April and May are the "Birthday Months", aren't they? For me the first one is Carla's, one of my closest friends. She deserved her favorite cake (among the ones I usually bake)… Last year I promised her I would make it and finally I couldn't! So here we go: "The Super Double Layer Chocolate-orange-cinnamon Cake" as I call this sweet bomb. I have to say that I'm kind of proud of it (if you can be proud of a cake haha) because I invented it! I mean, of course it's not the first chocolate-orange-cinnamon cake but I didn't followed a given recipe, one day I just made it.
We need:
-4 oranges
-sugar
-cinnamon
-dark chocolate
-2 chocolate dough
A few comments: there is also a white chocolate because initially I wanted to "write" Happy Birthday on the cake with it but finally there was no space left… A good pastry chef would prepare he's own dough, and I sometimes do, but I have to admit that any home made dough can beat the bought one...
We start by greasing the mould and spreading some flour to make it easier to remove the cake. Bake it following the instructions given by the brand because each one is different.
While it is in the oven we'll prepare the oranges. We want very tiny bits so we'll cut them in halves, then slices, and then chop until small. Save one or two oranges to decorate!
Put the chopped oranges in a saucepan and cover gently with water. Add sugar and cinnamon, the amounts are up to you. Stir every now and then and slow cook it until it looks like a syrup with brownish oranges (I don't know why the picture seems burnt..it was not!).
Now we have the cake waiting and the filling ready, so…time to fill it! First, we should wait about five minutes to let it cool a bit. Then we split the cake in two (horizontally), a long knife will be useful.
Don't be afraid of the filling, it's better to have a nice generous layer of orange cause in fact that is what will soften the thick chocolate dough.
To make it even more chocolaty, melt the chocolate until smooth and sprinkle some over the orange mixture.
When I saw that, I realized it was pretty beautiful and maybe deserved to be the top of the cake itself! But then I though I should stick on my plans and add the other half (sad step…). After that, we cover it with the melted chocolate until fully dipped.
While I was waiting for the chocolate to cool and harden I didn't feel like throwing away the chocolate and orange surplus I had. Instead, I managed to make a delicious easy thing.
Chop some almonds and raisins (or whatever you have at home and think it fits!) and spread over the extra melted chocolate. Add some of the orange mixture and top with a sprinkle of salt, if you fancy the salty-sweet tandem.
Wait until completely cold and hard (irresistible but very important!) and then cut it in manageable chunks.
It goes perfectly with a cup of tea or coffee. I kept them in a jar but they only lasted for 24h… Super delicious!
Ok, let's get back to THE CAKE!! Time to decorate it: I decided to use orange slices, obviously. The "secret" is to cut very very thin slices or otherwise they won't get cooked and soft. Use a frying pan with no oil and add some sugar and cinnamon over them, low heat. When they look golden on both sides they are ready to jump to the chocolate layer!
Aaaand here it is! It may seem a long process but it's just because I added too much pictures and added another recipe in between the original recipe, in fact it's very easy. Really, try it!
Some of the cute friends we were at the birthday dinner :)
