DESSERTS

CHOCOLATE ORANGE CLOUD GATEAU…WALKING ON CLOUDS!!

2008/03/06 / 35 Comments
“After about 20 years of marriage, I’m finally starting to scratch the surface of what women want. And I think the answer lies somewhere between conversation and chocolate.”
Mel Gibson
IMG 4739 Chocolate Orange Cloud Gateau…
I love cake making occasions & am beginning to explore newer avenues. Loads of experience & some success has made me bolder! One of the 2 books that are parked at my bedside are ‘Cream Cakes & Gateaux’ by Sue Ross. She says …‘Homemade cream cakes are irresistibly compulsive – and you don’t have to be an expert to gain perfect results. Even the most spectacular results need no more than a quick final assembly of parts that have been cooked ahead“. How true, & beautifully worded. I advocate her theory completely…
IMG 4736Sheer indulgence…delightful & delicious!!

This cake is an adaptation of the ‘Mandarin Orange Cloud Gateau’ from her book. The basic sponge & sandwiching are quite the same, & I chose to make the topping dark chocolate. The flavours of chocolate, orange & almond tie up really nicely & make for a luscious dessert. I made this one for our anniversary… & was AMAZED at how moist & beautiful the sponge turned out. It was a complete departure from all other recipes I have ever used; & I can honestly say it’s the best sponge ever. The difference probably lay in the use of oil & a little orange juice in the sponge, as well as the egg whites & yolks being separated. I made the sponge day before & sandwiched it. I frosted & dressed it up yesterday in the morning…it couldn’t have been easier & more spectacular in taste! When we cut the cake this afternoon, we were all like ‘WOW‘!!
IMG 4797A Luscious Treat Alright!
Can’t believe I’ve been sitting on this book for ages…Sue Ross’s book is a WINNER!! (The book is a small pocket type edition, published by Hamlyn in 1991). The author rightly says that these cakes should be kept as a treat as they provide a touch of luxury & a sense of sheer indulgence. Without any more words…
…the Recipe, as adapted from Mandarin Orange Cloud Gateau by Sue Ross, pg 17.
Ingredients:
Plain flour – 150gms (1 1/4 cups)
Cornflour – 25gms (1/8 cup)
Baking powder – 2 tsps
Pinch of salt
Icing Sugar – 150gms (1 1/4 cup)
Oil – 5 tbsps (I used sunflower oil)
Water – 5 tbsps
Eggs – 3 / separated
Zest of 1 orange
Orange juice – 1 tbsp

Filling:
Whipping Cream – 200ml
Almonds – 3 tbsp (ground)
Castor sugar – 2-3 tbsps
Ganache:
Cream – 150 ml (15% fat)
Dark chocolate – 150gms / broken into pieces
Some extra chocolate for garnishing (grated, scrolls etc)
Silver dragees, orange slices, powdered sugar etc for garnishing.
collageMethod:

  • Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C. Line an 8″ springform tin. (the original recipe uses 2 8″ sandwich tins)
  • Sift the cornflour + flour + baking powder + salt + icing sugar (yes, it’s correct) into a mixing bowl.
  • Beat the egg whites till they stand in soft peaks & keep aside.
  • Lightly beat the oil + water + yolks together & stir into the dry ingredients.
  • Beat until smooth, & stir in the juice & zest.
  • Fold the whites gently into the yolk mixture.
  • Turn into lined tin & bake for about 45 minutes till well risen & golden brown. Check if it is done with a wooden pick.( Slide a sheet of foil lightly over the top if it begins to brown too fast).
  • Leave in tin for 10 minutes, & then cool completely on rack.
  • Once cool, cut into 2 or 3 layers.
  • Filling:
  • Whip the cream + sugar till firm. Whisk in the ground almonds.
  • Reserve a little cream for the topping, & sandwich the layers with the rest.
collage 1
  • Ganache:
  • Put the cream & dark chocolate into a pan heat over low heat till all the chocolate has melted, stirring constantly. Stir well, & leave to cool.
  • Frost the sides & top of the cake with the ganache. Decorate the top with grated chocolate curls & pipe a design with the reserved almond cream. Top with a few slices of orange, chocolate shavings & silver dragees etc. Dust with some powdered sugar.
collage 2
  • Chill well & serve right out of the fridge! This gateau doesn’t need to sit at room temperature for a while; it’s great!
IMG 4842
Serving a slice of heaven…dressed in SILVER!
clickingborder1
With CLICK @ Jugalbandi focussing on METAL this month…here is my kinda metal! Edible silver!! Most folk would cook or serve in metal; I’m serving up some silver. My entry for CLICK : March 2008.
Posted by Deeba @ PAB

About me: I am a freelance food writer, recipe developer and photographer. Food is my passion - baking, cooking, developing recipes, making recipes healthier, using fresh seasonal produce and local products, keeping a check on my carbon footprint and being a responsible foodie! I enjoy food styling, food photography, recipe development and product reviews. I express this through my food photographs which I style and the recipes I blog. My strength lies in 'Doing Food From Scratch'; it must taste as good as it looks, and be healthy too. Baking in India, often my biggest challenge is the non-availability of baking ingredients, and this has now become a platform to get creative on. I enjoy cooking immensely as well.

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35 Comments

  • Pixie

    2008/03/06 at 4:11 pm Reply

    Gorgeous Cake Meeta…I haven’t tried making cakes other than carrot cakes; Hopefully, DB will get me baking such beauties as yours!

