Luscious Chocolate Orange Bundt Cake

I have made this cake a few times now and it is absolutely delicious every single time. Usually I make it as a chocolate peppermint cake with crush candy cane on top, but this weekend I thought I'd add some orange blossom extract instead. I love the combination of chocolate and orange; it seems a popular one too.

I seemed to have become obsessed with my Nordic Ware Bundt tins and haven't used any other tins since I got them. They are seriously just so easy to use and look fab.

Anyway here is the recipe for this cake - I encourage you to have a go, it's easy to make and guaranteed to pleased!

Chocolate Bundt Cake with Dark Chocolate and Orange Ganache

• Servings: 12
• adapted from Brooklyn Homemaker

For the Cake:

1 1/4 cups water
3/4 cup cocoa powder
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 teaspoons bi carb soda (baking soda)
2 whole eggs
1 egg yolk
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 cup sunflower oil - or a similar neutral oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups plain (all-purpose) flour, sifted

For the Orange and  Dark Chocolate Ganache:

200g best quality dark chocolate, chopped (I used Sainsbury's dark cooking chocolate as it is dairy free and I simply like it)
3/4 cup double cream
1/2 teaspoon of orange extract

1. Place an oven rack in the centre of the oven and preheat to 180 degrees C.

2. Liberally butter a 10 to 12 cup Bundt pan and set aside. I actually use cake release spray and it works a dream every time.

3. Whisk water and cocoa powder in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, whisking frequently. Remove from heat and let come to room temperature.

4. In the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, mix together sugar, salt, baking soda, eggs and egg yolk on low for just one minute. Add the milk, oil and vanilla extract and mix on low again for another minute.

5. Add the flour and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes more.  Add the cooled cocoa mixture and mix on medium speed for 3 minutes. The batter will seem quite loose and liquid.  Pour into the prepared cake pan no more than three quarters full and bake for 55-65, or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean. If you have extra mixture because your tin is smaller, then pour into another cake tin and cook it as an extra bit of cake.

6. Let the cake cool completely in the pan and then invert onto a cooling rack. Once cooled you can trim off the uneven top to make it level, or just leave it as I did this time.

7. To make the ganache, heat the double cream in a heavy pot, just until it begins to simmer. Remove from the heat and add it to the chopped chocolate. Let the chocolate melt for a a few minutes or so, then whisk to combine. Add the orange extract.

8. Drizzle ganache over the cake while it’s still warm and liquid. Garnish with raspberries. Let the ganache set for at least 30 minutes before slicing.

10. Store in an airtight container - this will stay fresh for about 10 days, if you can resist it for that long!

Notes:

If you wanted a more intense orange flavour in the actual cake, add the zest of an orange into the wet mixture.

Valentine's Chocolate Mousse

Happy Valentine's Day! A quick post to share the pudding I made tonight for Valentine's Day; it's such a simple yet scrummy dessert. And the best bit, it's totally vegan so even my son could have it. I wanted to make something that wasn't cake based and required very little effort. I knew I had a can of coconut milk in the fridge, so this immediately came to mind. It takes a whole 5 minutes to make, I kid you not.

Chocolate Mousse

Ingredients:

1 can coconut milk - chilled in the fridge overnight

200g chocolate - milk or dark, your choice. I used dark.

1 dsp icing sugar

1/2 tsp orange extract/essence

Raspberries

Method:

1. Melt the chocolate in the microwave in 30 second increments until smooth and glossy.
2. Carefully remove the solids out of the coconut milk tin into a medium bowl, discard any liquid.
3. Using a hand held electric mixer, whip the coconut milk solids with the icing sugar and orange essence until fluffy. Scrap the sides occasionally, this step takes only about 2 minutes.
4. Pour the melted chocolate into the bowl and beat together using the mixer until it is combined and still fluffy. If you over mix, as I did tonight and it hardens, this is very easily fixed by putting the bowl into the microwave for 10 seconds to loosen it up again.
5. Pipe into bowls, or just spoon in if you prefer. Top with raspberries.

Notes:

• This is best made just before serving, or if making it into a pie (as I have posted on my fb page) then allow to set in the fridge.

• You could add peppermint extract instead of orange if you prefer.

• I tend to leave a can of coconut milk in the fridge at all times for occasions such as this. Go for a band that has at least 60% coconut solids in it, 70%+ if possible. You get more solids in your recipe then!

• This is quite rich, so smaller portions are advised, but it is soooo light, honestly, it's like eating a cloud. A chocolate one!

Toasted Coconut and Lime Bundt Cake

So I gave in and bought myself the proper Nordic Ware heavy duty Anniversary tin recently - bought here.  I can't rave enough about these tins, they just cook like a dream and produce perfect cakes. Anyway I needed to make a coupe of cakes for a meeting last night and I found his recipe from one of my favourite Bundt bakers, Brooklyn Homemaker. You can find his original recipe here. I changed the recipe a bit, see my version below. 

It was really delicious - I highly recommend it.

