Choc Orange Cake with Burnt White Chocolate Ganache Recipe
Choc Orange Cake with Burnt White Chocolate Ganache Recipe
Whoa. Even the title of this cake is a mouthful; Chocolate Orange Cake with Burnt White Chocolate Ganache! And this cake deserves such a spectacular title because it looks and tastes spectacular. The orange flavour comes from 4 components; orange rind, orange juice, orange marmalade, and a little hint of Grand Marnier. The cake itself has melted dark chocolate in the batter, cocoa powder and drizzled melted dark chocolate on top. But, I think the stand-out is the burnt white chocolate ganache. You could literally eat a huge bowlful of this all on its own, it’s THAT good.
This cake has four layers so would serve quite a few guests as you would only need a small slice each. You can also make this in stages if you wanted. The white chocolate ganache has to be refrigerated for a few hours but you could easily do this a day in advance. You could make the entire cake in advance and just assemble on the day you serve it. Either way, it’s a super simple cake to make. If you’ve never made burnt white chocolate before; it’s a little bit of a strange process. It bakes in the oven and you stir it about every 10 minutes until it looks dry and seized and turns a caramel colour (takes about 45 minutes). To make the ganache you just whisk some boiled cream with the burnt chocolate and voila. The cake is super moist and rich thanks to the orange juice and sour cream. So if you like the flavours of chocolate and orange together, you NEED this cake in your life.
Ingredients
Cake
- 250g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 250g caster sugar
- 115g (1/3 cup) orange marmalade
- 4 eggs
- 140g dark chocolate, melted & cooled
- 340g (2 1/4 cups) self-raising flour
- 50g (1/2 cup) dark cocoa powder
- pinch of salt
- 1 1/2 tsp finely grated orange rind
- 125ml (1/2 cup) fresh orange juice (divided)
- 150g sour cream
- 2 tsp Grand Marnier or Triple Sec
- Dark chocolate, extra, melted, cooled, to drizzle
Burnt White Chocolate Ganache
- 500g white chocolate, chopped
- 500ml thickened cream
- Large pinch of sea salt
Instructions
- Ganache: Preheat oven to 150C/130C fan-forced. Place chocolate in a baking dish. Spread chocolate over prepared tray. Bake, stirring with a dry metal spoon every 10 minutes, for 30 minutes or until dark golden and aromatic (chocolate will seize). Mine took about 45 minutes to get to this level.
- Bring cream just to the boil in a saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat. Whisk in chocolate until melted and smooth. Strain through a sieve and discard any lumps in sieve.
- Stir in the salt. Set aside, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour or until cooled.
- Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight until spreadable.
- Preheat oven to 180C/160C fan forced. Grease the base and sides of two 20cm (base measurement) round cake pans and line with baking paper.
- Use electric beaters to beat butter, sugar and marmalade in a bowl until pale and creamy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add cooled dark chocolate and beat until just combined.
- Sift flour, cocoa and salt into a large bowl. Add orange rind, 50ml of the orange juice, half the sour cream and half the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat on low speed until just combined. Repeat with remaining sour cream, flour mixture and another 50ml of the orange juice until just combined. Divide between prepared pans. Smooth the surface. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool in pans for 5 minutes then turn out and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Assembly: Remove ganache from the fridge. Stand for 20-30 minutes or until softened slightly. Use a balloon whisk to gently mix until thick and spreadable. Cut each cake horizontally into 2 discs. Combine liqueur and remaining orange juice in a small bowl. Brush top of each cake slice with liqueur mixture. Place 1 cake base on a serving platter. Spread with 1/4 of the ganache. Continue layering with the remaining cake and ganache, finishing with a top cake layer.
- Spoon remaining ganache into a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle. Pipe peaks over the top of the cake. Drizzle with extra dark chocolate, if using.
Ingredients
- Cake
- 250g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 250g caster sugar
- 115g (1/3 cup) orange marmalade
- 4 eggs
- 140g dark chocolate, melted & cooled
- 340g (2 1/4 cups) self-raising flour
- 50g (1/2 cup) dark cocoa powder
- pinch of salt
- 1 1/2 tsp finely grated orange rind
- 125ml (1/2 cup) fresh orange juice (divided)
- 150g sour cream
- 2 tsp Grand Marnier or Triple Sec
- Dark chocolate, extra, melted, cooled, to drizzle
- Burnt White Chocolate Ganache
- 500g white chocolate, chopped
- 500ml thickened cream
- Large pinch of sea salt
Instructions
- Ganache: Preheat oven to 150C/130C fan-forced. Place chocolate in a baking dish. Spread chocolate over prepared tray. Bake, stirring with a dry metal spoon every 10 minutes, for 30 minutes or until dark golden and aromatic (chocolate will seize). Mine took about 45 minutes to get to this level.
- Bring cream just to the boil in a saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat. Whisk in chocolate until melted and smooth. Strain through a sieve and discard any lumps in sieve.
- Stir in the salt. Set aside, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour or until cooled.
- Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight until spreadable.
- Preheat oven to 180C/160C fan forced. Grease the base and sides of two 20cm (base measurement) round cake pans and line with baking paper.
- Use electric beaters to beat butter, sugar and marmalade in a bowl until pale and creamy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add cooled dark chocolate and beat until just combined.
- Sift flour, cocoa and salt into a large bowl. Add orange rind, 50ml of the orange juice, half the sour cream and half the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat on low speed until just combined. Repeat with remaining sour cream, flour mixture and another 50ml of the orange juice until just combined. Divide between prepared pans. Smooth the surface. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool in pans for 5 minutes then turn out and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Assembly: Remove ganache from the fridge. Stand for 20-30 minutes or until softened slightly. Use a balloon whisk to gently mix until thick and spreadable. Cut each cake horizontally into 2 discs. Combine liqueur and remaining orange juice in a small bowl. Brush top of each cake slice with liqueur mixture. Place 1 cake base on a serving platter. Spread with 1/4 of the ganache. Continue layering with the remaining cake and ganache, finishing with a top cake layer.
- Spoon remaining ganache into a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle. Pipe peaks over the top of the cake. Drizzle with extra dark chocolate, if using.
Carolyn Murphy
Carolyn Murphy is a married mother of three and regularly provides us with recipes and strange but true stories about her life. When she’s not here, she can also be found on her website pinkpostitnote.com where all her other recipes are located!
