Nigella Lawson Pantry Shelf Chocolate Orange Cake Recipes

NIGELLA LAWSON FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE ORANGE CAKE

Steps:

• Put the whole orange or oranges in a pan with some cold water, bring to the boil and cook for 2 hours or until soft.
• Drain, and when cool, cut the oranges in half and remove any big pips.
• Then pulp everything - pith, peel and all - in a food processor.
• Preheat the oven to gas mark 4/180°C Butter and line a 20cm springform tin.
• Add the eggs, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, almonds, sugar and cocoa to the orange in the food processor. Run the motor until you have a cohesive cake mixture, but slightly knobbly with the flecks of puréed orange.
• Pour and scrape into the cake tin and bake for an hour, by which time a cake tester should come out pretty well clean. Check after 45 minutes because you may have to cover with foil to prevent the cake burning before it is cooked through, or indeed it may need a little less than an hour; it all depends on your oven.
• Leave the cake to get cool in the tin, on a cooling rack. When the cake is cold you can take it out of the tin. Decorate with strips of orange peel or coarsely grated zest if you so wish, but it is darkly beautiful in its plain, unadorned state.

OLD FASHIONED CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• Take everything out of the fridge so that all the ingredients can come to room temperature. Preheat the oven to gas mark 4/180°C/160°C Fan/350ºF and line and butter two 20cm / 8 inch sandwich tins with removable bases. Now all you have to do is put all the cake ingredients - flour, sugar, baking powder and bicarb, cocoa, butter, eggs, vanilla and sour cream - into a food processor and process until you have a smooth, thick batter. If you want to go the long way around, just mix the flour, sugar and leavening agents in a large bowl and beat in the soft butter until you have a combined and creamy mixture. Now whisk together the cocoa, sour cream, vanilla and eggs and beat this into your bowl of mixture. Divide this batter, using a rubber spatula to help you scrape and spread, into the prepared tins and bake until a cake tester, or a thin skewer, comes out clean, which should be about 35 minutes, but it is wise to start checking at 25. Also, it might make sense to switch the two cakes around in the oven halfway through cooking time. Remove the cakes, in their tins, to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes before turning out of their tins. Don't worry about any cracks as they will easily be covered by the icing later. To make this icing, melt the butter and chocolate in a good-sized bowl either in the microwave or suspended over a pan of simmering water. Go slowly either way: you don't want any burning or seizing. While the chocolate and butter are cooling a little, sieve the icing sugar into another bowl. Or, easier still, put the icing sugar into the food processor and blitz. This is by far and away the least tedious way of removing lumps. Add the golden syrup to the cooled chocolate mixture, followed by the sour cream and vanilla and then when all this is combined whisk in the sieved icing sugar. Or just pour this mixture down the funnel of the food processor on to the icing sugar, with the motor running. When you've done, you may need to add a little boiling water - say a teaspoon or so - or indeed some more icing sugar: it depends on whether you need the icing to be runnier or thicker; or indeed it may be right as it is. It should be liquid enough to coat easily, but thick enough not to drip off. Choose your cake stand or plate and cut out four strips of baking parchment to form a square outline on it (this stops the icing running on to the plate). Then sit one of the cakes, uppermost (ie slightly domed) side down. Spoon about a third of the icing on to the centre of the cake half and spread with a knife or spatula until you cover the top of it evenly. Sit the other cake on top, normal way up, pressing gently to sandwich the two together. Spoon another third of the icing on to the top of the cake and spread it in a swirly, textured way (though you can go for a smooth finish if you prefer, and have the patience). Spread the sides of the cake with the remaining icing and leave a few minutes till set, then carefully pull away the paper strips. I love to dot the top of this with sugar pansies - and you must admit, they do look enchanting - but there really is no need to make a shopping expedition out of it. Anything, or indeed nothing, will do.

FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE ORANGE CAKE

Steps:

• Place the oranges in a medium sauce pan and cover with water. Bring the pot to a boil then cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until oranges are soft, about 2 hours.
• Once the oranges are cool enough to handle, slice them in half and remove any large seeds.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Place the oranges in a blender and pulse until smooth. You should end up with about 1 1/2 cups of puree. Add the remaining ingredients, except for the powdered sugar, to the blender. Pulse a few times, stir, and then pulse, repeating until the mixture is well combined.
• Grease an 8 inch round spring form pan. Pour the cake batter into the pan and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Allow the cake to cool, then sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired. Or frost with your favorite frosting.

NIGELLA LAWSON PANTRY-SHELF CHOCOLATE-ORANGE CAKE

Steps:

• Oven@ 350.
• Melt the butter in a saucepan and then add the chocolate and stir until melted.
• Take off of the heat.
• Add the marmalade, sugar, and the eggs and combine.
• Gradually beat in the flour.
• Pour into a greased 8-inch springform pan.
• Bake for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted.
• Cool in pan for 10 minutes before turning out.