Orange Chocolate Cake With Ganache Recipes

CHOCOLATE ORANGE CAKE

Steps:

• In a large saucepan bring cream to the beginning of a boil. Remove from cook top. Add chocolate (in chunks). Stir until completely combined. Cool to room temperature before filling cakes. Set aside to cool.
• For Chocolate Cake: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter and flour cake pans of choice. Melt chocolate and set aside to cool to room temperature. Beat butter and brown sugar until fluffy (about 4 minutes on medium). Add eggs and vanilla and continue to beat until thick and creamy (about 6 minutes on medium). Add chocolate on low and mix until combined. Wisk dry ingredients together. Add 1/3 dry ingredients alternately with 1/3 sour cream beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Add boiling water and mix only for 30 seconds, scrape bowl and mix the rest by hand. Immediately pour into pans 2/3 full. Bake until tester comes out clean in center of cake, about 30 minutes for 9-inch round, more or less for other size cake pans. Cool for 1/2 hour before removing cakes from pans. Wrap in plastic wrap and cool in the refrigerator. When totally cold, unwrap cakes and fill with chocolate ganache.
• For Orange Cake: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter and flour cake pans of choice With a zester, zest the orange part of the peel of a fresh orange but do not zest the white section of the peel. Measure 4 tablespoons. Combine yolks, 11/2 cups milk and extracts. Set aside. Combine dry ingredients in mixer and mix on low. Add 21/2 cups of milk, orange juice, butter and orange zest to dry ingredients and mix on low for 2 minutes. Beat on high for an additional 3 minutes. Turn mixer to low and add yolk mixture in 3 batches, mixing for 40 seconds on low each time. Fill buttered and floured cake pans 1/2 full. Bake until tester comes out clean and center springs back when lightly touched. Cool in pans for 20 minutes.
• To assemble: Layer cake as follows: 1 layer chocolate cake, chocolate ganache, 1 layer orange cake, chocolate ganache, 1 layer chocolate cake. Frost as desired.

CHOCOLATE GANACHE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Butter and flour an 8-inch round cake pan, then line the bottom with parchment paper.
• Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time. Mix in the chocolate syrup and vanilla. Add the flour and mix until just combined. Don't overbeat, or the cake will be tough.
• Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until just set in the middle. Don't overbake! Let cool thoroughly in the pan.
• For the ganache, cook the heavy cream, chocolate chips, and instant coffee in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally.
• Place the cake upside down on a wire rack and pour the glaze evenly over the top, making sure to cover the entire cake and sides. You can tilt the rack to smooth the glaze. Decorate with candied violets, if desired, or gently crumble the gold leaf and place it on the center of the cake. Do not refrigerate.

ORANGE CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH GANACHE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F. Coat the bottom and sides of an 8-inch round pan with nonstick spray and then place a round parchment paper sheet flat on the bottom of the pan.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, orange zest and oil. Stir in the egg and kefir until combined well.
• Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until only a few flour streaks are visible. Gradually stir in the hot water just until combined.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick comes out of the center clean (about 25-35 minutes).
• Let the cake cool in the pan for about 20 minutes, then carefully flip it out, peel off the parchment paper and let it finish cooling on a wire rack.
• Place the chocolate chips flat in the bottom of a medium bowl.
• Heat the cream in the microwave or over the stove (med/low heat) until it starts to simmer, stirring every 20 seconds.
• Pour the hot cream over the chocolate so that it's completely covered and then place a plate on top of the bowl to trap the heat.
• Let it sit for 5 minutes, then gently stir in a circular motion with a spatula until the chocolate and cream combine into a smooth, thick ganache.
• Pour the ganache on top of the cake and spread it around with an offset spatula or knife. Enjoy!

