Summer is for light and fresh flavours, and this cake is an embodiment of exactly that! Although chocolate and orange are generally associated with colder weather, this tea-time delight combines the best of both ingredients to form a zesty, fine-crumbed delicacy.
The natural sweetness in orange complements the bitterness of the chocolate, and the zest cuts through the buttery heaviness of the pound cake, making it a lot easier for you to sneak in that second slice.
Ingredients
320g all purpose flour
180g castor sugar
150g unsalted butter softened
120 ml orange juice
60 ml whole milk
4 eggs separated
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp salt
zest of 2 oranges
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Grease and dust a large bundt pan and set it aside.
Separate your egg whites from the yolks and set aside the yolks.
Zest 2 oranges using a microplane zester or grater, ensuring that you do not remove the pith (the rubbery white membrane) of the orange (as that will make your cake bitter). Set this aside.
Halve your oranges and squeeze out the juice until you have collected 120ml of orange juice. Set this aside as well.
In a medium sized bowl, add your egg whites and salt and whip them until stiff peaks have formed. When you whip the egg whites, make sure the whisk touches the bottom of the bowl, or else the foam will collect on top and you will be left with half your white as an unwhipped liquid at the bottom of the bowl.
In a separate large bowl, add in the castor sugar and orange zest. Rub the zest with the sugar until it is evenly distributed. This helps extract the natural oils from the skin of the orange and makes your cake more flavourful.
Add the softened butter into the sugar mixture and beat it until it is pale and fluffy. Remember to stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl as you mix.
Add the egg yolks, one at a time, waiting until each is blended in before adding the next.
In a measuring jug, combine the orange juice, milk, vanilla extract, baking soda and baking powder. The reaction of the soda and baking powder with the acidic orange juice will cause the mixture to froth. This will help aerate the cake batter and make it soft.
Add the flour and orange mixture alternately to the sugar mixture using a spatula, beginning and ending with the flour.
Gently fold in the whisked egg whites, in stages, with the spatula until the batter is smooth.
Transfer 3/4 of the batter into the prepared tin.
Mix the rest of the batter with the cocoa powder until a homogenous mixture is formed.
Scoop dollops of the cocoa batter mixture into different points of the batter in the tin using a spoon. Next, use a knife or thick skewer to swirl the two batters and create a marbled effect.
Bake for 45 minutes – 1 hour until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
This cake remains fresh for 4 days when stored in an airtight container.