An orange-scented chocolate and almond cake covered with a lacquer chocolate glaze. It is called L’Orange and I’m totally in love with it.
You’ll see in a second how it looked like right out of the oven. I couldn’t decide for a while whether I should continue with the recipe or cut my losses and start over, but then the kitchen started smelling like an orange grove and I couldn’t resist. So I glazed it with the most delicious and shiniest glaze ever, and now I’m totally in love with it.
Yes, I said it twice, and I’ll say it thrice*: I am in love with this cake.
Here’s the ugly duckling. But wait to see what happens after you pour the lacquer chocolate glaze on top.
To be able to understand why I really called it The Ugly Duckling, I have to take you back. Back to when it really did come out of the oven:
And it is no surprise. This is exactly what the cake should look like – puffed and domed in the center (sinks back after cooling it down) with a slight fracture 1 inch from the rim.
At this point, you really should resist tasting a piece of that fracture (it is really tasty) and place a cardboard on it instead. Just press slightly to even out the surface.
And then it looks like this:
Now, about that lacquer chocolate glaze…
The original recipe calls for a butter chocolate glaze, but I had been looking forward to trying a different chocolate glaze recipe. It is from Rose Levy Beranbaum’s newest book, “Rose’s Heavenly Cakes”, which received “Cookbook of The Year” award and was also the winner in the “Baking: Savory or Sweet” category at this year’s IACP Cookbook Awards. Very well deserved.
You might remember this Passion Fruit, Mango and Chocolate Cake from the New Year’s Eve Dinner Party. I’ve made the passion fruit curd from that book and it was sensational.
An instant-read thermometer will be very helpful with the lacquer glaze as you have to cool it down to a certain temperature for the correct consistency to glaze the cake perfectly. Don’t worry if you don’t have one; I also mentioned how long you should wait to achieve the desired temperature in the recipe section.
Also, have ready a small spatula to help coat the sides. Shall we start?
We start from the sides…
And slowly move to the center…
And as the glaze starts going down the sides, pour the glaze about an inch from the edge to help cover the sides evenly.
Hope you give it a try. I know you’ll like it very very much.
* You already know my obsession with “The Golden Girls”… The word “thrice” is from one of my favorite episodes, called “Big Daddy’s Little Lady”. Dorothy and Rose (by the way, Betty White totally rocked SNL last week) enters a songwriting contest and this is what happens:
Dorothy: [singing] Miami is nice, so I’ll say it twice. Miami is nice! Miami is nice! Miami is nice! Wait a minute, you put in an extra “Miami is nice”. The lyrics don’t make any sense. It goes “Miami is nice, so I’ll say it *twice*.”
Rose: Well what about this: “Miami is nice, so I’ll say it thrice!”
Dorothy: Who the hell says “thrice“?
Rose: It’s a word!
Dorothy: So is intrauterine, it doesn’t belong in a song!
Rose: [singing] Miami, you’re cuter than an intrauterine!
Dorothy: [storms off]
L’ORANGE – Orange, Chocolate and Almond Cake Recipe
Recipe for L’Orange adapted from Fran Bigelow’s “Pure Chocolate”.
Ingredients
- 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate (I used Valrhona Guanaja)
- 2 oranges, preferably organic
- 1+1/2 sticks (12 tbsp) butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1+2/3 cups (6+2/3 ounces) almond flour
- 2 tbsp cocoa, sifted
- 1+1/3 cups lacquer chocolate glaze (recipe below)
Method
- Prepare the lacquer chocolate glaze (recipe below) and set aside (it takes an hour to cool down) while you prepare the cake.
- Preheat your oven to 300F.
- Butter a 9-inch round cake pan, line bottom with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a double boiler melt chocolate over low heat, remove from heat and stir with a spatula until smooth.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat sugar and butter on high speed for a minute.
- Finely grate the zest of two oranges directly into the bowl (so that all the fragrant oils are captured) and beat on high speed until light in color, for 5 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Add the eggs, one by one, beating until well mixed after each addition.
- Add the melted chocolate and beat on medium speed for a minute until you have a smooth batter.
- Remove bowl from mixer and fold in the almond flour and cocoa with a spatula.
- Evenly spread the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes, until puffed and domed in the center with a slight fracture 1 inch from the rim. A toothpick inserted in the center will come out with few moist crumbs. Allow to cool to room temperature for 20 minutes.
