Festive Chocolate Orange Christmas Cake
A Christmas showstopper
Festive Chocolate Orange Christmas Cake
Rated 3.3 stars by 4 users
Category
Cake
Servings
12
Prep Time
3 hours
Cook Time
35 minutes
A fabulous and festive Christmas sponge cake, made with our two favourite flavours: Chocolate and Orange
Author:Created by Emma Smith @thesugafix_

Ingredients
226g/8 oz Butter
-
226g/8 oz Whitworths Caster sugar
226g/8 oz Self raising flour
4 Eggs
1tsp Orange extract
Zest of 2 oranges
1/2 tsp salt
150g Dark chocolate
339g Butter
-
40g Cocoa powder
50ml heavy cream or milk
1/2 tsp salt
1tsp Orange extract
100g Butter
-
100g Plain flour
100g Dark chocolate
1 Tsp Baking Powder
2 Eggs
100ml Sour cream
20g Cocoa powder
1/2 Tsp salt
160g Butter
-
1Tbsp Vanilla extract
1 Tbsp Green concentrated gel food colouring
170g White candy melts
1/2 Cup Heavy cream
Christmas sugar decorations
Sugar balls/pearls
Sugar snowflakes
Sugar gold stars
Orange sponge cake
Chocolate orange buttercream icing
Chocolate Christmas tree cupcakes
Vanilla buttercream icing
Candy melt ganache
Edible decorations
Directions
Orange sponge cake
Preheat the oven to 170c. Line 3 x 6” cake tins with baking paper. Mix together the butter and sugar in a bowl for 2 mins. Add the orange zest, extract, eggs, half the sifted flour, salt and mix until combined. Add the remaining flour and mix until combined.
Bake the cakes for 20 mins or until a tooth pick comes out clean. Set aside to cool completely.
Chocolate Christmas tree cupcakes
Melt the chocolate and sugar in a sauce pan, remove from the heat and set aside to cool for 5 mins. Add the sour cream and eggs to the chocolate, mix until combined. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder together and stir into the chocolate mix.
Spoon into small cupcakes cases or silicone moulds and bake for 12-15 mins @170c. Set aside to completely cool.
Chocolate orange buttercream icing
Melt the chocolate and set aside to cool for 10 mins. Mix the butter for 2 mins until smooth. Add half the sifted icing sugar, cocoa powder, salt, orange extract, milk or heavy cream and the melted chocolate, mix until combined. Add the remaining sifted icing sugar and mix until combined.
Spread the chocolate orange buttercream icing on the first layer on the cake, then stack the second cake on top and repeat. Turn the third cake upside down and stack on top of the second cake.
Spread the chocolate orange buttercream all over the cake and smooth the sides with a cake scraper. Put the cake in the fridge for 30 mins.
Vanilla buttercream icing
Mix the butter for 2 mins until smooth. Add the vanilla extract, green gel food colouring and the sifted icing sugar, mix until combined.
Pipe onto the chocolate cupcakes and decorate with sugar balls, snowflakes and top with a gold star.
White candy melts ganache
Melt the white candy melts in a bowl with a 1/4 cup of heavy cream. Heat for 10 seconds at a time until the candy melts have melted. If the candy melts are not runny enough warm the remaining heavy cream for 10 seconds in the microwave. Add to the candy melts and stir until combined.
Remove the cake from the fridge and drizzle the candy melts ganache on the top and down the sides of the cake. Make shorter drips at the front of the cake as you need space at the bottom of the cake to add the Christmas sugar decorations. If the ganache is dripping too far down the side of the cake put it back in the fridge to set for 15 mins.
Decorate
Remove the cake from the fridge and stick on a variety of Christmas sugar decorations and sugar ball sprinkles. Stick the larger Christmas sugar decorations on to the cake by adding a small amount of the melted candy melts to the back.
Add the Christmas tree cupcakes to the top of the of the cake and your Christmas masterpiece is finished!
Comments
How long can this cake keep ? Thank you
Which top sdid you use to make the trees?
Thanks