Categories: October

Ingredients

• 2 oranges
• 500g plain chocolate
• 5 eggs
• 400g golden caster sugar
• 350g sunflower oil
• 125g ground almonds
• 25g cocoa powder
• 375g plain flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3-4 tbsp orange liqueur
• 225ml double cream
• crystallised orange peel, to decorate

Directions

1. Put the whole oranges in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 30 minutes. Remove to a food processor with a slotted spoon and whizz to a purée, then allow to cool.

2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180˚C/fan 160˚C/gas 4. Grease and base line a deep 23-24cm round cake tin. Melt 150g chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Remove from the heat, stir until smooth, then cool.

3. In a large bowl, lightly beat the eggs, sugar and oil. Gradually beat in the orange purée, then the melted chocolate. Sift the almonds, cocoa, flour and baking powder together and fold in the chocolate orange mixture. Sppon into the tin and level. Bake for 1 hour 20 minutes (cover with foil if it gets too brown) – it’s ready when a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Turn out and cool on a rack. Drizzle the base of the cake with the liqueur.

4. For the topping, melt the remaining chocolate in a large bowl, as above. Remove from the heat and stir in the cream until smooth. Set aside until thick enough to spread, stirring occasionally. Swirl all over the cake using a palette knife. Decorate with crystallised orange strips and serve with pots of crème fraîche.

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