- Place a cardboard circle or tart bottom on top of the cake and lightly press to even out the surface. Invert the cake and place on a cooling rack set over a large, rimmed baking sheet (you can also use a long double layer of wide heavy-duty aluminum foil) to catch the glaze.
- Remove parchment paper and have ready the lacquer chocolate glaze.
- Pour the glaze in an even circular motion on top, starting with the sides, allowing it to cascade over and coat them completely. Start pouring in the middle and as the glaze starts going down the sides, pour the glaze about an inch from the edge to help cover the sides evenly. Reapply glaze as needed. 1+1/3 cups of glaze is enough to cover the cake in a single shot, but you can use the glaze accumulated in the baking sheet if needed.
- Allow the cake to sit for about half an hour until the glaze stops dripping, then move the cake to a serving plate.
- Allow the glaze to set for 4 hours. It can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature and will keep fresh for two days. If you plan on refrigerating the cake, it will keep fresh for 5 days in an airtight container, but make sure to bring it to room temperature before serving for fullest flavor by taking it out of the refrigerator 2 hours beforehand (and a brief wave of a hair dryer set on low heat will bring the shine back).
LACQUER GLAZE RECIPE
Recipe from Rose Levy Beranbaum’s “Rose’s Heavenly Cakes”.
Ingredients
Makes 1+1/3 cups
- 1/4 cup cold water
- 2 tsp powdered gelatin
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 tbsp + 1 tsp corn syrup
- 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp cocoa powder (I used Valrhona)
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
Method
- Pour 1/4 cup cold water in a small mixing bowl, sprinkle gelatin over the top, give it a stir, cover with plastic and set aside.
- In a small saucepan, whisk together sugar and 1/3 cup water over medium heat. When the sugar completely melts, take off heat and with the help of a wire whisk, stir in corn syrup, followed by the cocoa. You’ll have a smooth and glossy mixture.
- Stir in heavy cream with a spatula and return pan to medium heat. Bring the mixture to the boiling point, remove from heat and strain into a metal bowl. Cool until an instant-read thermometer reads 122 – 140 F, for about 15 minutes.
- Stir in softened gelatin until completely dissolved.
- Strain the glaze into a bowl and let cool until an instant-read thermometer registers 80F (best temperature to glaze the cake; if you’re making this ahead, make sure to reheat to 85 F as it will be thicker). The recipe says this will happen in a few minutes, but it took an hour for the glaze to cool down to 80F (and I’ve made it twice so far).
Bonjour,
De Magnifiques Photos comme toujours !!! 🙂
Looks so posh!
Had a favorite candy….orange gelatine sticks covered with dark chocolate…yummy!
This lookse like my orange sticks in large luscious form!
Bravo!
Absolutely superb Cenk!
As a chocoholic I’m delighted 🙂
Have a great week!
Gera
I love it, every thing that you cook is so nice, but this is amazing!!!
The photos of the lacquering (is that a word?) of the cake look so dramatic I was almost holding my breath. Dramatic and beautiful. As always.
Great demo, Cenk 🙂 The mirroir glaze recipe I use is similar, but doesn’t have corn syrup. I wonder if it’d be better with it. Certainly looks amazing!
look’s delicious, not sure i could make one this nice!
gorgeous cake and I LOVE the orange dish. amazing picture.
So beautiful!
simply elegant.. 🙂
I don’t want to imagine how it tastes lest i start salivating right now. for now I will just feast on your pictures and the so awesome shiny glaze and breathe in the orange. I am in love again with this cake this time.
This is a perfect example of the beauty of simplicity. Simple. Perfect.
You know how I feel about orange, right? All the more so with orange and chocolate together. But this looks so stunning. I especially love it on that bright orange plate. Gorgie!
such a tease! i am in chocolate heave! chocolate and orange are a classic combination and this is truly making me drool!
Truly beautiful. But I can’t help thinking about all that wasted chocolate that’s run onto the surface below.
Fabulous photos too, not sure I could make something look so beautiful, but I’d like to think so. Thanks for sharing.
Woooow Cenk! You’re such an artist! you make boiling water inspiring hahah not to mention L’Orange!
I’ve been very anxious waiting for a opportunity to try Rose’s chocolate “lacquer” glaze for some time now! Sooooo glad you posted this! It looks very beautiful, to say the very least! And the combination flavors of orange and choclate is really really nice too!
Lovely pictures! Thanks for posting!
wow. that’s just food porn right there.
pure & simple!
