Choc-Orange Chocolate Ripple Cakes

Strangely, some people don't like the jaffa combo of chocolate and orange.  Who are these people?:-)  Frankly my dears, I love it!  Recently friends came over for a quick arvo tea (they were soon off gallivanting somewhere else), so I decided to make some jaffa crème (yep, sorry, I know it's a wanky word), and sandwich up some choc ripple biscuits.  As I still had heaps of the crème afterwards, I then thought of the old-fashioned choc ripple fridge cakes of our younger days.  You know where you throw mounds of whipped cream over the biscuits, and turn them into a delicious log?    

    By sheer chance, I had bought a food magazine (not a trendy, expensive one) that weekend, and came across a recipe for espresso martini ripple cakes.  Neither of our friends are coffee drinkers, so that was a no-go, but jaffa?  Yep, we were all in.  So off I went to buy more choc ripple biscuits, and make this extravaganza of chocolate and orange (and a wee dram or three of whiskey).  

the hands of Ms. P holding her dessert

    Best started the day before serving, but make it at least 6-8 hours ahead.  Make the jaffa crème a day ahead, and even the chocolate syrup if you wish.  I used Nigella Lawson's recipe for the syrup, and splashed some Irish whiskey in for good measure!

Original recipe by Sherry M:

Serves 6:

ingredients:

Jaffa crème:

1 tub (250g./8 oz) soft Philly cheese 

1 tub (250g./8 oz) mascarpone cheese

50-60g. (5-6 hefty tbs) soft icing mixture/sugar

zest and juice of 1 large orange (I ended up with 150 mL/5 fl oz)

100g. (3½ oz) dark chocolate, melted and cooled - I used Lindt 70%

Chocolate syrup:

1 tsp cocoa powder

125 mL (4.2 fl oz) water 

100g. (3½ oz) caster sugar 

3 tbs whiskey (optional)

For the ripple cakes:

1 packet (250g./8 oz) Chocolate Ripple biscuits

Jaffa crème

chocolate syrup

some crème fraîche (or mascarpone) to dollop on top (optional) 

1 Flake bar - or grate some chocolate from a block

Method:

Jaffa crème:

Tip the 2 cheeses into a large mixing bowl, and beat together well - you want this to be light and airy

Add the icing mixture or sugar into the bowl, and beat some more

Now you add the zest, juice and melted chocolate, and beat till well combined

Spoon the mixture into a container and place in the fridge till you make the cakes (give it a few hours to firm up)

The choc syrup:

Place the cocoa, water and sugar into a small saucepan

Stir to combine, bring to the boil, then turn down and let simmer for just a few minutes - you don't actually want a sticky syrup here, as it is just to moisten the biscuits

Cool for a few minutes, stir in the whiskey, and pour into a jar or bottle.  Keep in the fridge for when you make the cakes later

The Cakes:

Grab a serving plate, and line with a piece of baking paper

Lay out 6 biscuits along the plate (however they fit), then dip each one of their chocolatey bottoms into the syrup briefly

Place them back on the plate in a single layer, and brush the biscuits generously with the syrup

Top each biscuit with a generous tablespoonful of the crème 

See where this is going?  You are building up 6 gorgeous stacks of biscuit and crème!

Dip another biscuity bottom, and place it on one of the stacks.  Brush with syrup, and smother in crème; then a third biscuit dipped in the syrup, then brushed with more syrup, and topped with more crème; then a fourth dipped biscuit brushed with more syrup - so now you have 6 pretty cakes all ready for the final crème layer 

Now smother each cake with crème, and smooth it out over the top and sides with a palette knife/spatula - don't worry too much here if it's a bit clumpy (mine was!)

Dollop on the crème fraîche if using

Break up the Flake bar (or grate the chocolate) and sprinkle over each cake

Place in the fridge for 6-8 hours, or overnight

Notes:

Chocolate ripple are plain chocolate biscuits/cookies; use whatever brand you have available

If you don't have an organic or unwaxed orange, do what I did - scrub it under warm tap water with a wee brush, then pat dry

The average orange holds about 75 mL/2.5 fl oz apparently; I used the whole amount that came out of my huge orange - 150 mL/5 fl oz!

My well-rounded tablespoonful of icing sugar mixture was about 10g., so 5 tbs = 50g./1.7 oz roughly

You will have leftover syrup and crème; so put the syrup in your coffee, and slather a biscuit with the crème

first, scrub your orange

beat the 2 cheeses with the orange and chocolate

simmer the syrup for 2-3 minutes

start making your stacks of  biscuit, syrup and crème

creamy stacks nearly done

on goes the final layer of jaffa crème

ready for eating

reflections of cake

These final photos were taken on my first go at making these cakes.  A dollop of mascarpone went on top.  I took this one over to our 90 year-old neighbour, who was a definite fan.  As our Tassie mate (who was staying the night before flying back to freezing cold Hobart) Ms. P said: "I'm so full, but the tastes are so good, I just can't stop..."

a smiley shot of the charming Ms. P with the salsa she chopped for dinner

           orangey artwork © Sherry's Pickings