Chocolate Orange Bundt Cake

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I wanted a chocolate recipe for an Easter cake, but wanted to try something a bit different. I love the flavour of orange with chocolate [yes, I did get a Chocolate Orange Easter Egg!!] so this French recipe seemed just the thing. It's made in a Bundt mould, which makes it look a little bit more special for an occasion.

For the cake you need - 150g sr flour,1 tspn baking powder, 100g ground almonds, 220g caster sugar, 150g butter [melted], 4 eggs, grated zest of 1 orange.
For the syrup you need - 220g caster sugar, 250ml orange juice, peeled zest of 4 oranges.
For the icing - 150g dark chocolate

Preheat oven 160C/gas3
Grease a Bundt tin or mould well or spray with a Cake Release spray.

To make the cake - grate the zest of the orange. Beat the eggs with the caster sugar till white and fluffy. Fold in the flour and baking powder. Melt the butter in a microwave then add to the mixture with the ground almonds and orange zest. Mix well.
Bake for 45-50 mins.
5 mins before cake is cooked make the syrup. Cut the peeled zest into thin strips. Put the sugar, orange juice and zest in a pan, and simmer gently over a low heat for about an hour till the zest is 'confit' or candied. When the syrup is thick, take pan off heat.
Take the cake out of its mould or tin and place on a wire rack with a plate underneath to catch the excess syrup. spread the syrup generously over the cake using a pastry brush.
Melt the chocolate for the icing over simmering water or in the microwave. When melted, pour over cake, letting it run down in the grooves in the sides of the cake.
Leave for a few mins for icing to harden a little then sprinkle the candied orange strips over the cake.


This is a good family sized cake. Everyone had a good slice and there was plenty left over. It has a nice moist texture with a good orange flavour.. I liked the contrast with the chocolate icing, but wasn't too sure about the candied zest. I thought there was too much of it. It was a change from cakes with Easter eggs. I'd like to try it with lime or lemon instead of the orange.












Comments

Suelle said…
This cake sounds perfect to me - I'm not sure about lemon or lime with chocolate!

It looks very good too - bundt cakes can be tricky to turn out.
3/4/16 2:03 am
Snowy said…
I used to love Chocolate Lime sweets, so thought the flavours might work in acake. Maybe not lemon!
3/4/16 10:49 am
Phil in the Kitchen said…
Chocolate and orange is always a winner and this sounds fine to me. I do enjoy eating candied zest but I do think it's best in very small doses.
3/4/16 3:36 pm
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