I was on a mission to find a really great cake recipe as I was making my own 30th Birthday cake...so I wanted it to be no ordinary cake. This recipe comes from our Food & Wine 'Best of the Best' cookbook...it sounded great since orange and chocolate are one of my favorite combos. Everything went smoothly until I got to the creation of the cream frosting. The problem primarily was that I had no idea how long it would take to let the whipped cream come to room temperature in order for it to be able to combine with the chocolate...and I lacked the time to wait. With two failed attempts, I gave up and decided to improvise by creating a whipped cream filling using powdered cocoa instead of the melted chocolate. The color (very light brown) was not stunning enough to use as the outer frosting, so I used a chocolate ganache recipe for the outside.
Unfortunately by the end I had run out of the Grand Marnier so not much made it into the final cake, but at least the orange extract makes a great substitute.
In the end, I was very happy with my birthday cake and so was everyone else. It looked awesome and tasted pretty great too. I could have done without the stress of things not going right, but I'm possibly a stronger person because of it.
I'll first list the original recipe and then the revised frosting recipe I used in the end. Try the original if you're feeling lucky. :-)
Original RecipeCAKE:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 teaspoon cream of tarter
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
2 tablespoons cold water
6 large eggs, at room temperature, separated
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons finely grated orange zest
3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 teaspoons pure orange extract
CHOCOLATE-GRAND MARNIER CREAM
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate
2 cups heavy cream, at room temperature
2 tablespoons Grand Marnier
1. MAKE THE CAKE - Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour two 9-inch cake pans. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the cream of tarter and baking soda. In a small bowl, combine the vinegar with the cold water.
2. In a food processor, blend the egg whites until thickened, about 10 seconds. With the machine on, gradually pour the vinegar mixture through the feed tube and process until the egg whites are whipped, about 1 minute. Transfer the whites to a large bowl. Add the sugar and orange zest to the food processor and process until the zest is minced, about 30 seconds. Add the egg yolks, orange juice and orange extract and process until the mixture is smooth and thick, scraping down the side of the bowl halfway through, about 1 minute. Spoon the flour mixture in a ring around the egg yolk mixture, then spoon the whipped egg whites in a ring on top of the flour. Pulse twice, for 1 second each time, until almost fully incorporated. Scrape down the side of the bowl and pulse once more, just until the whites are fully incorporated.
3. Divide the batter between the prepared pans and bake for 35 minutes, until the cakes are deep golden and start to come away from the sides of the pans. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then run a small, sharp knife around the edges of the cakes. Invert the cakes onto racks and let cool completely.
4. MAKE THE CHOCOLATE-GRAND MARNIER CREAM - In a medium bowl set over a medium saucepan of simmering water, melt the chocolate. Remove from the heat and let stand until cooled to room temperature. In a large bowl, whip the cream with the Grand Marnier until firm. Let stand to room temperature. Fold 1 cup of the whipped cream into the cooled chocolate, then fold the chocolate into the remaining whipped cream until no streaks remain.
5. Using a serrated knife, split the cakes in half horizontally. Place the top half of one of the cakes cut side up on a cake platter. Spread the cake with a 1/4-inch-thick layer of the chocolate cream. Top with the bottom half of the cake, cut side down. Repeat with another 2 layers of the chocolate cream and the remaining cake layers to make a 4-layer cake. Spread the remaining chocolate cream over the top and side of the cake. Refrigerate the cake for 2 hours, until the chocolate cream is set. Using a serrated knife, cut the cake into wedges and serve.
MAKE AHEAD - The frosted cake can be refrigerated for up to 1 day. Bring to room temperature before serving.
Revised Recipe4. MAKE THE CHOCOLATE-ORANGE CREAM FILLING - In a large bowl, whip 1 cup heavy whipping cream, 2 tsp. orange extract, 2 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar, 1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder. Beat the mixture until stiff peaks form.
5. Using a serrated knife, split the cakes in half horizontally. Place the top half of one of the cakes cut side up on a wire rack. Spread the cake with a 1/4-inch-thick layer of the chocolate cream. Top with the bottom half of the cake, cut side down. Repeat with another 2 layers of the chocolate cream and the remaining cake layers to make a 4-layer cake.
6. MAKE THE CHOCOLATE-GRAND MARNIER GANACHE - Prepare ganache by bringing 1 cup heavy cream to a boil and pouring cream over 1 1/4 cups chocolate chips in a bowl. Mix in 2 Tbsp. Grand Marnier or 2 tsp. orange extract and whisk until completely smooth. Set wire rack with cake on top of sheet pan. Pour lukewarm ganache over cake, coating cake completely, recoating if necessary. Gently jiggle wire rack to help drain excess ganache. Remove cake from wire rack with spatula and place on a serving plate. Decorate with orange rind/zest.
These crispy fried morsels are best served at room temperature, with a good squeeze of lemon juice and a sprinkling of salt and freshly grated nutmeg.
