Orange Chocolate Sour Cream Cake with Orange Chocolate Ganache | he turns 9m

Orange and chocolate dark chocolate are a match made in heaven!!!
No one can oppose this and I would say that the combination works out to the fullest only with dark chocolate. The tang just tickles your taste buds and makes you salivate for more. My first bite of an orange flavored chocolate was the Lindt Orange Intense which was one among the big basket of chocolates that the huss gifted me for my birthday. (... I am a chocolate freak and nothing elevates my mood like chocolate). It was love at first bite and its been a joyous relationship since then.

When Cadbury's India launched their Orange peel, I was one among the fans who had happy feet. Its not that I like Cadbury's Silk as I find it too sweet (BTW any dark chocolate lover will think that eating milk chocolate is a sin) but an occasional bite never seemed a crime. But the product never lived to my expectations, I found it lacking that orange punch. No offense Cadbury's guys but its just my personal opinion. The here-and-there orange tit-bits just didn't satisfy me.

With the huss not around, cooking and baking has taken a backseat in my life. And if I do something then it is just to feed the blog. I have turned into this scavenger who feeds on anything edible available in my pantry, in short am just scraping through days. Thinking intensely, cooking has appealed to me just because of 'him' and I have felt contented only when he and 'only he' not my mom, dad or anyone but 'he' takes a bite and gives a thumbs up.

So when the kid turned a month older, I just thought of making a simple chocolate sour cream cake but then one thing led to another and it was this magnificent cake that I made. Its filled with flavor and the fruity punch that the orange zest lends to the cake when you bite through is just bliss!!! Give it a try if you are an orange and chocolate combo lover. You will love it...

Adapted from The Pillsbury Complete cookbook ~*What U Need*~ All purpose flour - 1 cup Baking powder - 1/2 tsp Baking soda - 1/4 tsp Salt - a pinch Sugar - 3/4 cup Dark Chocolate - 2 oz, chopped Cocoa powder - 1/4 cup Sour cream - 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp Oil - 2 tbsp Vanilla essence - 1/2 tsp Egg - 1 Orange zest - 1 tsp Water - 1/4 cup For the orange chocolate ganache Cream - 1/4 cup Dark chocolate - 1/2 cup Orange zest - 1/2 tsp

How I Made it:
Lets make the orange chocolate ganache first. Heat cream with the orange zest. Remove from flame, pour over the chopped chocolate. Let stand for 5 mins. Then whisk till smooth and shiny. Reserve and set aside.

Boil water, to this add the cocoa powder and whisk till smooth and lump-free. Now add the chopped chocolate and let stand for 5 mins. Whisk till smooth and shiny.

Sieve all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt thrice. Combine oil, sour cream, vanilla essence and orange zest. Add the egg and beat well.

Add sugar and whisk till smooth. Now add the chocolate mixture and mix well. Grease two pans with butter and dust with flour.

Add the flour and fold gently. Pour into the baking pans and bake at 175C for 30-35 mins or till a skewer inserted comes out clean. Remove the cake from the pan and cool on a wire rack.

Level one of the two cakes. Spread chocolate ganache on it. Place the second cake on top and finish with the remaining ganache. Decorate with colored sugar balls, chocolate sprinkles and dust with icing sugar.

Do you wanna slice???

** My Notes:
** If you need an intense orange flavor, then replace the water with freshly squeezed orange juice.
** The cake turned out to be so chocolaty(..ah, just my type). If you prefer a less chocolaty cake, then reduce the dark chocolate to 1 oz.

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

Signs off!!!