Chocolate Orange Beer Cake©
About the Recipe
Chocolate orange and dark beer.....they work beautifully together. The stout adds a richness and depth to the chocolate and makes the texture so squidgy- all whilst not tasting of beer! It is a magical cake. Makes me think of the movie 'Chocolat'
Ingredients
Cake Mix
6 oz-180g Self-Raising Flour (sifted)
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
2 Medium Eggs (free-range, beaten together)
4 oz-120g Baking Margarine (room temperature)
10 fl oz-300ml Stout Alcohol
1x Juice of Orange
Zest of 1 orange
3 oz-80g Cocoa Powder
9.8oz-280g Dark Brown Soft Sugar
Chocolate Orange Icing
3 oz-80g Unsalted Butter (room temp/soft)
7oz-200g Icing Sugar (sifted)
7oz-200g Dark Chocolate (melted)
1 tablespoon Orange Flavouring
2oz-50g Orange Chocolate (finely chopped)
3 tablespoons Stout Alcohol
Juice of ½ Orange
Decoration
2/3 of the Chocolate Orange Icing
4oz-125g Chocolate Orange Sticks (optional and blitzed into a powder. In the UK I use Orange Matchmakers)
Preparation
Pre-heat oven to 392˚F/200˚C regular oven or 356˚F /180˚C fan assisted oven
Grease two Wilkinson 1888 8"cake tins and set to one side
In a large mixing bowl start the cake mix by creaming together the margarine and sugar using an electric whisk/stand mix until light in colour and well combined
Add the beaten eggs in stages, mixing in-between each addition until all egg mix has been used. Set to one side
In a separate mixing bowl, sieve the baking powder and self-raising flour. Stir to combine and set to one side
In a large measuring jug, sieve in the cocoa powder and add the stout. Stir gently to combine but it's still light and fluffy
Add one tablespoon of flour mix and one cocoa mix to the cake mix and combine well. Repeat this process until there is no cocoa or flour mix left
Finally, add the orange juice and zest and fold in gently
Spoon equally into the pre-prepared tins and pop into the oven for 25 minutes
Check with a skewer in the centre of one, if it comes out clean- they are ready
Remove the cakes from oven and allow to cool in the tins for 20 mins before removing from the tins and allowing to cool completely
Whilst the cakes are cooling, make the chocolate orange icing that will be used for the filling and decoration
In a large mixing bowl, add the soft butter and mix into a butter paste. Add the sieved icing sugar and mix until combined
Add the stout and mix again- it should start looking smoother now. Set to one side
Melt the dark chocolate using your preferred method
Add the orange flavouring to the cooling melted chocolate and gently stir together
Finally add the slightly cooled dark orange chocolate to the icing sugar mix and combine one last time. Set to one side until you are ready to assemble the cakes
Once the cakes are completely cooled, on the bottom half of one cake, spread a third of the icing and top with the chopped orange chocolate (squish the pieces down into the icing a little). Then use the cake top half to sandwich it together
Using the rest of the icing to, cover the top and sides of the assembled cake
Dust the top of the cake with the blitzed chocolate orange (or whatever decoration you have chosen)
Serve and enjoy!!!!!