I was invited to a friend’s house for lunch but can only go if I bake a different flavour with spice and it must have chocolate cake. I have 4 white heart shapes and a tree-shaped chocolate in the freezer. Best to use them as they have been in the freezer for more than 16 days. With some leftover icing sugar, I might as well use it so I can get a fresh new batch.
My dad’s friend gave us 12 oranges, of which we ate 7 and kept 5. I decided to puree the oranges and included dark chocolate, Parisian essence, and Moroccan spice instead of white chocolate, vanilla extract, and pumpkin spice.
“Moroccan spice is a vibrant, aromatic blend of warm, earthy spices like cumin, coriander, cinnamon, ginger, paprika, and turmeric, often with a hint of heat from cayenne. Flavour for dishes like couscous, tagines, and roasted meats with its most famous variation being the highly complex Ras el Hanout; adding depth to savoury and sometimes sweet dishes.”
“Parisian Essence is a dark brown liquid used to enhance the colour of gravies, soups, stews, and Christmas cakes without changing their flavour. This caramelised sugar product (Colour 150c) is common in traditional Australian and British cooking, primarily serving as a colouring agent while occasionally enhancing depth in savoury sauces.”
Here’s the cake my friend requested with a unique flavour of spice and chocolate. I’m happy it was flavourful and delicious, bringing a smile to her face. Everyone enjoyed it and I regret I forgot to take a picture of the piece of cake I had. Let’s bake!!!
Ingredients
Tempering chocolate
200 g white chocolate
1 Tsp truffle infused oil, plus extra
Cake
250 g butter
250 g plain flour
170 g castor sugar
4 eggs
100 g dark chocolate, melted using the tempering method
1 1/4 Tbs Parisian essence
1 1/2-2 Tbs cocoa powder
1 1/2 Tsp baking powder
1 1/2 Tsp Moroccan spice
1 Tsp vanilla sugar
pinch of salt
Puree
5 oranges, cut skins and removed pits, cut flesh into bite size
1/8 c water
Garnish
4 white chocolate heart shapes
1 white chocolate tree shape
icing sugar
colourful sprinkles
chocolate sprinkles
Method
To do in advance one day
Place 200 g dark chocolate in a bowl over a pot of boiling water. Make sure water doesn’t touch the bowl and bowl sit tightly on the top of pot to prevent steam escape. Keep stirring from the middle out until all chocolate are melted. Remove from hob, and switch off hob. Stir in 1 Tsp oil into melted chocolate, mix well and see if it’s glossy. I had added a tiny drop or two for glossier, and forms a slightly thick liquid. Pour into a microwave jug.
Now pour into the heart and 1 tree moulds and place them in the freezer for 2-4 hours until hardened and set. Once the chocolate from both moulds are set; you can unmould. Bring mould out from freezer for 5 minutes then turn over and gentle push out. Keep back in freezer in an airtight container until needed.
Note: I have made 14 heart shapes, depending on the size of moulds. Use 4 heart shapes and 1 tree shape moulds. The rest serve it with the cake or if you want save for another cake; keep in an airtight container in freezer. Do label date made. Best use the chocolate by 10-12 days.
The next day
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Grease a 23 cm round spring form pan and line the base only. Place flour, baking powder, vanilla sugar, and salt in a deep plate and mixed well. Then set aside. Using Nutri Bullet, add the oranges flesh and 1/8 c water. Blitz until pureed and place in fridge.
Note: You might want to sift the flour, baking powder, vanilla sugar and salt. I didn’t bother to sift them.
Beat butter in mixing bowl for 5 minutes until creamy. Now add in castor sugar and continue to beat for 5-7 minutes until light and fluffy. Next add egg 1 at a time, beating well each addition. Then add in Parisian essence. Beat to mixed well a few seconds. Melt the 100 g dark chocolate using the tempering way except don’t add oil and set aside.
Fold in flour mixture with a big metal spoon alternate folding with melted dark chocolate, mixing well until incorporated. Divide batter into 2 equal portions about 650 g each. In the first mixing bowl batter add orange puree, and Moroccan spice. Mix well until blended. The second bowl batter in separate bowl, add cocoa powder and mix well until you achieve the brown colouring and cocoa flavouring.
Spoon one big spoon Moroccan spice orange puree batter into the prepared pan and use another spoon to spoon cocoa powder batter, place next to the orange juice batter; followed by Moroccan spice orange puree batter and cocoa powder batter to cover the base. Repeat the process until both batter finished.
Give a couple of gentle knocks on the bench top. Bake in the oven for 60 minutes or until skewers out clean. Switch off oven and leave the cake in oven with door shut for 35 minutes. Then removed to wire rack to cool further 25 minutes before flipping over to cake container plate mat and let it cool completely. Now place the base of the heart-shaped baking pan in the middle of the cake. Next, I sprinkle icing sugar all around, followed by colourful sprinkles and chocolate sprinkles.
Then, I add 1 tree shape in the middle of the heart without icing sugar, colourful and chocolate sprinkles, followed by 4 white heart shapes around the tree shape. Serve the cake with the extra white heart shapes chocolate and a cup of tea, coffee or dessert wine. Enjoy!!!
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