Blood orange and chocolate cake

On a recent trip to the Cotswolds, a friend and I peered into various coffee shop windows looking at the wonderful array of cakes and bakes we could see. We didn't go into all of shops as I think we might have exploded or been a little buzzing from too much coffee. We did try out some places in Stow on the Wold, Broadway and Chipping Campden and had some wonderful treats.
One bit of window eating had us trying to work out the combinations in a very impressive range of loaf cakes - lemon drizzle was one, pear and cardamom another and blood orange and chocolate was the final one as far as our bespectacled eyes could see! Amanda went away and made and amazing moist pear loaf and this is my first try at the blood orange and chocolate cake! We still have other things from the day on our list to bake...!

Ingredients

For the cake

190g soft unsalted butter

225g caster sugar

3 medium eggs

150g self-raising flour

70g cocoa powder

¼ tsp salt

½ tsp vanilla extract

zest of 1 blood orange (You can use normal oranges, but blood oranges have a lovely different taste to them. They are available in the few months in early Spring)

flesh of 3 blood oranges segmented to remove the membrane

For the candied peel and glaze

2 blood oranges – you need the peel of the oranges removed from the flesh and the white pith taken off. These should then be cut into thin strips

200g granulated sugar

175ml water

Method

1.     Pre-heat the oven to 180/ Gas Mark 4 and line a 2lb loaf tin (I use tin liners as they are quick, easy and you can now buy them in most supermarkets)

2.     Combine the flour, cocoa and salt in a mixing bowl

3.     In another bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, zest and vanilla extract until they are light and fluffy

4.     Add the eggs one at a time until they are well incorporated

5.     Fold in the flour and cocoa mix until everything is well mixed together

6.     Fold in the orange segments and any juice that may have escaped when you have been chopping them up!

7.     Transfer to the prepared tin and bake in the centre of the oven for 50 minutes to an hour or when a skewer comes out clean. You may need to give the cake a tin foil hat if it starts to go too brown before it is cooked through

8.     Remove from the oven and let it cool in the tin before moving it to a cooling rack

Method for the candied peel and glaze

You can do this while the cake is baking!

1.     Put the peel into a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and then drain. Repeat this a further two times.

2.     Remove the peel from the pan and set to one side

3.     Put the sugar and 175ml of water into the pan and bring it to a gentle simmer. Let it bubble away for around 8 minutes until the sugar has dissolved

4.     Return the peel to the saucepan and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour or until the peel has started to go see-through and is soft

5.     Do not throw the syrup away when you remove the peel to a cooling rack! You will need this.

6.     Once the cake has cooled and the syrup from the peel has also cooled, use a pastry brush to paint the sticky, sugary, orangey liquid over the top of the cake. Don't let the syrup go completely cold before brushing on as I did the first time as it is like painting on glue!

7.     Put on the pieces of sticky candied orange on top of the cake.