Chocolate Orange Layer Cake

A really rich and decadent cake with a chocolate fudge icing. It’s makes the perfect centre piece for any celebration.

The Cake

• 150g Marriage’s Organic Self Raising Flour
• 200g (plus more for the tins) unsalted butter (soft and cubed)
• 100g soft light brown sugar
• 100g golden caster sugar
• 4 medium eggs
• 1 zest, 1/2 juice orange
• 50g cocoa powder (sieved)
• A pinch fine sea salt

The Chocolate Icing

• 200g unsalted butter (soft)
• 200g icing sugar
• 200g dark chocolate (melted and cooled)
• 1(plus more to serve) zest of orange

YOU’LL ALSO NEED

• Electric whisk
• Mixing bowls
• 2 x 20cm sandwich cake tins
• Baking parchment
• Cooling rack

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180C, 160C fan/gas 4. Grease and line the base and sides of 2 x 20cm loose-bottomed sandwich tins with parchment.
2. For the cake, put the butter and sugars in a bowl, and whisk with an electric whisk until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one a time, beating well in between each addition.
3. Add the orange zest and juice, flour and cocoa with a pinch of salt. Beat again briefly to make a smooth batter.
4. Scrape into the two tins and smooth over the top with the back of a spoon or spatula. Transfer to the oven (side by side if you can) and bake for 20-25 minutes until risen and springs back when pressed lightly. A skewer inserted into the middle of the cakes should come back clean.
5. Leave to cool in the tins for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.
6. To make the icing, beat the icing sugar and butter together in a bowl, slowly at first to prevent covering your kitchen in a cloud of icing sugar, and once combined, turn up the speed and beat until light and fluffy.
7. Add the melted and cooled chocolate, and the orange zest, and whisk again until well combined. Chill your icing, if you need to firm it up slightly, before icing your cakes.
8. To serve, put one of the sponges upside-down on a serving plate or stand and spoon over half of the frosting. Smooth evenly with a knife. Add the other cake (upside down again so they look neater), and add the remaining icing, Smoothing over making a few peaks here and there. Scatter with more orange zest to serve.