Toasted Coconut Lime Bundt Cake

Adapted from the Brooklyn Homemaker recipe

Servings: 12 to 16

Ingredients:

• 3 cups shredded sweetened coconut
• 1 cup butter (250g) softened
• 2 1/2 c caster sugar (granulated)
• 4 - 5 limes (you need to get 1/2 cup of juice)
• 3¼ cups plain (all-purpose) flour
• ⅓ cup corn flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon coconut extract
• 6 large eggs
• 1 (13.5 oz) can unsweetened coconut milk

Glaze:

• 2 cups icing sugar

1. Preheat oven to 180deg C. Grease and flour a 10 to 12 cup bundt pan.
2. Spread shredded coconut in an even layer on a sheet pan and toast until golden and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Check every few minutes and stir around if necessary to promote even toasting and prevent burning.
3. Zest and juice the limes. Reserve the juice and add the zest to the bowl of a stand mixer along with the softened butter and sugar. Cream on high speed until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, corn flour, baking powder and salt.
5. With the mixer on low add the eggs, one at a time, along with the vanilla and coconut extract, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.
6. In a small bowl, measure out and mix together 1 1/2 cups coconut milk and 1/4 cup lime juice. Reserve the remaining coconut milk and lime juice for the glaze. With the mixer on low, alternate additions of flour and coconut milk, starting and ending with flour.
7. Scrape the sides of the bowl and stir in 2 1/2 cups of the toasted coconut. Reserve remaining coconut for garnish. Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and level the batter with a spatula.
8. Bake in the center of the oven for about 60 to 65 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool the cake for 30 minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack and cool until room temperature.

For the glaze:

1. While the cake is baking, combine the remaining 1/4 cup lime juice and 1/4 cup coconut milk in a small saucepan. Warm gently.
2. To make the glaze, strain the coconut lime through a fine mesh strainer into a small bowl. Whisk in icing sugar until smooth and free of lumps. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake and immediately sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup of toasted coconut.

PANCAKES - Egg and Dairy Free

With Shrove Tuesday coming up on February 17th this year, I thought I would share a favourite family pancake recipe. These pancakes have developed after a lot of research, testing recipes and so on, to find one that was free from egg and dairy yet still fluffy and delicious.

Honesty, you can't really go wrong with these! My son, who has the allergies, absolutely loves them; they are simply his favourite breakfast EVER. And I have to agree with him, they really are so tasty.

Suggested toppings: bacon/maple syrup, lemon and sugar, jam or for full indulgence, icecream and chocolate sauce.

Suggested additions: blueberries, raspberries, chocolate chips, mini marshmallow, although this list is only limited by your tastes and imagination.

Egg and Dairy Free PANCAKES

Ingredients:
1 c plain flour
1/2 teaspoon bicarb soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 c soya milk (or similar - cow's milk if you prefer - you can even use water)
1.5 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Method:
1. Sift dry ingredients into a bowl.
2. Add vanilla and oil and half the milk. Whisk together.
3. Slowly add the remaining milk until the mixture is to a thick pouring consistency.
4. Heat frying pan and spray with cooking oil (or I usually use a drop of oil with a smidge of df butter - the oil stops the butter burning!)
5. Pour in enough mixture to make a small pikelet or larger pancake.
6. Cook until bubbles appear on top. Flip and cook for a further minute.
7. Serve with your choice of topping. We love good old lemon and sugar, or bacon and maple syrup!

This makes 3 large pancakes or numerous smaller ones. Enough to feed the three of us- double the recipe for more!

Peach Bundt Cake

I've been wanting to make this cake since I saw it on the Nordic Ware UK Facebook page; it is completely their recipe, a really easy one to make and really delicious. It's a plain cake with a subtle peach flavour. The syrup on top absolutely makes this cake. I have to be honest I opened a second tin of peaches and made double the syrup - well worth it. The spare peaches were lovely on the side.

I made it for pudding tonight and my son's response to his first mouthful was "This is deeeeelicious!"

 

It got the royal seal of approval.

 

If you click the link below to the Nordic Ware UK Facebook page you will see other recipes they've shared as well.

 

Peach Bundt Cake

(6 cup tin)

Recipe from Nordic Ware UK

 
Ingredients

300g plain flour

150g caster sugar
80ml flavourless oil (such as rapeseed, sunflower, corn)
130ml yoghurt (I used Alpro plain yogurt to make it dairy free, but you could use plain or Greek yoghurt)
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 eggs
400g tinned sliced peaches in syrup

Syrup

Syrup from the tin of peaches

1 tablespoon caster sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Prepare your Bundt® tin  - either use cake release spray, melted butter, or butter and flour, then put to one side.
3. Take the peaches and drain well but reserve the liquid. 
4. Place all the ingredients except the peaches but including 3 tablespoons of the syrup in a bowl and mix together.
5. Pour ½ the cake batter into the mould and then place the peach slices on top of the batter all around the Bundt® pan. Top with the rest of the cake batter.
6. Place the cake in the oven on the middle shelf and cook for 35 - 45 minutes or until golden brown and a tester comes out clean.
7. Take the remaining peach syrup and add the tablespoon of caster sugar. Bring to the boil, reduce by half, then pour over the top of the cake while it’s still warm.