I love the cardboard trick: puffed down and broken cakes are quite a common problem round here. I love the glaze recipe: I am still missing a perfect chocolate glaze recipe in my basics list, I will give this one a try for sure. And I think I could probably fall in love with this cake too 🙂
Wow- the photos are sensational! loved it!
Hey Cenk…
WOW!!! That looks deadly and sinful….. Delish, I’m sure!
Have a great weekend.
Leesa
Congratulations!! Great post
Don’t hate me but I really like the original version as well.It’s, well,…rustic.:)
Not that the cake itself doesn’t look yummy (it does), but that glaze looks incredible! I love anything that hides imperfections, and it looks wonderfully tasty too. I bet the glaze would work well with so many confections… I’m actually thinking just simple pound cake even. Yum!
I love your website! Keep up the great work!
I am going to make this cake this weekend. As I had a hard time locating Valrhona Guanaja, a 70% cooking chocolate, I was looking for a substitute and found a Whole Foods store with Valrhona Noir Orange cooking chocolate, which has a 56% cocoa products component. The orange part certainly would up the citrus flavor, but how would the 14% difference in cocoa affect the recipe? Any thoughts?
George – It will be sweeter (less cocoa means more sugar). Why don’t you add a bit more chocolate and cut back on the sugar at the same time? Hope it turns out OK.
freakin’ amazing.
Cenk: I used Scharffen Berger 70% chocolate in the six-ounce bag of cooking pieses instead of the venerable and storied Valrhona Guanaja (do all of the complex flavor notes remain when it is mixed into a batter and baked?). Since the almond meal I can get here is not particularly full of almond flavor, I added a teaspoon of almond extract to the batter. Instead of the complicated glaze recipe you suggest, I decided to use up my supply of Valrhona Noir Orange 56% chocolate by making a traditional ganache (one cup scalded whipping cream, 10 ounces of chopped chocolate bits stirred in until smooth, then cooled for a few minutes and poured over the cake). The result? I don’t know how it stacks up to your cake as I haven’t made one yet, but my version was so delicious that, as they say over in Louisiana, “You put a plate of it on top of your head and your tongue gonna slap your brains out tryin’ to get at it!” Thanks, Cenk effendi!
George – Loved that saying! Thanks for all the details. I’m sure it is fantastic with a traditional glaze, but the one I tried was the most successful glaze ever to hide imperfections (plus it was very tasty). Just something to keep in mind.
haaaa!! absolutely LOVED the photos showing that heavenly chocolate glaze dripping over the cake like a luscious liquid edible silk!!! each photo just made the smile on my face bigger 🙂 love love love it, cenk you are amazing and your blog & quality of work just keeps getting better and better 🙂
I certainly shall keep it in mind. My ganache ended up being between one quarter and one half inch on top of the cake. With the additional orange flavor, it was citrus-tastic! (O.K., I’m getting a little silly here)
So, if you were in the kitchens at Topkapi as the acting aşçı başı and Sultan ابراهيم اول wanted a new form of manty to delight his food-loving Armenian girl, Sheker Pare, what would you do? (getting even sillier). I do love the manty and want to have a great recipe for my home use…
George – Mantı is very tough! I don’t have a special recipe yet, but if I do have one in the future, I’ll definitely share. On the other hand, sekerpare is doable. Allow me a few weeks and I’ll get back to you on that.
It looks beautiful! Cake is my love. I love to eat all kinds of cakes. But your cake is so beautiful.
That cake is gorgeous! I can imagine the scent…mmm! One of my favorite cakes is also one of those “ugly ducklings”, rising in the oven then settling down to a sunken cracked middle, but oh so good 🙂
Cenk, please post something 🙂 You have some eager readers waiting 😀
L’Orange looks fabulous. I love your blog. By the way, I know you’re a huge Golden Girls fan – Rue McClanahan passed away today. Now Betty White is the only GG left. Great show, wonderful actresses. Rue will be missed.
Lilly – Stay tuned. Hope to post a new recipe today.
Melanie – She will be greatly missed. RIP Blanche.
Joey – Thank you. Glad you liked it.
Due to heavy workload i barely get time to fix myself breakfast despite my love for cooking. So I only wish your delish objets d’art were available in the market! If you ever consider quitting your job and running your own patisserie, i’ll be a devout customer (along with those other zillion followers of yours).
This looks out of this world!
OMG that looks sooooo good! my mouth is watering just looking at that. Yum Yum!
This is stunning!
Debs- Rose’s recipe calls to pour the glaze over a layer of foil (with the edges turned up) to catch the glaze. Any extra glaze can be chilled or frozen and then re-used when heated to temperature.
