Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

Hi folks
I’m looking to make a chocolate orange cake using Paul’s moist chocolate cake recipe and wondered about the best way to get an orange flavour to it. I know I can add orange flavouring to the buttercream, but was wondering if it is also worth adding orange essence to the cake mixture and/or the ganache to boost the flavour, or whether this would be too much – it’s about trying to get the right balance in flavour. I have a 8 inch round cake to make so any ideas would be appreciated.
Many thanks x

Hi suzyq. Personally I would add it to the buttercream, then if people don’t like the orange flavour with chocolate, they can remove the buttercream filling and still enjoy your chocolate cake. Also you will know right away if you need to add more flavour! If you add it to the cake, you will not really know until it is cooked if you have added too much or little. Hope this helps you!

Thanks Andy, I’ll bear that in mind. I have come across a recipe for a normal vanilla sponge which includes options for citrus flavours by adding the grated rind of 1.5 to 2 oranges to the cake mix but NOT the juice, but your suggestion is a good one as it gives people more choice. Many thanks.

Hi suzyq,
Just to let you know you can also get orange flavoured cocoa powder. I have bought it, but not had a chance to use it yet. If you go to the blog, madeitwithlove uses it in her cake.
Let us know how you get on. Thanks, jackie

Hi Suzyq and Jackie

The sugar and Crumb site mentioned in the mud cake recipe blog is having some major technical issues and has for the time being ceased trading. The twitter site is still available to view if more information is needed. It’s a terrible shame, the products are really lovely and they have a massive following. Hopefully they will resolve their issues.

I made a choc orange brownie cake 8 inch and it had the zest of 2 oranges. It was just a hint of orange so wasn’t overpowering and very yummy. I should think it would work with any recipe.

Hi folks, thanks for all the suggestions, but HELP! I decided to go with the cake without flavouring it and made it last night, but as with many others, it turned out a bit of a disaster anyway as the cake sunk in the middle, although I have managed to salvage 1.5 inches depth. It’s part of a deep cake I need for a wedding tier. A couple of queries I have – having read all the posts and problems with this cake I followed the process carefully – the only difference was I had to use a mix of high and low cocoa content chocolate (half and half of 70% dark and 32% milk) to try and balance it out to the 50-60% Paul recommends as I couldn’t find the right amount on its own. Having tasted the off-cuts this morning, the cake does taste a little bitter, so is the combination of both not a good idea? The cake doesn’t seem over-cooked as the sides are still soft and not crusty, but the top was. Also, to make the tier a full 4.5 inches deep (8 inch round), should I increase the quantities slightly if i start again for two cakes to make sure I get the right depth out of it given I’ve had to slice off so much this time?

Hi Suzy, sorry I can’t help with Paul’s choc recipe as I’ve never made it but I make a chocolate orange cake by making my vanilla cake but replacing the vanilla with sainsburys The Best Valencian orange extract and then filling and covering with chocolate ganache. It tastes lovely and might be another option if you don’t have time to keep testing Paul’s chocolate cake. You could also replace some of the flour with cocoa powder if you want the cake to be chocolate as well. Hope that helps!

Thanks again for all your help. I don’t really like giving up, especially as the bride has especially requested a rich chocolate orange cake, but I’ll look at your option too. I still have time – I’m making it early to freeze, particularly as I knew there may be a problem with it. I’ve 3 other sponges on the go today, so at least I won’t feel like the day has been wasted!. Keep baking I say 🙂

Hi Suzyq

If you go to popular questions and click on Paul’s moist chocolate cake there is one particular answer which I think will be worth considering. You’ll need to go to page 5 of the comments and look at the answer given by Michelle Jones. This recipe is really lovely, we enjoy it frequently in my house, however it can be challenging and sometimes frustrating. Since you are making this cake as a tier you need to be pretty hassle free. As you can see from the many comments members who have baked this cake give very mixed results.It’s lovely to hear that you don’t like to give up, if you do decide that perhaps you need another recipe, I can recommend Jane Hornby’s chocolate wedding cake recipe which you can find by googling her name and also the long shelf life chocolate recipe in the tutorial library. Both these recipes have been used by some members, I have also baked them and you can read their comments. I hope this helps, we would all be interested in feedback from you. x

Thanks again Andy – I haven’t had time yet today to look at any other recipes but I’ll definitely look at those later and whatever I try, I’ll let you know how I get on. I need to get more ingredients but there’s about 4 inches of snow outside at the mo (probably not as bad as you have it though I’m guessing). As you say, for a wedding, you don’t want any last minute hitches. A massive thanks for your advice. 🙂

Hi Suzy

You’re welcome, but I’m not Andy (LOL, he wouldn’t want to be a little old lady!) , Andy’s name appears on the automatic notifications, he is the customer service wizard. Keep warm xx