Chocolate orange cake

This is a bold claim, but I'm pretty sure this is the best cake I have ever made. Luckily I had saved the occasion for baking my best-cake-ever for one of my closest friend's birthdays. The cake itself has a whole blitzed up orange in it, meaning that it is not only really orangey (and very chocolatey), but also super moist. It is basically a Terry's chocolate orange in cake form.

The recipe is based on the BBC Good Food recipe (but I personally think mine looks much prettier!)

To make the chocolate orange cake you will need:
1 large orange
100g dark chocolate
3 eggs
280g caster sugar
240ml sunflower oil
250g plain flour
25g cocoa powder
2tsp baking powder

100ml double cream
150g plain chocolate
Terry's chocolate orange pieces to decorate

Set a pan of boiling water on and push an apple corer through the middle of the orange. Place the orange in the boiling water for 20 minutes to soften it up. Blitz the whole orange and set to one side.

Preheat the oven to 190°C and grease and line a 20cm loose-bottomed pan.

Melt 100g of dark chocolate. Whisk the 3 eggs, 280g of caster sugar and 240ml of sunflower oil before adding to this the melted dark chocolate and blitzed orange.

Sift into the wet ingredients the 250g plain flour, 25g cocoa powder and 2 tsp baking powder and fold all the ingredients together. Pour the chocolate orange cake mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 40 minutes. The cake will be done when a clean knife inserted into the middle comes out with a few crumbs attached - as this cake is so moist the knife won't come out clean.

Allow the cake to cool in the tin.

To make the chocolate ganache, pour 100ml double cream into a saucepan and add the 150g plain chocolate. Whisk the two together until combined and allow to cool - the ganache will thicken over about 30 minutes to 1 hour. Smother the ganache all over the chocolate orange sponge and adorn with pieces of Terry's chocolate orange (or if you cannot find one with some orange zest).

I think this cake may be making an appearance at many more birthdays in the future...

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