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. |
That sounds absolutely delicious!
ReplyDeletebest... mae at maefood.blogspot.com
thanks Mae. we all enjoyed it!
DeleteWhat a beautiful cake. I always liked the chocolate and orage combos we usually see at Christmas time here. Love that pink mixer.
ReplyDeletethank you Tina. a Christmas thing? that's interesting.
DeleteChocolate and orange are made for each other! Looks delicious.
ReplyDeletethanks Melynda. i love the combo.
DeleteI am a huge orange/chocolate fan also and this cake looks absolutely delicious. I am definitely bookmarking this for sometime in the future!
ReplyDeletethanks Anne. that's great to hear.
DeleteIt looks pretty & delicious.
ReplyDeletethank you Pam.
DeleteI adore the combo of orange and chocolate, Sherry. The cake looks splendid with a perfectly moist crumb and rich toppings! Thanks for the chunky marmalade tip too.
ReplyDeleteme too angie. such a great combo. and yes it was delightfully moist.
DeleteOh, doesn't that look tasty! What a terrific combo!
ReplyDeletethanks so much jeanie.
DeleteCake definitely makes things better! I'm a huge fan of chocolate and orange, so this is perfect for me. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteyep yay for cake...
DeleteYou have excelled yourself with this cake Sherry, and cake does make everyone feel a lot better. I'm wondering if I could cheat a little and use my dried mandarin slices soaked in orange juice for garnish. Also a great way to use up marmalade. Hope you are well Sherry, we can't believe the heat here but feeling for the flood victims. Just dreadful. I know I will have to make this cake:)
ReplyDeletethanks pauline. cake was definitely in order lately. i reckon mandarin slices would be excellent. soooo hot and humid this week. Our roof leaked, so we have to insurance in to check it out. Grrrr...
DeleteIt's such a crazy time in the world. I have to sometimes get off social media and just meditate and get away from all the terrible news. How lovely to bake this for your friends. I bet they absolutely loved it.
ReplyDeleteyes i try not to watch the news much. the cake went down well with all of us.
DeleteI make a caramelized orange/chocolate tart which is delicious. I'm sure your cake is justa as good :)
Deletethat sounds wonderful judi.
DeleteI agree, cake makes everything better and I am sure your friends found every crumb delicious.
ReplyDeletethanks bernadette. we all enjoyed it.
DeleteI love chocolate an orange. In fact, one of my favorite cakes to bake is chocolate with orange-caramel buttercream. But I also happen love marmalade! And I've never had a chocolate cake with marmalade! Yum!
ReplyDeleteyes a great combo. ooh yes that sounds great orange caramel buttercream. i am a fiend for buttercream.
DeleteWhat a fantastic recipe :) I need to try this back home :)
ReplyDeletethanks food trotter. Yes it's worth a try.
DeleteTruly magnificent cake! looks moist and packed with flavours.
ReplyDeletethank you Raymund!
DeleteWe need some of that rain here in California. Your cake looks delicious , I love chocolate and I make my own orange marmalade.
ReplyDeleteyou are welcome to our rain gerlinde:-) thanks; it was a lovely cake. how wonderful making your own marmalade. i have made cumquat marmalade a couple of times - so delish!
Deleteand thanks again :-)
ReplyDeleteI do enjoy the chocolate + orange combo! (In truth, chocolate + dried pineapple is my favorite - try that out sometime if you are feeling adventurous.) The dried oranges on top add such a rustic appeal to the finished version! Cake truly does make everything better, and this cake looks fantastic, Sherry. Hang in there - lots of heavy stuff going on these days.
ReplyDeletethat's interesting - chocolate and pineapple. should be good with that acidity. thanks. all is going pretty well lately :-)
DeleteDelicious cake. Orange really mix well with chocolates. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeletethank you fernando.
DeleteI'm with you Sherry on being a huge orange and chocolate combo fan! Your cake looks absolutely delicious and totally up my street! Hope you don't get too much more rain. Take Care!
ReplyDeletethanks Neil. it turned out well. it's dry and sunny these days. still lots of mud etc for people to clean up but we were lucky as we are high up.
DeleteChocolate and orange is a combination I love, too! So I love the look and sound of this cake. Great comfort for troubling times. Sorry to hear about what's going on in your neck of the woods. Glad you hear you're safe.
ReplyDeleteit's a classic combo. thanks Frank.
DeleteSherry,
ReplyDeletethis cake sounds amazing to me. chocolate and orange are a perfect pair in my book! Looks delicious.
yes a wonderful pairing in taste!
DeleteFirst the cake — amazing! Love chocolate and orange together but didn’t realize it was called Jaffa… will need to research that! Fun!
ReplyDeleteNot fun: foods, wars, and so much more. I hope those affected by the floods are getting the assistance they need.
we love our jaffas here. you roll 'em down the cinema aisle so they clatter all the way. well we used to; well some of us used to... tee hee LOts of good stuff happening for the flood victims but such a long way to go.
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