I am sure Cenk chose to do this without the foil so he could get these STUNNING photos. Cenk- did you have help or were you shooting with one hand and pouring with the other?
Either way, your step-by-step photos are as incredible as the glaze.
Rachelino – Thank you. I put a large piece of parchment paper instead of the foil, so the background was still white and I got to re-use that extra glaze (though it is not as practical as using a foil, so not recommended unless you’re taking photos). I was shooting+holding a reflector with one hand and pouring with the other 🙂
Beautifully done, Cenk! I really “need” a DSLR and better camera setup now. You’re inspiring me…
rachel forwarded this posting to me and i’m so grateful she did. you’ve done an absolutely stunning job and now i MUST link to your site from MY blog!
Dearest Rose Beranbaum – I am honored to hear such nice words from you. I hope I’ve done justice to your recipe. Your books have been sources of constant inspiration for me. I appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment. Many thanks!
cenk, i am honored you did such a wonderful representation. are you really in turkey–one of the best food places in the world?!
just one thing i must add: the publisher does not like to have too many of my recipes out on the internet as they fear people will be less inclined to buy the book. so in future, if you write about my recipes it would be best to refer them to the book. i do have some recipes on my blog and amazon has three. in my opinion it isn’t a problem as the new book is so very beautiful i can’t imagine people not wanting to own it even if they buy the $9.99 full download with video for iphone or ipad! but i have to obey the publisher’s request.
thanks again (and again)
Dear Rose – Yes, I live in Istanbul, Turkey. So glad to hear you’re a fan of Turkish cooking. I hope you visit Istanbul one day. Regarding your recipes: It is my understanding that only the techniques and directions in a recipe are copyrightable and I try to do my best to rewrite the recipe in my own words and always credit the source of the recipe. On the other hand, wishes of the writer and publisher come before everything else for me, so I’ll make sure to refer to the book from now on, even if it is an adaptation. Also, if you think it’s best, I can remove the lacquer glaze recipe and provide a link to the book on Amazon instead. Please do let me know. Many thanks again for your compliments. Coming from you, they really do mean the world to me.
thank you so much cenk. you are right about the copyrite issue. the whole thing is a publisher’s nightmare. it’s probably impossible to control. it’s really a delicate issue. true one can change the way it’s written but if it’s a unique technique and only a very minor adaptation, then it becomes questionable. i always ask the author first just to be sure because sometimes the recipe in question is one of the ones already offered to publications for publicity or amazon!
i would say to leave it as is on your blog but in future, at least for my recipes, just point to where they are in the book.
best,
rose
p.s. coincidentally today is our 34th wedding anniversary and we went to a turkish restaurant in ny called sahara. it was so disappointing. if you happen to know of a good one i manhattan or even in bklyn or queens would sure be grateful.
Rose – Here are three restaurants highly recommended by friends: Pera, Peri Ela and Turkish Kitchen.
Rose: I’ve always been well-pleased by the food at Turkish Kitchen on Second Avenue (I believe between E. 26th and 27th) in Manhattan. Better than most places in Istanbul, even!
Dear Rose – Happy anniversary! I’ve been to New York only once and didn’t have a chance to check out the Turkish food scene there, but I’ll ask some friends who live there and will let you know as soon as I hear from them.
george and cenk–thank you so much for these recommendations. isn’t the internet a wonderous thing!
cenk, this blog is now listed on my blog under favorites.
Rose – You’re welcome. And many thanks for the link – it is an honor!
My favorite part of this was not the delicious looking cake. No, it was “Miami, you’re cuter than an intrauterine”. Seriously, my favorite Golden Girls episode OF ALL TIME. (Though, honestly that changes depending on what episode we are talking about) 🙂
Allyson – It is one of my favorite episodes of all time, too! Thanks for stopping by.
Haha, as soon as I read “thrice” at the top I thought of that episode. I always do when I hear that word. Then I think of interuteran.
This is my first visit to your site, and now I am a fan! I love the step by steps photos, and excellent description. This cake looks so impressive, but I am no longer intimidated!
I am in AWE- it looks stunning and I am definitely going to try making it- the tutorial is fantastic!!!!
I bow to a master!!
Would you have the time to try the scones- recipe on my blog on http://moderncountrylady.blogspot.com/2010/10/time-for-tea-and-scones.html and see if you can come up with something equally mind-blowing as well- that would be so totally cool!!!
