Nigella’s gorgeous gluten-free chocolate orange cake is smothered in a rich chocolate ganache and decorated with mouthwatering chocolate orange segments.
Chocolate Orange Cake….what is there not to love?
According to one study, melting chocolate in your mouth is results in more of an increase in heart rate and brain activity than passionate kissing.
Other research suggests that it can have a number of positive health effects including lowering blood pressure, can boost your memory and even increase your sex drive. Sign me up!
So, for this fortnight’s Cookbook challenge, with the theme of Love, I decided to make Nigella Lawson’s Gluten Free Chocolate Orange cake.
Making Chocolate Orange Cake
This chocolate orange cake recipe is deliciously moist, thanks to the almond meal (making it gluten free too), 2 whole oranges (yes, whole oranges) and 6 eggs.
Nigella’s flourless chocolate orange cake is also supremely easy to make as it’s all done in the food processor. Yay for simple cakes!
I then decorated the cake with a chocolate orange glaze and surrounded the cake with Orange D’Anvers segments. Similar to these – if you want to give it a try!
If this sounds amazing – be sure to check out these chocolate orange cookies too!
One bite of this Chocolate Orange Cake and you will fall in love.
And while I haven’t tried to make a vegan version of this cake yet, I bet it would be pretty simple by substituting applesauce and flax eggs for the eggs and coconut cream for the cream.
(If you want to give that a try – be sure to grab a copy of my printable vegan baking cheat sheet. It’s packed with handy substitutions for recipes like this!)
Chocolate Orange Cake recipe
Ingredients
- 1 large orange or 2 small, weighing approximately 375g
- 6 eggs
- 1 teaspoon baking powder heaped
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups ground almonds or almond flour
- 1 cup caster sugar
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder good quality
CHOCOLATE ORANGE GLAZE
- 6 ounces dark chocolate
- 1 cup cream
- 1 teaspoon Cointreau
FOR DECORATING (OPTIONAL)
- chocolate orange segment candies
Special Equipment
Instructions
- Put the oranges in a saucepan with cold water and bring to the boil before reducing the heat and simmering for 2 hours, or until soft. Drain the water and set aside to cool. When cool, cut the oranges in half and remove any large pips.
- Grease an 8" (20 cm) springform pan and preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (80 Celsius).
- Pulp the orange in a food processor before adding the eggs, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, almonds, sugar and cocoa and processing until you have a smooth batter- but still flecked with orange.
- Pour the batter into the springform pan and bake for 1 hour. Check the cake after 45 minutes as you may need to cover it with foil to prevent burning before the cake is cooked through.
- Let the cake cool in the tin before removing.
- For the glaze, chop the chocolate into small pieces and place into a bowl. Pour the cream into a saucepan and heat until almost boiling and then pour over the chocolate pieces. Let it stand for 5 minutes before stirring until smooth. Let it stand for 10 minutes before decorating the cake with the optional chocolate orange slices.