DARK CHOCOLATE WEDDING CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE ORANGE GANACHE AND ORANGE BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• Preparing The Cake:
• Make cake layers:
• Preheat oven to 350° F. and line 2 buttered 7- by 2-inch round cake pans and 2 buttered 9- by 2-inch round cake pans with rounds of wax paper. Butter paper and dust pans with flour, knocking out excess.
• Put cocoa powder in a bowl and whisk in boiling water in a stream until smooth. Stir in chopped chocolate and let stand 5 minutes. Stir mixture until smooth and chocolate is melted and cool mixture. Whisk in sour cream and vanilla.
• Into a bowl sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. In large bowl of a standing electric mixer beat together butter and sugars until light and fluffy and add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down side of bowl. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture and cocoa mixture alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture and beating until batter is combined well.
• Pour 2 cups batter into each 7-inch pan and smooth tops. Divide remaining batter between 9-inch pans (about 33/4 cups each) and smooth tops. In middle and lower thirds of oven arrange one 9-inch layer and one 7-inch layer on each rack, putting 7-inch layers in front part of oven. Bake 7-inch layers 25 to 30 minutes and 9-inch layers 35 to 40 minutes, or until a tester comes out with crumbs adhering. Run a thin knife around edges of pans and invert cakes onto racks. Peel off paper and cool cakes completely. Cake layers may be made 2 days ahead and kept at cool room temperature, wrapped well in plastic wrap, or 2 weeks ahead and frozen, wrapped well in plastic wrap and foil. Defrost cake layers (without unwrapping) at room temperature.
• Make ganache:
• In a small saucepan bring cream just to a boil. Remove pan from heat and add chocolate, butter, zest, and liqueur. Let ganache stand 3 minutes and whisk until chocolate is melted. Chill ganache just until cool, about 40 minutes.
• In a bowl with an electric mixer beat ganache just until light and fluffy before using (do not overbeat or it will become grainy).
• Assemble cake:
• Put one 9-inch layer on 8-inch cardboard round and spread evenly with 2 cups ganache. Top with remaining 9-inch layer and gently press layers together to form an even tier. Put one 7-inch layer on 6-inch cardboard round and top with remaining ganache and remaining 7-inch layer in same manner.
• Frost top and sides of 9-inch tier with some buttercream and chill while frosting 7-inch tier. Chill both tiers until buttercream is firm.
• Cut straws in half and insert 1 straw piece all the way into center of 9-inch tier. Trim straw flush with top of tier and insert remaining 5 straw pieces in same manner in a circle about 1 1/2 inches from center straw. Center 7-inch tier (still on cardboard) on top of 9-inch tier. Fill in any gaps between tiers with buttercream and transfer cake to a cake stand or platter. Chill cake at least 6 hours and up to 1 day.
• Arrange fraises des bois and roses decoratively on top and around sides of cake. Let cake stand at cool room temperature (buttercream is sensitive to warm temperatures) 2 to 4 hours before serving. Serves about 30 (including top tier).
• Preparing The Orange Buttercream:
• Make orange curd:
• In a small heavy saucepan whisk together yolks and sugar and whisk in orange juice, butter, and a pinch salt. Cook mixture over moderately low heat, whisking, until it just reaches boiling point, 5 to 7 minutes (do not let boil), and strain through a fine sieve into a bowl. Whisk in lemon juice and cool curd, its surface covered with plastic wrap. Chill orange curd, covered, until cold, at least 4 hours, and up to 2 days.
• Make buttercream:
• In a heavy saucepan bring sugar and water to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Boil syrup, undisturbed, until it registers 248° F. on a candy thermometer. While syrup is boiling, in large bowl of a standing electric mixer beat whites with a pinch salt until foamy and beat in cream of tartar. Beat whites until they just hold stiff peaks and beat in hot syrup in a stream (try to avoid beaters and side of bowl). Beat mixture at medium speed until completely cool, 15 to 20 minutes. Beat in butter, 1 piece at a time, and beat until thickened and smooth. (Buttercream will at first appear very thin and at some point look like it is breaking but, as more butter is beaten in, it will thicken and become glossy and smooth.) Beat in orange curd, salt, and zest until smooth. Buttercream may be made 4 days ahead and chilled in an airtight container or 2 weeks ahead and frozen in an airtight container. Bring buttercream completely to room temperature (this may take several hours if frozen) and beat before using. (If buttercream is too cold when beaten it will not be glossy and smooth.) Makes about 8 cups.