Chocolate Orange Marble Cake

It was my birthday last week and because of this, I decided to spend the day relaxing and baking (because if you can't do what you want on your birthday when can you?!) and this is what arose! Originally, I wanted to use orange Matchmakers for the edge instead of the chocolate orange segments, but I'm glad I did use the segments actually; they were the perfect size for the height of the cake!

I always find chocolate cakes a bit too sickly for my liking so instead of a typical chocolate sponge, I used a marble cake recipe. This just gives the cake a bit of a lighter feel and adds to the chocolate orange flavour! I decided to make the vanilla cake mixture into an orange flavour instead and they complement each other quite well!

Ingredients

Cake:-

225g butter

225g caster sugar

225g self-raising flour

4 eggs

3 tbsp milk

1 tbsp orange juice

Zest of one orange

2 tbsp cocoa powder

Decorations:-

Chocolate frosting

Aero Orange chocolate bar

Terry's chocolate orange segments

Recipe

1) Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas mark 4 and grease a 20cm cake tin.

2) Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl until soft and fluffy.

3) Gradually add the eggs and milk with a tablespoon of flour each time.

4) Divide the mixture between 2 bowls and add the cocoa powder to one of the bowls, and the orange juice and zest to the other bowl.

5) Spoon two or three tablespoons of each mixture into the cake tin, making sure to create some layers.

6) Place a knife in the mixture and swirl around a few times to create a marbled effect.

7) Tap the tin against the worktop to remove any air bubbles then place in the oven for 1 hour. (It said on the recipe 45-55 minutes but I always find checking on the cake by sticking a knife into it the best option! If it comes out clean then it’s done)

8) Take from the oven and leave to cool on a cooling rack.

9) Smooth the chocolate frosting over the cake.

10) Place the chocolate orange segments along the outside of the cake.

11) Crush the orange aero chocolate and sprinkle over the top.

12) Enjoy!

Cake Pops

I've never made cake pops before so this was a bit of an experiment. I have a silicone cake pop mould which has never been used until now (and I've had it around a year or so) so I figured I would finally use it! I couldn't manage to find any specific recipes to make cake pops with a mould as most of them involve baking a cake then mixing it up with frosting, but I find these kinds of cake pops a bit too heavy for my tastes so using the mould definitely works better for me.

I decided to use a Madeira cake recipe for the pops, as I figured the denseness of this cake would mean they could withstand being put on a stick and dipped in chocolate. I also had a lot of fun decorating these, due to my endless supply of sprinkles!

This recipe would make around 40 cake pops, which is quite a lot so you can reduce it to make as many as you wish. I made the full mix then made 9 cupcakes on the side as well.

These would make a really cute present for someone's birthday, and if you're feeling adventurous then you can ice "Happy Birthday" into individual cake pops. 

Ingredients

175g butter

175g caster sugar

3 large eggs

Few drops of vanilla extract

200g self-raising flour

50g ground almonds

Recipe

For the cake pops:-

1) Heat oven to 170C/Gas mark 3 and butter the cake pop mould thoroughly.

2) Beat the butter and sugar together until light and creamy then beat in the eggs one at a time.

3) Add the vanilla extract and almonds and beat until you get a thick batter. If it seems a bit dry then add a splash of milk.

4) Fill half of the cake pop mould to the top. Don't worry about overfilling it as you want it to rise fully to the top half and you can always cut around the balls if there's excess mix.

5) Place the top half on and bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes.

6) Allow to cool fully before removing the cake pops from the mould.

To decorate:-
150g milk chocolate
150g white chocolate
Sprinkles of your choice

I used chocolate to cover my cake pops, but you can use candy melts if you prefer. The method for decorating is the same whichever you use.

1) Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water.

2) Dip one of the cake pop sticks into the chocolate then into the cake pop. I thought I'd show a picture of what they're meant to look like here in case it's a bit confusing. Dipping the stick into chocolate first means that they stick to the stick a lot more.

3) Place the pops immediately in the fridge to allow the stick to fully set in the cake.

4) Carefully cover the cake pops with the melted chocolate then add sprinkles if required.
5) Allow to dry then store in the fridge to give them an extra crunch when you bite in.

Caterpillar Cake

Yes, I have made a caterpillar cake. It's a bit more of an adult themed one though because it's really rich with the ganache in the middle instead of just cream. I'm happy with the way the roll worked though; it was my first attempt at a Swiss roll and I thank Mary Berry for her recipe and helpful tips for it being successful!

If I make another one, I'll definitely make the face different and do the same thing as supermarkets do by making a flat chocolate face then attaching to the cake. As you can see, my method didn't look too great!

I really enjoyed making this cake. I officially finish all of my university work in two weeks and so this is a symbol of my denial at having to grow up and enter the big wide world! It's also really fun to make just to work out what to use to make it look like a caterpillar. Obviously I used strawberry pencils for the legs and antennae because I figured they were the closest I could get to caterpillar legs!

I had a lot of white chocolate buttons left after I did the eyes as well so I thought I'd give it some unique spots along it's back; I personally think it gives it a bit more of a caterpillar feel! 

The presentation obviously leaves a lot to be desired but for my first attempt I'm pretty pleased with it!

Ingredients

Sponge:-

4 large eggs

100g caster sugar

65g self-raising flour

40g cocoa powder

Ganache:-

150ml double cream

150g dark chocolate

To decorate:-

Milk chocolate

Buttons

Strawberry pencils

Recipe

1) Preheat the oven to 200C/Gas mark 6 and lightly grease and line a 33cmx23cm Swiss roll tin.

2) Whisk the eggs and sugar in a bowl until the mixture is pale, light and frothy.

3) Sift the flour and cocoa powder into the bowl and carefully fold into the mixture, being careful not to beat any of the air out of the mixture.

4) Pour the mixture into the lined tin and spread evenly into the corners.

5) Bake in the middle of the oven for 8-10 minutes or until well risen and firm to the touch.

6) Place a piece of baking parchment bigger than the tin on a work surface and carefully invert the cake onto the paper and remove the lining piece of paper.

7) Score a mark 2.5cm in along one of the longer edges.

8) Starting with this edge, begin to tightly roll up the sponge, making sure the paper underneath is inside the roll then allow to cool.

9) To make the ganache, heat the cream in a pan until warm but not boiling.

10) Remove from the heat and add the chocolate, then stir until the chocolate is completely melted.

11) Uncurl the Swiss roll and remove the paper, then spread the ganache on top and reroll tightly.

12) Melt the milk chocolate and smother the roll in chocolate then decorate with caterpillar themed toppings!