back on the fire and let it caramelise a bit more (maybe another 5-8 mins). It was a sweeter richer flavour and also quite nice. It depends what you like really, the cake is very rich with a deep chocolate flavour so I think the lighter juice worked best for me, but it's a matter of taste.
Anyways, I hope you try this out, you can also serve it with cream. You can also get more great Kerrygold recipes from the Kerrygold Facebook page.
Peace & Love
xx