Cenk,
After a long time looking at the recipe, my collegue and I baked it last week. The outcome was just great! The cake looked perfect and it was just delicious.
We could not manage to make the glaze as liquid as yours, but we were still able to pour it over the cake.
Thank you as always.
Elif
Dear Cenk,
I’m so utterly inlove with your blog!!! Such awesomeness you make!
Quick question over the recipe> could i slice the cake in half and put in some orange peel jam? or maybe spread it over the top, under the laquer glaze? [love you, Rose!]
Or would it be too much?
Many, many thanks,
Eliza in Romania
Eliza – Thank you! The cake has a great orange flavor. I think another layer of jam would be too much.
Thank you for your reply! I made the cake tonight and it is AMAZING!! i hope everyone gives it a try. that taste combination is delicious. honestly speaking, i managed to screw up the dreamy glaze 🙁 but now that that’s out of my system, i look forward to giving it another go, possibly with more success and a thermometer. hid my aesthetic blunder under some candied orange peels. am still proud of it!
thanks again for your beautiful blog, recipes, discourse, everything.
Eliza
ps here’s a picture of my cake
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=107829875956003&set=a.102257609846563.3705.100001869723713&pid=67181&id=100001869723713
Eliza – Looks great. Very glad to hear you liked the cake 🙂
Hi there…. I am loving your blog and your delightful recipes!
Your stunning photography inspired me to make this cake this afternoon. A great success – according to my darling husband, who is slightly bias 🙂
My only small tip to others, who might attempt to create such delectable decadence… trim up any scraggly edges or sides of your cake before glazing. Then the glaze will finish off much smoother over the cake (like the gorgeous pics above!)
Thank you so much for the recipe… I’m going to cook it again for my family on Christmas Day!
Adora – Glad to hear you liked it!
looks delicious.
l’orange is nice so I’ll say it thrice:p
d-who the hells says thrice
rose-it’s a word
d-so is intrauterine, it doesn’t belong in a song
lol
Hello Cenk,
How does this cake keep? I’m thinking of making it a couple of days ahead of time, but I won’t if it gets soggy/collapses.
Any feedback is appreciated,
Rachel
Rachel – (From the recipe) It can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature and will keep fresh for two days. If you plan on refrigerating the cake, it will keep fresh for 5 days in an airtight container, but make sure to bring it to room temperature before serving for fullest flavor by taking it out of the refrigerator 2 hours beforehand (and a brief wave of a hair dryer set on low heat will bring the shine back). If I were you, I’d bake the cake a couple days ahead of time, but prepare (and apply) the glaze 4 hours prior to serving.
D’oh! I read as far as the end of the glaze application, then went back to admire the pictures. Thanks for bringing this to my attention (again).
Rachel
Yaptim ve yiyorum suan 🙂 Muhtesem.. Tskkurler
I made this for Christmas dinner and it was amazing. It looked gorgeous too. Thanks!
Ok, I am obsessed with this cake, so I will try to do it more than twice… and i am obsessed with the Golden Girls too. So… I think I will try to do it at least THRICE. 🙂
Gianluca
Gianluca – Haha! Hope you like it.
Cake looks stunning…..Can i ask you whether i can prepare the glaze ahead and store it..if so, how long can i store it..
Rama – You can store it for a few days, but would have to reheat as it will firm up in the refrigerator.
I just tried this recipe out! The photos and your words pulled me in and I had to make it.
So, the cake is cooling now, but I must confess that I’m worried…after baking in the oven for 45 minutes and achieving the crack that you described, and the dome (but not a great dome) when I stuck the toothpick in the center, it came out quite moist. Did I do something wrong? I left the cake in a bit longer, maybe 10 minutes, and then checked again, still moist. So I decided to take the cake out of the oven and let it cool. Anxiously awaiting what happens. If you wouldn’t mind writing me with advice I’d love to to troubleshoot with you. I have a few questions about the lacquer as well, mine seems grainy and I’m wondering if I didn’t fully allow the gelatin to dissolve when I added it to the chocolate? Although it looked like it was alright at the time, when they combined they became grainy. Oh my, I’ve gone on! Please respond with help! THANK YOU!
Paola – The toothpick should come out with a few moist crumbs, but it shouldn’t resemble wet batter. As far as the grainy texture of the lacquer glaze, you might be right. That’s the only thing I can think of. The chocolate mixture should be just hot enough to dissolve the gelatin.
