Cooking the Books: Chocolate Orange Marble Cake

I thought what I might do every now and then, is actually follow a recipe from start to finish... all the right ingredients, setting the oven to the right temperature (not just "HOT") and paying attention to all the instructions (and not just the ones I like the sound of...)

I've started with a recipe from The Best-Ever Book of Cakes by Ann Nicol.

Chocolate Orange Marble Cake:

Ingredients -

For the cake-

• 8oz softened butter
• 8oz caster sugar
• 4 eggs (beaten)
• 8oz self raising flour
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp milk
• grated rind from one large orange
• 1 tbsp orange juice

For the icing-

• 4oz plain chocolate (melted and slightly cooled)
• 4oz softened butter
• 8oz icing sugar

Pre-heat the oven to 180oC/350oF/gas mark 4
Grease and line a 20cm/8inch round deep tin with baking parchment

I don't think I've ever lined a tin so beautifully before. Actually, I don't think I've ever lined a tin before...

In a large bowl, beat the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy.

Beat in the eggs, a small amount at a time.
Fold the flour into the mixture.

Put half the mixture into another bowl.

Look at that! I weighed it out, and everything!

Sift the cocoa powder into one of the bowls with the mixture, and mix well with the milk.

Put the rind and orange juice into the other bowl of batter and mix.

See how well I followed those instructions? I grated and juiced the orange! I didn't cheat...

Spoon alternate tablespoons of each mixture into the cake tin.

Swirl a knife through the mixture once (Oh... I swirled a couple of times. And I added the mix in two layers for more marbling. Fiddle sticks!)

Smooth the top level.

Bake for 45 minutes, or until the centre springs back when pressed (55 minutes for me). Leave to cool. Remove the papers.

For the icing whisk the butter and beat in the icing sugar (carefully... it goes everywhere).  Stir in the melted chocolate.

Spread over the cake:

I've added some little jelly slices just to make it look pretty. (They might not have worked with the chocolate, but since I pick them off first that hardly matters!)

Apparently this will serve 10, and keep for up to five days in a sealed container. Yeah.... Not in my house.