Recipe video: 1 Bowl Chocolate Orange Cake

This is a perfect cake or those sudden cake and chocolate cravings. It is a lovely moist cake with the aromas of orange coming through in the avatars of marmalade and orange zest, complimenting the smooth dark chocolate ganache beautifully. Make the cake on a lazy afternoon or just an hour before your impromptu party, and bask in the glory of the oohing and aahing of your guests.  

1 Bowl Chocolate and Orange Cake

Ingredients:

• 180 gms. flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 80 gms. cocoa
• 180 gms. brown sugar (I used demerara)
• 200 gms. butter
• 4 eggs
• 2 tbsp. orange marmalade
• Zest of 1 orange, chopped julienne
• Juice of 1 orange, freshly squeezed
• 100 gms. good quality dark chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup cream

Method:

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until creamy.
2. Add the eggs and beat again until smooth and frothy.
3. Add the marmalade and beat again, very briefly, just to combine.
4. Sieve in the flour, baking powder, and cocoa. Fold in light movements.
5. Add the orange juice to adjust the consistency. The batter should be thick but easy to pour.
6. Pour into a greased and lined baking tin of choice. (I used an 8-inch round, loose-bottomed tin) and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees centigrade for about 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
7. Invert the cake onto a serving dish and leave to cool.
8. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in a microwave or on a double boiler. Add the cream and mix to obtain a smooth and glossy ganache.
9. Pour over the cooled cake and spread in a deliberate haphazard fashion to show off the sensual curves of the ganache. Allow the ganache to drip along the sides of the cake.
10. Decorate with orange zest julienne.