Chocolate And Orange Marmalade Cake

I'm a huge fan of the Jaffa combo (as I've probably confessed before) -  chocolate and orange?  Mm mm mais oui, mes amis.  Sorry, just feeling a bit French today, for no particular reason.  As some readers may be aware, we've had a terrible flood here in Brisbane and South-East Queensland with eleven deaths so far.  I have a feeling there will be more.  And it's raining again ...  

I made dinner for our friends who are insurance brokers, so currently run off their feet at the moment.  Also for our neighbour who is feeling a bit down with all these worries.  Honestly we've had hardly any time to fear for the Ukrainian people, as there was so much going on here.  And I made cake!  With lots of chocolate and butter and sugar of course.  Cake makes everything better, don't you think?

let's tuck in

Recipe by Juliet Robb from Long Track Pantry

Serves 8-10:

ingredients:

200g./7 oz chocolate (I used 70% Lindt)

200g./7 oz butter  

6 large eggs

200g./7 oz caster sugar

220g./8 oz/2 cups almond meal

150 mL/5 oz chunky orange marmalade

Icing sugar (2-3 Tbs) and extra chocolate shavings to decorate

Candied orange slices to decorate - (optional) - see Notes for how to DIY 

Method:

Your oven goes on to heat at 160C/320F

Grease and line a 23cm/9 in round cake tin with baking paper

Melt the chocolate and butter together in a medium saucepan over low heat; put aside to cool down while you - 

Separate your eggs into two bowls: whites in one large bowl, and yolks in another

Tip the sugar into the egg yolks, and beat till pale and fluffy; this took 2-3 minutes

Wash your beaters very well, and dry them off

Now beat the egg whites till you have firm, stiff peaks

Pour/spoon the chocolate mixture into the egg yolk mixture, and mix well in

Add the almond meal and marmalade into the mixture, and combine well

Now spoon in the egg whites (I did it in 3 goes) and stir them in very well (the recipe says 'with a reasonably heavy hand')

Pour the batter into the lined tin and bake for about an hour, or till a  skewer in its chocolatey heart comes out with 'crumbs clinging'

Let it cool in the tin for 2 hours, then take it out and leave on a wire rack till completely cool

Then sift on the icing sugar, make a pretty pattern with the orange slices and sprinkle on the chocolate shavings (once again, I broke up a Flake bar which shatters beautifully into lovely shards)

Notes:

Use whatever chocolate you fancy - dark or milk

I used salted butter 'cos I like that contrast with the sweet

I bought the dried orange slices (which I then soaked in some orange juice for a few minutes as they were soooo hard) but you can make them: by boiling 2 cups sugar with 2 cups water, dissolving sugar and reducing to a simmer; then adding 1 orange (sliced) into the syrup, and simmering for 10-15 minutes; then drying the slices on a lined tray

My cake took exactly an hour to bake!

line your tin and weigh your ingredients

melt the chocolate and butter

separate the eggs

beat 'em up

fold in the beaten egg whites firmly!

ready for the oven

and out of the oven after an hour at 160C

and decorated

squidgy, chocolatey and delicious

just a wee FYI - snip your chunky marmalade

As per the suggestion from Long Track Pantry: if you're using chunky marmalade, chop up the big pieces of rind before using.  Or do as I did, and give it a bit of a snip with your kitchen scissors before folding into the batter!  A great idea if I do say so myself.

© Sherry M.