Chocolate Orange Torte Recipes

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Beat in vanilla. Whisk cocoa and water until smooth. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with cocoa mixture. Beat until smooth. , Pour into three greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks., In a bowl, beat cream, confectioners' sugar and vanilla on high speed until soft peaks form. Chill until firm., In a saucepan, melt chips and butter over medium heat; stir in cream. Remove from the heat; stir in confectioners' sugar. Chill for at least 1 hour or until completely cooled. Beat with electric mixer to achieve spreadable consistency. , Spread half of the filling over one cake layer; top with second layer and remaining filling. Top with third layer; frost top and sides of cake. Chill for 2 hours before cutting.

Steps:

• Get your equipment ready (see tips below). Break the chocolate in small pieces into a large heatproof bowl. Spoon in the syrup and pour in about a quarter of the cream. Stand the bowl over (not in) a pan of hot water over the lowest possible heat and leave until the chocolate has melted, about 15-20 minutes. Remove the bowl from the pan and stir to combine. Leave until barely warm - dip your little finger in to check.
• Get your cake tin ready. Do this while you are waiting for the chocolate to melt and cool so you're not hanging around. Cut open the plastic folder along the bottom, then cut out a disc to fit in the bottom of the tin and 3 strips to line the sides. (See step 2).
• Pour the rest of the cream into a very large bowl and tip in the coffee and cinnamon. Whip with a balloon whisk until the cream looks like step 3. When you shake the bowl the cream should wobble like a thick milkshake, and when you dribble some cream from the whisk, the trail it leaves in the cream below should disappear in 1-2 seconds.
• Fold the two together. Pour the cooled chocolate into the bowl containing the cream. With the largest metal spoon you've got, fold the cream and chocolate together in a figure-of-eight motion. Don't be nervous - keep going until they are evenly and smoothly mixed and the mixture has a soft, pillowy, downy texture - you will see and feel it thicken as you fold.
• Set the torte. Pour the chocolatey cream into the tin and level the surface with the back of the spoon. Put the tin in the fridge and leave to firm up. This can happen in under an hour, but you may need to leave it longer, depending on the coldness of your fridge (you can leave it overnight if this is more convenient).
• Unmould and serve. Unclip and remove the side of the tin, then remove the pieces of plastic around the sides. Invert a serving plate over the torte and turn the torte upside down on to it. Lift off the tin base and peel away the plastic. Dust all over with cocoa (including the plate if you wish to be fashionable) and serve in thin slices.

Steps:

• Line bottom of 9 inch spring form pan with wax paper and set aside.
• In top of double boiler over hot water, melt together butter, chocolate, sugar and orange juice. Stir to blend. Remove from heat and stir in orange liqueur. Let cool.
• Mix in eggs 1 at a time. Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until edge is slightly crusty and middle is just set. Let cool on rack. Cover with plastic and refrigerate for at least 12 hours.

Steps:

• Make torte layers:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Invert three 8-inch round cake pans (do not use dark metal or non-stick pans) onto a work surface and butter bottoms (now on top) and rounded edges well. Dust pans with flour, knocking off excess.
• Separate whites and yolks of eggs into 2 large bowls. With an electric mixer beat together yolks and 1/2 cup sugar until thick and pale and mixture forms a ribbon when beater is lifted, about 5 minutes. Beat in vanilla until just combined. Sift together flour and salt over yolk mixture and fold in gently but thoroughly. With cleaned beaters beat whites with a pinch salt until foamy. Add cream of tartar and beat whites until they just hold soft peaks. Gradually beat in remaining 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating whites until they just hold stiff peaks. Stir one third whites into yolk mixture until just combined and fold in remaining whites gently but thoroughly.
• Spread 1/2 cup batter with a rubber spatula or a knife on each of the 3 pan outside bottoms (now the tops) just to edges and bake on same rack in middle of oven until just cooked through and just turning pale golden at edges, about 6 1/2 minutes. Cool layers on pans on racks 1 minute and loosen layers with a long, thin-bladed knife. Carefully transfer layers to racks to cool completely. Cool pans completely and wipe clean with paper towels. Make 6 more layers in same manner, buttering and flouring pans for each batch. (Batter should not stand any longer than necessary because it will begin to lose volume.) (Layers may be made 1 day before assembling torte and kept at room temperature, stacked between sheets of wax paper and wrapped in plastic wrap. Carefully remove wax paper before assembling torte.)
• Make orange glaze:
• In a small saucepan heat marmalade over moderate heat, stirring, until melted and pour through a sieve into a bowl, pressing hard on solids. Stir in liqueur. (Glaze may be made 1 day before assembling torte and chilled, covered.)
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• In a baking pan toast hazelnuts in one layer in middle of oven 10 to 15 minutes, or until lightly colored and skins are blistered. Wrap nuts in a kitchen towel and let steam 1 minute. Rub nuts in towel to remove loose skins (do not worry about skins that do not come off) and cool. Finely chop nuts.
• Assemble torte:
• Trim edges of torte layers if necessary so that layers are all the same size and reserve best layer, wrapped in plastic wrap, for caramel top. On a cake stand arrange 1 layer, using a small dab buttercream to anchor it to cake stand, and spread with 3 heaping tablespoons buttercream. Spread a second layer with 2 tablespoons orange glaze and put layer, orange side down, on buttercream-spread layer. Spread top with 3 heaping tablespoons buttercream. Continue to layer remaining torte layers (except reserved layer) in same manner. After spreading eighth layer with buttercream, spread some remaining buttercream around side of torte to coat and chill torte 5 minutes to firm buttercream slightly. Press some hazelnuts on side of torte to cover it and reserve remaining buttercream and nuts. (Torte may be made up to this point 1 day ahead and chilled, covered with an inverted bowl or a cake keeper. Chill reserved torte layer, wrapped in plastic wrap; chill reserved buttercream, covered; keep reserved nuts, covered, at room temperature. Bring torte, reserved torte layer, and buttercream to room temperature before proceeding.)
• Put reserved torte layer on a buttered rack set over a sheet of foil and have ready a buttered knife.
• Make caramel:
• In a 3- to 4-quart heavy saucepan cook water, sugar, and cream of tartar over moderate heat, stirring and washing down sugar crystals clinging to side of pan with a brush dipped in cold water, until sugar is dissolved. Boil syrup, without stirring, until it just turns pale golden and continue to cook, without stirring, swirling pan, until syrup is a deep golden caramel.
• Remove pan from heat and when caramel stops boiling immediately pour enough over torte layer to thinly coat. Working very quickly, draw knife through caramel down to torte, marking off 8 wedges, but not cutting through torte. (The lines will make it easier to cut torte without shattering hardened caramel; if caramel becomes too hard, heat knife blade on top of stove to facilitate marking.) Carefully loosen caramel-coated torte layer from rack using knife and transfer to a clean rack to cool completely.
• Finish torte:
• Arrange caramel-coated layer on top of torte. Fill gap between top 2 torte layers with some reserved buttercream using a small icing spatula or a dinner knife, smoothing it, and press some reserved nuts up around side of torte near top. (Torte may be fully assembled 4 hours ahead and chilled, covered with inverted bowl or cake keeper. Bring torte to room temperature before serving.)