Orange and passionfruit chocolate cake

Ingredients

For the chocolate cake

250g plain flour 75g cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
300g Light Soft Brown Cane Sugar
2 large eggs
100ml oil (I used grapeseed but can use any neutral tasting oil)
225g sour cream
225ml hot coffee

For the passionfruit glaze

100ml passion fruit puree

75g caster sugar

For the buttercream

3 large egg whites

240g caster sugar
Zest of 1 large orange
360g unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tbsp orange juice
2 tbsp passion fruit puree

For the chocolate mirror glaze

130g dark chocolate, finely chopped
250ml double cream
2 tbsp Golden Syrup
Edible gold leaf, for decoration

Method:

Preheat the oven to To make the cake lightly grease 2x20cm round cake tins (do not use thin sandwich tins, they need to be at least 3 inch deep) and line the bases with parchment paper. 

Sieve the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and Light brown Sugar into a large bowl and use a whisk to combine.. Make a well in the middle of the bowl and pour in the remaining ingredients and whisk together until a smooth cake batter is formed.

Divide the batter between the prepared tins weighing equally and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes or until the cakes springs back to a light touch and are slightly pulling away from the sides of the tin. Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the syrup place the puree and caster sugar into a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until simmering and the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. 

To make the buttercream place the egg whites, caster sugar and orange zest in a heatproof bowl. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and whisk gently until the sugar has dissolved (you can tell the mixture is ready when you rub a little between your fingers and you can no longer feel any grains of sugar).

Remove the bowl from the heat and use an electric mixer to whisk on high speed until the meringue is thick, glossy and cooled to room temperature. With the mixer still running add the butter a piece at a time. When all the butter has been added and the mixture has formed a buttercream like texture add the orange juice and passion fruit puree, beating for a couple minutes until fully combined. 

To assemble the cake use a serrated knife to slice each of the cooled cake into two even layers. Place one cake layer on a plate or cake and brush with the passion fruit syrup. Spread a thin layer of buttercream on top of the cake and repeat with the remaining layers. Scrape the remaining buttercream on top of the cake and spread over the top and sides of the cake in a thin layer, making it as smooth as possible. Place the cake into the freezer whilst you make the glaze.

Place the chocolate into a jug and the remaining ingredients into a small saucepan. Place the pan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Pour the cream over the chocolate and set aside for a couple minutes before stirring together to form a smooth chocolate glaze. Set aside until room temperature but still pourable. Remove the cake from the freezer and place onto a wire rack set on a baking tray. Pour the glaze over the cake, allowing it drip down the sides making sure the entire cake is covered.

Edd’s recipe allows the chocolate to set before he adds gold leaf, I didn’t have any gold leaf on hand so I let the cake set and just drizzled some remaining passionfruit on top.

with love

x

The boy who bakes brings us this amazing recipe 4 layers of chocolate orange and passionfruit with a chocolate mirror glaze finish

I have been following Edd Kimber ever since he came onto our screens and won The Great British Bake Off. I made this recipe a few months ago and have been wanting to share it with everyone because it is so good, simple yet AMAZING.

My final finish is slightly different, purely because I didn’t have gold leaf on hand and I had hungry housemates that were not going to wait for me to go to the shops and get some.

This recipe may seem like a lot of steps but it’s so worth it! Its actually is a lot quicker than it sounds and once you taste it you will be so happy you cho
se to make it.