Chocolate and Almond Cake with Orange

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A moist almond and chocolate cake laced with orange, topped with a rich chocolate and orange ganache and toasted almonds. This beautiful cake, luscious and shiny, is deceptively easy to make and is as delicious with a cup of tea, as it is served with ice cream for dessert

Where is this recipe from?

This recipe is adapted from the Almond and Pistachio Cake with Pears and Lemon that I posted a few months ago. That cake, in turn, was slightly adapted from a recipe from a fabulous blog I follow, called The Brick Kitchen, or on insta as @claudiabrick.

However, the idea behind the fabulous flavour combination came from a dessert I enjoyed at The Pandora Inn in Falmouth Cornwall, when I visited with Emma last June. Their signature Chocolate and Pistachio Torte with Orange Syrup and Vanilla Ice Cream was utterly addictive and I knew, immediately, that I would try and re-create it at home. For ease, I took some liberties with the recipe, but trust me, whilst this may not be a proper copycat recipe, it is still ridiculously good.

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How to make Chocolate and Almond Cake with Orange

Collect all your ingredients together:

Wet ingredients –

• unsalted butter
• grated orange zest
• eggs
• vanilla extract

Dry ingredients –

• ground almonds
• caster sugar
• plain/all-purpose flour
• cocoa powder
• baking powder
• fine salt

Ganache topping –

• flaked almonds
• orange flavoured chocolate – I use Terry’s Chocolate Orange
• double/heavy cream

How to make this fabulous cake:

1. Whilst you get everything together for the cake, preheat the oven. Scatter the flaked almonds for the topping on a baking tray and cook for around 3 – 5 minutes or until lightly golden.
2. Weigh the butter into a microwave safe bowl and melt in the microwave. Grate over the orange zest and set aside to cool. (Alternatively, melt the butter in a saucepan.)
3. Meanwhile, weigh the ground almonds and sugar into a mixing bowl. Place a sieve over the top, zero the scales and add the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Sieve over and use a balloon whisk to mix thoroughly.
4. Add the remaining wet ingredients, the eggs and vanilla extract, to the cooled butter mix and mix well.
5. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and fold together until mixed.
6. Transfer into a lined 20cm/8in round cake tin and bake in the centre of a pre-heated oven for 45 – 50 minutes or until cooked.
7. Leave the cake in the tin for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

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Now make the Chocolate Orange Ganache:

1. Blitz the chocolate in a food processor until it looks like crumbs. Transfer to a heatproof bowl.
2. Heat the cream until it steams and small bubbles appear on the surface. Do not bring it to the boil.
3. Pour the cream over the crumbed chocolate, stir briefly, and leave it for a few minutes for the chocolate to melt. Stir after 5 minutes, it should be fully melted. But if not, blitz in the microwave in 10 second intervals, stirring well after each blitz.
4. Pour the ganache over the cool cake letting it drip down the sides.
5. Scatter the almonds over the top.
6. Serve as is with a cup of tea. This cake also makes a delicious dessert served with ice cream and/or fresh cream.

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Made this recipe?

If you make this recipe, do please tag me on instagram @daffodil_kitchen. You could also leave a comment in the box directly below the recipe.