Lesley’s Chocolate Orange Cake

We are always looking out for new cakes to bake at the B&B. The perennial favourites are lemon drizzle cake and carrot cake. We told some Ukranian guests that they would be able to tuck into carrot cake one evening and they stared at us in horror. “Vegetables. In cake?” they asked. Quite rightly when you think about it. Well there should be no problems with this one.

This recipe was adapted by Cath’s sister and her husband Steve, and is a rich chocolate cake infused with oranges. Incredibly easy to make, don’t be concerned if you think that the batter it runnier than normal cake batter.

Alternatives to orange could be to add a butter icing, or if you want to be very modern you could try some chilli powder!

Ingredients

Makes two cakes

Cake

• 225g/8oz/¾ cups plain flour
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• 1½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 350g/12½oz/1½ cups caster sugar
• 85g/3oz/1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 free-range eggs
• 250ml/9fl oz/1 cup milk
• 125ml/4½fl oz/generous ½ cup vegetable oil
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2tblsp orange juice
• Grated rind of one orange
• 250ml/9fl oz/1 cup boiling water

Drizzle

• Rest of the juice of one orange
• 75g sugar

Method

1. Grease two one pound loaf tins with margarine or line with cake tin liners and preheat the oven to 180C/350F
2. Grab a mixing bowl, or the bowl of an electric mixer, and sift all of the powdered ingredients into it before adding all but the boiling water.
3. Mix the ingredients manually or in the mixer until smooth before slowly adding the water.
4. Take your cake tins and pour the runny liquid into them. Be careful if you are using liners as they might collapse into the middle of the tin.
5. Cook the two cakes for about 45 minutes. Quickly test at this point with a skewer to make sure that the cake is done in the middle. If it’s still a it under done, slam the door shut again  and give it another five minutes before testing again.
6. When the cakes are cool, warm the orange juice and sugar slowly in a pan.In the meantime use a skewer to make holes in the cake to allow the syrup in to the centre of the cake.
7. Pour the syrup into the cake and allow to cool

The cake will be absolutely black, shiny, incredibly moist and very chocolatey. Just the thing after a day out on the mountains!