Orange Chocolate Gateau Recipes

CHOCOLATE ORANGE CAKE

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Mix together the softened butter and 1 tablespoon of the cocoa to make a thick paste. Use this paste to paint the inside of the Bundt pan. Set aside.
• In an electric mixer, combine the flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and remaining 1/2 cup cocoa and mix until blended. Add the orange juice, mayonnaise, vinegar and vanilla and mix until just combined, 1 to 2 minutes. Fold in the orange zest. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean, 45 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, and then turn out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
• For the chocolate glaze: Mix the confectioners' sugar and cocoa together. Whisk in the orange juice, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it reaches a good consistency to drizzle. Drizzle the glaze over the cake.

FUDGY CHOCOLATE & ORANGE GATEAU

Steps:

• Making the sponges: Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. You'll need to make 3 rectangular chocolate sponges, a pair of round chocolate sponges, and 3 rectangular orange sponges to assemble this cake, so get everything organised first. Take a look at our Guide and the additional tips, in the Tip box below.
• For every rectangular sponge, you'll need to line the base of a 21 x 31cm tin (see Guide in the Tips below and Related guides box, right) neatly with baking parchment and grease the sides with a little flavourless oil.
• Start with the chocolate sponges. Put the butter in a small saucepan and heat gently until melted. Whisk together the egg yolks, milk and vanilla extract in a small bowl. Stir the flour and cocoa into the melted butter to make a paste. Transfer this butter-flour mixture to a big mixing bowl and whisk in the egg mixture a little at a time - this takes elbow grease to get it smooth, but keep going!
• Put the egg whites in a bowl and beat with an electric whisk until stiff. Add the sugar and continue beating until the mixture is glossy and thick. Whisk a third of the meringue mixture into the chocolate mixture to loosen, then use a big metal spoon to gently fold the remaining meringue into the batter until just incorporated. Spread the batter evenly in the tin. Bake for 12 mins.
• Turn the cake out of the tin onto baking parchment very lightly dusted with icing sugar. Peel off the cake lining parchment and cover with a clean tea towel.
• Repeat steps 2 to 5 twice more. When the third rectangular sponge is baked, turn out as before but very loosely roll up the sponge like a Swiss roll, starting from one of the shortest sides, rolling up the tea towel inside.
• Make a final, fourth batch of the chocolate sponge recipe, but this time divide it between 2 x 20cm round, shallow sandwich tins. Bake for 10 mins, then turn out as instructed in step 5.
• Now make the orange sponges. Follow steps 3 to 6 again, but instead of milk, measure 75ml of the juice from the orange you've zested. If you don't have enough, make up the difference with milk. Whisk in the zest.
• Cool all the sponges.
• Making the frosting and icing: For the orange frosting, beat together the butter, icing sugar, orange zest and juice. Beat until just combined - the acidity of the orange may start to split the mixture if overbeaten. If it looks a little split though, don't worry - just stop mixing, it'll still taste lovely. Can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days, but will need bringing back to room temp to use.
• When you are about to start assembling, put all the chocolate icing ingredients in a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Gently melt together, stirring occasionally, until smooth and shiny.
• Assembling the cake: Cut each rectangular sponge into 2 long strips 7cm wide - trimming the long edges off will give you a neater finish (see step A in the Guide). It's important to be really accurate, so use a ruler. Trim the short edges to neaten. When you prepare the rolled-up sponges, just gently unroll first - don't worry if they crack a bit.
• Spread a thin layer of orange frosting over every strip, right to the edges. Gently peel the strips away from their paper - they will have stuck a bit. Start with 1 chocolate and 1 orange strip that was rolled up to cool, and lay one on top of the other - but don't line up the ends. Sit the second sponge about an inch down from one of the ends of the bottom sponge (it doesn't matter which is chocolate and which is orange). Start to roll up from this end - the bottom sponge should roll up and over neatly on top of the second, so the middle of the roll is nice and tight (see step A in the Guide).
• Keep adding extra sponges and rolling up to make a giant Swiss roll but as you roll, the ends of each different-coloured layer won't finish together (and this difference increases as the roll gets bigger). So you'll need to add chocolate and orange sponges individually from now on, rather than sandwiching together first, then adding to the rolled cake. Where each strip ends, you'll stick on a matching sponge - so a chocolate strip always continues with another chocolate, and the same with orange (see steps C & D in the Guide). This is the fiddly bit, as you'll find you'll need to partly stick on 1 coloured strip, then snuggle in the other coloured strip partway through. (This sounds more complicated than it is. When you start to do it, this will all make sense.) If you have a spare pair of hands in the house, this is the time to use them.
• It's up to you whether you find it easier to work as a roll (see step E in the Guide), or to turn the roll on one of its flat ends to work with (see step F in the Guide). I started rolling, and just as it got towards the ends and was getting quite heavy and bulky, I flipped it to continue. Have the round sponges to hand as you near the end, to check whether you've reached a roll of 20cm diameter plus. As soon as you do, stop - you may have 1 strip of 1 colour left over.
• Sit the rolled cake on one of its flat ends if you haven't already. Spread a good layer of orange frosting over the top, then press on 1 of the round chocolate sponges (see step G in the Guide) - line it up to the middle of the roll, rather than one of the edges of the roll. This means you'll have to take a sharp knife and trim the roll all around, until it is perfectly flush with the round sponge top. Flip the cake upside down onto your serving plate. Spread some more orange frosting over the new top, and add the second round sponge.
• Gradually spoon on, and spread over, the chocolate icing with a big palette knife. If should still be runny enough to gently run down the sides, giving you a shiny finish (see step H in the Guide).