Thank you for sharing! Such gorgeous pictures and instructions. This cake is AMAZING! Such gorgeous levels of flavours! I have two questions, how do you manage to get your cake so leveled? I pressed down on the cake with a cardboard, but it still had a slight depression in the center when turned over. Also my sides were kind of rough, not smooth like yours. So the glaze kind of looked gunky running down the sides. Looked gorgeous on top though.It tastes awesome! But does not look like your masterpiece.
🙂
mandakini – I never had a problem with this cake, but if you are, try using cake strips which help correct uneven baking by applying an insulating layer around the outside of a cake. If you can’t find them, you can also make your own by cutting strips of a towel. Fold it a few times for thickness, get it wet and wrap it around the cake pan and fasten with a pin (before it goes into the oven). For rough sides, try applying a thin coat of glaze with a spatula before pouring the whole thing on top.
Thank you very much! I absolutely love you blog, the style of writing and of course the pictures. I really hope they publish your book in english! You Chocolate and Vietnamese Coffee Tart looks absolutely divine and I love vietnamese coffee Oh also made the l’orange again before I got your reply, they turned out much better! 🙂
I’m planning to make this cake tomorrow. I have a question. A dumb question actually – 6 oz chocolate. is this the volume or weight?
Joyce – It is the weight. Hope you like it.
Hi Cenk, I can’t find powdered gelatin here in Angola (West Africa). I do occasionally found gelatin sheets and if i don’t open my eyes BIG BIG, they are often past expiration date.
Anyway, I wonder what’s the conversion rate to gelatin sheets, if I can even substitute the powdered gelatin to gelatin sheets? Thanks in advance.
S – Take a look at David’s post on how to use gelatin. You’ll find information on how to substitute powdered for sheet gelatin in there. He suggests: “2+1/4 to 2+1/2 teaspoons (1/4 ounce) powdered gelatin = 3,5 (3-by-5 inch) gelatin sheets”.
Hey,
I completely love your blog and all the amazing delights on it! Just wondering about the lacquer glaze – it is possible to substitute a vegetarian alternative (like vegegel) in place of the gelatine?
Also once the lacquer is set will it become ‘unset’ (like how untempered chocolate does) once out of the fridge?
All help is appreciated immensely!
Thanks 🙂
mariam – It gives the sauce some body; you certainly don’t have to use it. Agar agar might work.
Hello Cenk,
First of all. I’m a huge fan of your blog for years and just lovin’t 😉 and would like to congrats for your first book (which published from also my favorite publisher OkuynUs), wish i could have one copy in South Africa :))
Anyway, my question”s, can i use something else instead of corn syrup for glaze? I know sound’s strange but i”m kind of trying to make it healthier :))
Thanks,
Berna
Berna – Thank you. Just skip the syrup and increase the amount of sugar by two tablespoons. It will not be as shiny, but you certainly don’t have to use it.
Thanks for this magnificent recipe! I made the cake this morning to serve as desert tonight. Had quite a job converting the imperial measures to metric but basically we’re talking about a moist classic quatre quart (only with almond flour instead of pastry flour). Did you use dutched cocoa (such as generally used in the States) or plain? I use plain and added half a teaspoon of baking powder, worked out beautifully after baking it at 160 centigrade for 55 minutes. Also added 1 tablespoon of Grand Marnier to accentuate the orange flavour/smell (couldn’t find really fragrant oranges in Delhi where I’m living). The glaze is absolutely stunning! Curious to hear what my guests will say. Only going to have a tiny slice though because I know what went in and what’s good for the soul will be detrimental to the waistline. Going to get your book, once again congrats, also with the pictures! To the poster who doesn’t want to use corn syrup: add a couple of drops of lemon juice to the sugar and increase with 20 grams (the acid will help convert part of the sugar to glucose and fructose as it heats, giving the same effect).
Werner – I always use Dutched cocoa. Hope your guests like it.
So I made this cake for my husband’s birthday, because he loves orange more than life itself. It turned out MARVELOUSLY. The texture was phenomenal, and the flavors outstanding. I did not to the lacquer glaze (because gelatin and I have a hate-hate relationship), so instead I made a ganache with fresh orange juice. I also added a little bit of high quality vanilla extract and almond extract to the batter.
Thank you SO MUCH for this recipe. This is the kind of cake you want everyone you know to try so they can understand how delicious it is.
I have a question.Can I substitute the corn syrup with maple syrup??
Stanislava Delcheva – You don’t have to use the corn syrup; it’s there to add shine. I wouldn’t use maple syrup.