Chocolate Orange Cake

I simply adore Terry's Chocolate Orange which inspired me to make a really easy but tasty Chocolate Orange Cake! It's essentially a chocolate orange cake with fresh orange juice and zest - nothing complicated about that. Orange compliments chocolate perfectly and gives a nice fresh citrus flavour to the rich cake.

If fresh oranges are not available, I use a teaspoon of Orange Extract which is a great substitute. For a lower fat version, use low fat margarine (suitable for baking), leave out the chocolate chips and don't ice it. It will still be very tasty and save you an amazing 100 calories per slice!

This recipe is dedicated to our buddy Sam Churchill who is an amazing guy who we love very much. Happy birthday Sam and hope you enjoyed the cake! Joshua enjoyed stirring it for you!

       

Time:  10 mins hands on time + 25 - 30 mins baking time
Cost:  29p per serving*
Calories:  331 per serving*

*Based on 8 servings

Chocolate Orange Cake: Makes 8 - 10 slices

• 75g butter or margarine
• 100g brown sugar
• 1 orange, juice and zest
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 150g self raising flour
• 50g cocoa powder
• 75g milk chocolate chips (optional)

For the icing:

• Juice of ½ an orange
• 100g icing sugar
• 25g cocoa powder
• Orange zest to decorate (optional)

      

1. Preheat the oven to gas mark 4 / 180 C.
2. Cream the sugar and butter or margarine using a wooden spoon or electric hand whisk. Add the eggs, orange juice & zest and mix again. Add the cocoa powder and mix well again. Finally, add the flour gradually to make a lovely smooth mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips if using.
3. Grease a 20cm cake tin with oil and pour in the mixture. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes until springy to touch and cooked through. Do not over bake or it will become dry!
4. To make the icing: Combine the icing sugar & cocoa power. Add the orange juice gradually until smooth but not too runny. (You may need more than the juice of half an orange depending on the size of your orange). Pour the icing over the cooled cake and sprinkle with orange zest to make it look pretty if you like. 

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