CHOCOLATE ORANGE CAKE

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 8-inch cake pans with butter.
• Dissolve the espresso powder in 1/4 cup hot water, then stir into the orange juice. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, sift the cake flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix on a low speed. In a second bowl, lightly whisk together the oil, buttermilk and eggs; slowly add to the flour mixture. Increase the mixer speed and whisk until fully incorporated. Fold in the orange juice-coffee mixture.
• Pour the batter into prepared cake pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.
• For the cookies-and-cream filling: Combine the heavy cream and white chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 1 minute, then stir until smooth. Set aside to cool.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream cheese, butter and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the white chocolate mixture and whip for another minute. Lower the mixer speed, gradually add the confectioners' sugar and whip for another minute at high speed. Fold in the cookies. (Makes 2 cups.)
• For the buttercream: Place the egg whites, sugar and salt in a stand mixer bowl and set the bowl over a pan of simmering water. Whisk until the mixture is warm to the touch and all the sugar has dissolved. Attach the bowl to the mixer and whisk until soft peaks form, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the butter, a few tablespoons at a time, then whisk in the vanilla. Switch to the paddle attachment and continue mixing at low speed until the buttercream becomes smooth, another minute or two. (Makes 5 cups.)
• To assemble the cake: Place one cake layer on a cake board and pipe a border of buttercream along the circumference (to act as a pool for the filling). Fill the center with the cookies-and-cream filling. Top with the second cake layer and frost the entire cake with the buttercream.

DECADENT CHOCOLATE ORANGE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat two 8 inch round cake pans with cooking spray, and line bottoms with parchment paper.
• Using a vegetable peeler, remove zest from oranges in strips. Place in food processor, and coarsely chop, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl. Add 1/3 cup sugar and blend until peel is minced. Add 1/4 cup marmalade, and pulse until mixture is pureed. Transfer to a large bowl. Add 3/4 cup unsalted butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla.
• With an electric mixer, cream mixture until light and fluffy. Beat in 1 cup sugar. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift together flour, baking powder, and baking soda into small bowl. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the orange juice, mixing just until incorporated. Divide batter into prepared pans.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.
• For the Chocolate Ganache: Bring cream and butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan. Remove from heat, add chocolate chips and stir until melted.
• For Orange Cream Cheese Filling: in a small bowl, beat together cream cheese, 1 tablespoon sugar, and 2 tablespoons marmalade.
• To assemble cake: Cut each cake into 2 layers. Place 1 layer on plate. Spread filling on the bottom cake. Pour hot ganache over bottom layer, let cool slightly. Top with second cake layer. Spread with filling. Pour hot ganache over second layer. Repeat for third layer. Top with fourth cake layer. Pour remaining ganache over entire cake for a shiny finish. Refrigerate uncovered cake until ganache is a hard coating.

DARK CHOCOLATE ORANGE CAKE

Steps:

• In a bowl, cream the butter with the sugar. Beat in the eggs, then the sour cream, vanilla and orange rind.
• In another bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Beat into the creamed mixture just until incorporated and then stir in the almonds.
• Turn the batter into a greased and floured tube pan. Bake in a 350 degrees F (175 degree C) oven for 1 hour, or until it tests done with a toothpick. Let cool on a rack. Makes 16 servings.