This dark and delicious chocolate cake is a really luxurious way to round off Lent.
Our chocolate orange liqueur cake is seriously decadent. With melted chocolate folded in, ground almonds and a heady hit of Cointreau, it's one of our most deluxe cakes. Entirely wrapped in a chocolate cream ganache, it looks like a sachertorte, the kind you'd find in the fanciest Austrian patisseries. If you're not keen on the orange flavour, you can play around with it. Swap to a coffee liqueur, or an almond flavour one such as Disaronno. Although this cake is a brilliantly chocolatey end to Lent, especially if you've been abstaining, it works well at other celebrations too. Trying swapping the Easter eggs on top for some luxury Belgian chocolates. The result is a dream birthday cake for a chocoholic.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4. Grease and line the base of a 20cm round, deep cake tin.
Break up 175g of the plain chocolate and place in a bowl over gently simmering water until melted (or microwave for 1-2 mins until melted). Allow to cool for 5 mins.
Place the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat with a wooden spoon or electric whisk until light and creamy in texture. Separate the eggs and beat the yolks into the butter mixture. Beat in the melted, cooled chocolate. Fold in the flour, cocoa powder, ground almonds, orange zest and liqueur.
In a clean grease-free bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Add a quarter of the egg whites to the chocolate mixture to help loosen it, mix in gently then fold in the remaining egg whites.
Spread the mixture into the cake tin and bake for 50 mins-1 hour until firm to the touch and a skewer comes out cleanly.
Cool in the tin for 5 mins then turn out and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
To make the chocolate ganache; break the chocolate up into pieces and place in a pan with the cream, warm over a very low heat, stirring all the time until melted and smooth then pour into a bowl and chill until thick enough to spread. Whisk lightly until thickened.
To make the chocolate curls, melt the remaining plain chocolate in a bowl over gently simmering water until melted (or microwave for 1-2 mins until melted) then spread thinly on a marble board or the back of a cool metal baking tray. Allow to set without putting the chocolate in the fridge. Scrape a sharp knife at a 45 degree angle over the chocolate to make long curls
Spread the top of the cake with the ganache, then arrange chocolate curls and Easter eggs on top.
Top tip for making chocolate orange liqueur cake
If you prefer, you can top this cake with a simple chocolate butter cream; just beat 50g softened butter with 2 tsp boiling water, 175g icing sugar and 25g cocoa powder until creamy.
Easter nest cake
Orange polenta and olive oil cake
Mars bar Easter nests
Annabel Karmel's trio of vegetables with tomato and basil
Annabel Karmel's cheesy carrot stars
Steak and salsa wraps
Iceland is selling a GIANT Cadbury’s Creme Egg dessert just in time for Easter
How many Easter eggs are sold in the UK every year?
Chocolate fans 'devastated' as Cadbury removes Easter egg favourite from supermarkets
