chocolate orange cake

My hubby's birthday is coming up too (Dec. 6th) and I think I will use the same cake recipe you are, Jewlz!  It looks easy!  I'll just grease a regular baking tin and substitute yogurt for the eggs (that's what I have done in the past) and hope it comes out alright.  It will be my first baking attempt so far in the UK and I've been here over a year now.

The one I did was definitely the easier one, not the one that actually needed oranges!


Vicky

That does look nice.... unfortunately I have already bought all the stuff for the other cake, which calls for marmalade, so I didn't see your post on the Devon marmalade in time.  I got some other kind, but next time I will remember to get some of the stuff with honey in!

That's the only problem with Devon Marmalade - the only place I've seen it is from Devon itself.  The in-laws brought some back from their holiday last year and it was sooo good!  I can't find anything else like it except online (neither have the in-laws).  There're a variety of places that sell it online, but not in stores up here.      Or maybe its just called honey marmalade?  Maybe its just me being strange.   

The one I did was definitely the easier one, not the one that actually needed oranges!


Vicky

Well that's the one I'm definitely going to make!  I just ran it by my hubby and he said it sounded really good (he usually isn't into sweets, so I had to make sure, first).  I'll make it next weekend on his birthday and let you know how it comes out. 

My hubby's birthday is coming up too (Dec. 6th) and I think I will use the same cake recipe you are, Jewlz!  It looks easy!  I'll just grease a regular baking tin and substitute yogurt for the eggs (that's what I have done in the past) and hope it comes out alright.  It will be my first baking attempt so far in the UK and I've been here over a year now.

YEA!!!!  I'm really excited, and DH is looking forward to it, as well.  His bday is on Sunday the 30th, I will let you know how it came out and you do the same!   

Oh, and thanks for teasing me on that Devon marmalade Teletabby.... 
If I ever make it down that way, I will definitely have a look for it! 

YEA!!!!  I'm really excited, and DH is looking forward to it, as well.  His bday is on Sunday the 30th, I will let you know how it came out and you do the same!   

How did it come out Jewlz?

I'm baking mine right now and it smells wonderful!  The batter was so yummy, too, but thicker than I expected.  We won't eat it til Saturday, my hubby's birthday, but I'll let you know the final result.

Cr@p.  It sunk in the middle and was a bit gooey.  I left it in the oven an extra 15 minutes and it seems to have firmed up but is still sunken in the middle and the outside edges are a bit puffier.  I don't know what I did wrong.  I'm still going to use it.  I'll put icing on it and it will taste good, but it's not really a cake anymore.  I did use 2 tablespoonsish of yogurt instead of 2 eggs (but that's what I always have done in the past for all my baking)--maybe that's where the problem lies?

Mine turned out ok, but I followed the whole recipe (well, pretty close, since I don't have any scales in the kitchen and had to get as close as I could with a measuring cup).  I also had to bake it in a brownie pan since I didn't have a cake tin, and maybe its a coincidence, but it came out tasting like chocolate orange brownies, pretty thick.  It was nice when it was warm with just icing sugar and pieces of chocolate orange on top, but once it cooled down, it was a bit hard around the edges and kind of stodgy. 
Oh well, it's the thought that counts, as they say!!! 
I guess DH liked it, but he only had one piece and never ate any of the rest of it, I ate a bit the following day, and ended up throwing the rest away.  And my two-year-old stepson didn't like it at all, which is sad since he loves chocolate. 

Mine turned out ok, but I followed the whole recipe (well, pretty close, since I don't have any scales in the kitchen and had to get as close as I could with a measuring cup).  I also had to bake it in a brownie pan since I didn't have a cake tin, and maybe its a coincidence, but it came out tasting like chocolate orange brownies, pretty thick.  It was nice when it was warm with just icing sugar and pieces of chocolate orange on top, but once it cooled down, it was a bit hard around the edges and kind of stodgy. 
Oh well, it's the thought that counts, as they say!!! 
I guess DH liked it, but he only had one piece and never ate any of the rest of it, I ate a bit the following day, and ended up throwing the rest away.  And my two-year-old stepson didn't like it at all, which is sad since he loves chocolate. 

Mine turned out like yours--hard around the edges and brownie-ish in the middle.  I used a program online to convert the grams to cups, etc and followed it exactly except for the yogurt instead of eggs part.

How strange!


Vicky

How strange!


Vicky

*sigh* I thought maybe you would have told us what we did wrong.  Oh well, I can always try it again another time.  So, was yours more cake-y as opposed to brownie-ish Vicky?

Lovely rich spongey cake, I'm afraid.  Not light, but not brownie like.

I couldn't say whether using yoghurt makes a difference, but from the description, I can only think that it may have bee oven issues.  Temp too high maybe?  I have a fan oven and often find that I need to cook at a wee bit cooler than Nigella says, otherwise things can burn on the edges without cooking properly in the middle.  And gooeyness in the middle will sometimes happen if the oven wasn't hot enough when the mixture went in.

Sorry I can't be more help.

I feel guilty for pointing you both towards that cake now!   




Vicky

Lovely rich spongey cake, I'm afraid.  Not light, but not brownie like.

I couldn't say whether using yoghurt makes a difference, but from the description, I can only think that it may have bee oven issues.  Temp too high maybe?  I have a fan oven and often find that I need to cook at a wee bit cooler than Nigella says, otherwise things can burn on the edges without cooking properly in the middle.  And gooeyness in the middle will sometimes happen if the oven wasn't hot enough when the mixture went in.

Sorry I can't be more help.

I feel guilty for pointing you both towards that cake now!   




Vicky

Don't feel badly!  The batter was totally yummy and I'm still going to use it with lots of chocolate frosting on it and maybe serve it with ice cream to combat the dry outer edges.

So....maybe I didn't pre-heat the oven long enough and maybe next time instead of 180, I'll try baking it at 160...

In the new BBC Good Food Mag there is a recipe for a gorgeous Chocolate Orange Tart.