Chocolate Orange Torte

I found a recipe in Annie Bell's Baking Bible, the next one in the chocolate cakes chapter, for tiramisu torte which I thought sounded like a good idea. However, neither me or Gary like coffee so I decided to adjust the recipe and make it my own, instead of coffee I made a orange torte. 

Ingredients: 

50g self-raising flour

50g dark muscovado sugar

50ml vegetable oil

1 egg separated

1 tsp orange extract

1 tbsp milk

300g dark chocolate

4 eggs, separated

30g caster sugar

250g mascarpone

1tsp orange extract

orange zest to decorate

Method:

Mix the flour and sugar together. Add the oil, 1 egg yolk, orange extract and milk. Stir the mixture until smooth. Whisk the egg white until stiff. Fold in the flour mixture.

Cake mixture all mixed together. 

Pour into a greased 20cm tin and place in the oven, 150oC, for 20minutes until the cake is firm and slightly browned. 

Cake out of the oven. 

Melt the chocolate and allow to cool. Whisk the egg whites until stiff. Whisk together the sugar and egg yolks until the mixture is pale and thicker. Add the mascarpone to the chocolate and stir until combined. Fold this into the yolk mixture. Fold in the egg whites and finally the orange extract.

Chocolate mixture for the top.

Make sure the mixture is fully combined and once the cake is cooled pour the mixture on top.

Ready to go in the fridge.

Smooth the top and place it in the fridge for a few hours until it has set. Use the orange zest to decorate the top.

It came out the tin in one piece.

The verdict:  I really enjoyed this torte, the chocolate mixture was really light and mousse like. The orange was subtle but I thought it had just enough flavour. The sponge mixture underneath was lovely and light, a really good contrast to the mousse. I think another variation on this would be a biscuit base as this would add a variety of texture. I wouldn't want to eat more than a thin slice as this was very rich but I really enjoyed the small amount that I had. I would give this 9/10. Gary gives it 10/10, he suggests putting crystalised orange on the top as a garnish. He says it's very nice mousse and cake. Its held its shape well and he would be very happy for me to make it again!! 

And sliced up beautifully. Yummy!!