Christmas Recipes: Cakes & Tarts, No.6 of 7 - Chocolate & Orange Cake
By Paul Curran

Christmas recipe serves: 16
calories per serving: 495
preparation time: 25 minutes
cooking time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Suitable for freezing after step 5

Christmas recipe ingredients:

• oil for greasing
  
• white chocolate, 125 g (4 oz)
  
• milk chocolate, 125 g (4 oz)
  
• plain chocolate, 375 g (13 oz)
  
• softened butter, 175 g (6 oz)
  
• caster sugar, 175 g (6 oz)
  
• ground almonds, 175 g (6 oz)
  
• eggs, 6 separated
  
• breadcrumbs, fresh brown 75 g (3 oz)
  
• cocoa powder, 45 ml (3 tbsp)
  
• orange, grated rind & juice from 1
  
• salt, pinch
  
• double cream, 150 ml (5 fl oz)

Christmas recipe instructions:

1. Chop the milk and white chocolate into unequal pieces. Take an 8 inch (20.5 cm) diameter cake tin and grease and line.
   
   
2. Melt plain chocolate (225 g, 8 oz) over hot water and allow to cool for a bit.
   
   
3. Mix the sugar and butter until airy and add the orange rind, orange juice, cocoa powder, breadcrumbs, egg yolks, ground almonds and the melted chocolate.
   
   
4. Make soft peaks with the salt and egg whites and blend a quarter into the mixture from step 3. Mix what is left with the chopped chocolate from step 1.
   
   
5. Place into the cake tin and bake at gas mark 4 (180 degrees centigrade, 350 F) for 1 hour 40 minutes. Allow to cool for about quarter of an hour before placing onto a wire rack.
   
   
6. Melt the remaining plain chocolate (150 g, 5 oz) with the cream over a bowl of hot water and allow to thicken slightly. Cover the cake with this mixture, cool and store.