Ingredients

Orange Chocolate Cake:
350 gr unsalted butter room temperature
350 gr sugar
6 eggs
270 gr all purpose flour
80 gr unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. salt
3 tsp. baking powder
90 gr dark chocolate melted
3 tsp. orange extract
1 orange, zest only

Buttercream Frosting:
300 gr unsalted butter room temperature
600 gr powdered sugar
150 gr dark chocolate melted
3 tsp. orange extract
1 orange, juice only
water as needed, 1 tbsp. at a time
orange food color optional

Instructions

Dark Chocolate and Orange Cake:

Begin with greasing 3 x 18cm (7inch) or 2 x 20cm (8 inch) round cake tins. Preheat the oven to 180C.

Cream your room temperature butter with the sugar, until it’s pale, light and fluffy. I like to cut the butter into smaller pieces so it’s easier to cream. Mix in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg.

Mix the flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder. Using a spatula, fold in the flour mixture into the butter mixture a small amount at a time. You can also sift it. This helps keep the sponge airy. Stir in the melted and slightly cooled chocolate, orange extract and zest of one orange.

Pour equal amounts of batter into the cake tins, smooth out with the back of a spoon. Bake for around 25-30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool completely on a cooling rack.

Buttercream Frosting:

Meanwhile, make the icing. Beat your room temperature butter until it’s pale, light and fluffy. Beat in your icing sugar, orange extract and juice of 1 orange.

Divide the icing into two bowls, 3/4 in one and 1/4 in the other. In the largest bowl, add in the slightly cooled melted chocolate, mix in completely. You can color the other bowl with orange if you want. I had just a hint of color in mine.

More than likely, the buttercream you’ve got is too stiff. You should be able to pipe it from a piping bag, so you might want to add a little water to the bowls. But do it a little at a time, because you don’t need much.

Assembling:

When the cakes are completely cold, level them.

Take a serrated knife and make them level. Spread chocolate buttercream on each layer, reserve some for decoration.

Place the buttercreams in two piping bags with a round tip.

Pipe droplets around the edge of the two lower layers, and fill the top layer with chocolate buttercream.

Enjoy!