  • Asha

    2008/03/06 at 6:00 pm Reply

    Deeba, old cookbooks are the best whether it’s Indian or western. They use to give us such authentic recipes. Orange and Chocolate is my husband’s fave flavors too. Looks delicious. Good one.
    I posted Sally Lunn at FH from an very old book too, check it out!:)

  • Jeena

    2008/03/06 at 9:50 pm Reply

    Hi there my name is Jeena and I have started a food recipe forum that I thought you would like to join here Click here for food recipe forum

    I would love to see you on there to chat about food and cooking you can talk about anything you like and start your very own topics. 🙂
    or see my main food recipe website Jeenas food recipe site

    Hope to see you soon

    Thanks

    Jeena x

  • Maya

    2008/03/07 at 1:15 am Reply

    Absolutely beautiful Deeba!! Love the orange and choc flavors!! Edible silver, thats a great idea for Click :)…

  • Ben

    2008/03/07 at 3:18 am Reply

    That is a great looking cake and the way you talked about it made my mouth water. I need to get those cookbooks!
    What is that on the cookbook in the first 2 pics?

  • Purnima

    2008/03/07 at 6:52 am Reply

    HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, Deebaaaaa!!
    The cake looks so glam, even Sue Ross’s publishers wd hv pleaded for that pic to increase readership!
    I truly lack words for you, thks for sharing and insight into details of sponge n others!
    Great CLICK entrant,those dragees!

  • Manggy

    2008/03/07 at 7:20 am Reply

    Deeba, I think I would balloon up to two hundred pounds if I ever lived with you 😀 I think I bake a cake once every two months only! That looks so good!

  • Susan from Food Blogga

    2008/03/07 at 7:34 pm Reply

    If forced to choose, I bet more women would choose chocolate over conversation. That cake, Deena, it’s just splendid!

  • Archana, mama of twins

    2008/03/08 at 6:03 am Reply

    Hi there!

    Thanks for visiting my blog! You have a great entry too for March. 🙂

    Lovely baked goods.. yumm

  • Tempered Woman

    2008/03/14 at 8:07 pm Reply

    That cake is unbelievably gorgeous! I can only imagine how divine it must have tasted. Love the quote too!

  • anju

    2008/05/30 at 7:51 am Reply

    hi Deeba…..i’m a great fan of yours. i have tried making most of your cakes and it has worked like a charm, except for this one…..i tried baking this for my husband’s b’day but it was a complete disaster, the cake base was too firm….hope u could tell me what went wrong…..

  • Passionate baker...& beyond

    2008/05/30 at 9:47 am Reply

    Trying to think what could have gone wrong Anju…because this is a pretty simple straightforward sponge. Not much to it other than a different mixing method than usual. Maybe it was the raising agent or overmixing. I’ve made this a couple of times with no problem. It was very moist. If the base is too firm, slice it up, add some syrup to soften the sponge, sandwich with whipped cream & leave to chill for a while.Should work Ok…

  • Passionate baker...& beyond

    2008/05/30 at 9:47 am Reply

    Trying to think what could have gone wrong Anju…because this is a pretty simple straightforward sponge. Not much to it other than a different mixing method than usual. Maybe it was the raising agent or overmixing. I’ve made this a couple of times with no problem. It was very moist. If the base is too firm, slice it up, add some syrup to soften the sponge, sandwich with whipped cream & leave to chill for a while.Should work Ok…

  • jane

    2009/04/06 at 6:41 pm Reply

    If i don’t have corn flour , can i just substitute all purpose flour ? Please let me know soon, planning to make this one.

  • jane

    2009/04/06 at 6:42 pm Reply

    If i don’t have corn flour , can i just substitute all purpose flour ? Please let me know soon, planning to make this one.

  • Passionate About Baking

    2009/04/07 at 1:56 am Reply

    Hi Jane, am leaving a comment here as I don't have an email address to get back to you at. Yes, I think you can, or else use cake flour. I think cornflour is like cake flour/pastry flour & adds lightness to the sponge. Cheers Deeba

  • Jane

    2009/04/09 at 11:38 pm Reply

    Deeba – Thanks for the comment. Everything for the cake is done, sponge baked and sandwiched with cream.I just need to frost it with the ganache. But i noticed its not much “Orangey”. (I am yet to taste the final product though. Did you have strong orange taste ??

  • Purnima

    2009/10/08 at 11:00 am Reply

    This cake is the best-baked-frosted-cake-till date, hubby's bday was celebrated with an 8" square, the powdered almond went into the batter too, but didn't spoil it to my good luck..rest all minus ur quality of decor, hubby n kids went *Smmmaccking* tks soooooo very much Deeba!!

  • sumi

    2011/01/06 at 4:42 am Reply

    Iam planning to make this for our anniversary…just a curious question , just like any other sponge, so we have to soak this? 🙂

  • Nidhi

    2013/02/27 at 9:48 pm Reply

    Hi Deeba…am planning to bake this cake tomorrow for my nephew. Just wanted to know that i have a fan assisted oven so what temp do i bake it at…thanks.

  • Harshitha

    2015/12/20 at 12:54 pm Reply

    Hi deeba.. M a great admirer of ur blog.. Speaks volumes about u.. I love d way u start ur post with a quote, I love d antiquity of ur photographs and finally I love ur engaging sarcastic humor.. All in all, one day if I start a food blog, u will b a major reason behind that ..
    Having said dat, I tried this cake n it turned out to b perfect.. Except dat it had a strong egg smell dat I cud take it no where near my mouth.. No, my eggs were fresh.. And no, I am not a person who hates egg smell.. But this had a very strong odour dat I forced to toss it off.. Cud u suggest wat cud have been d reason cos I wud like to re bake this cake for new year.. Thk u

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