Dark Chocolate Orange Cake?

[Ophelia12]

Has anyone made the Dark Chocolate Orange Cake from November CL? This was on my list to try, but the reader reviews on the website have scared me away from trying it. I'm intrigued by the idea of a flourless chocolate cake without butter, but it almost seems too good to be true. Can anyone share a review? Thanks. :)

[mrswaz]

I would be interested in reviews from the resident bakers as well. The recipe seems off to me. At the very least I would think that the egg whites would need to be beaten to provide some lift to the cake. Maybe if I get a chance to paly around...

Here's the recipe for anyone interested:

Dark Chocolate Orange Cake
From


You will need an eight-inch springform pan for this rich and fudgy dessert. Dark chocolate and orange are a classic flavor combination. Garnish the center of the cake with curls of orange rind for a great finishing touch.

Cooking spray
3/4 cup powdered sugar
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon Triple Sec (orange-flavored liqueur)
1 tablespoon hot water
Dash of salt
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
Powdered sugar (optional)
Orange rind strips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°.
Coat an 8-inch springform pan with cooking spray; line bottom of pan with parchment or wax paper. Wrap outside of pan with aluminum foil.

Place 3/4 cup sugar and eggs in a bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed 7 minutes.

Combine cornstarch and cocoa in a small bowl; set aside. Place juice, liqueur, water, salt, and chocolate in a small glass bowl; microwave at high 1 minute or until almost melted, stirring every 20 seconds until smooth. Add cornstarch mixture; whisk until smooth.

Gently stir one-fourth of egg mixture into chocolate mixture; gently fold into remaining egg mixture. Scrape batter into prepared pan. Place pan in a 13 x 9-inch baking pan; add hot water to larger pan to a depth of 1 inch. Bake at 350º for 20 minutes or until top is set. Remove cake pan from water; cool 5 minutes on a wire rack. Loosen cake from sides of pan using a narrow metal spatula; cool to room temperature. Cover and chill at least 4 hours or overnight. Garnish with powdered sugar and rind just before serving, if desired.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 slice)

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 175(31% from fat); FAT 6.1g (sat 3g,mono 1.3g,poly 0.4g); PROTEIN 4.3g; CHOLESTEROL 107mg; CALCIUM 17mg; SODIUM 33mg; FIBER 1.7g; IRON 0.8mg; CARBOHYDRATE 26.1g

Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 2005

[Ophelia12]

Do you think it would work better if I separated the 3 eggs? I guess I would need to whisk the egg yolks with the sugar in one bowl and then beat the egg whites in a separate bowl, folding them in to the batter at the very end. Does this sound like it might work?

[MinEaston]

I was planning on making this over the weekend, as written. Maybe Ophelia can try her way and I'll try as written and we can post back our results!

[Grace]

I'm not sure why everyone assumes this won't work as written? Beating eggs for seven minutes, especially if you're using a good mixer will produce a very light and fluffy mixture. And then the fact that it's baked in a water bath says to me that it will bake with lots of moisture and probably be kind of fudgy. I wouldn't automatically assume the recipe is wrong just because it's odd.

As for the reviews, I haven't read them, but I do know that there is lots of "user error" when it comes to baking cakes. There have been several other CL cake recipes that many people have had trouble with, but if the right techniques are used, they really do come out well. I think following the instructions to the letter is key (like beating the eggs in this recipe for a full 7 minutes, which is a long time).

[Ophelia12]

Should I use my KA standmixer for beating the eggs? Thanks for your help.

[lindaofthelakes]

BUMP I'm curious too.

[Grace]

Yes, I would definitely use the KA to beat the eggs - and it says at high speed, so I'd probably put it at speed 7 or 8 (and use the whisk attachment instead of the beater - that's what I'd do, anyway). Let us know how it comes out! I bet it's going to be good.

[rburganmckinley]

I wouldn't expect this to be a typical cake texture either, more fudgy. I too am curious to know how it turns out. It sounds great to me. :) There are other flourless chocolate cake recipes out there, so that isn't so strange (and they're gooey fudgy wonderful).

[Kathy B]

I had my eye on this recipe, too, for the holidays. If anyone makes it, PLEASE review it. Pretty please! :) TIA!

[sab1976]

I wouldn't expect this to be a typical cake texture either, more fudgy.

Me too. I've made flourless cakes before and they are defintitely more fudgy - less rise.

[Ophelia12]

I hope to make this cake tomorrow, so I will let everyone know how it turns out. Planning to use the KA and make it as written. Thanks for the help! :)

[Ophelia12]

Well...I made this recipe today, exactly as written. I used my KA to whip the eggs--on the "8" setting. I set my timer to ensure that I let it work for the full 7 minutes. The eggs did beautifully--they were really fluffy and tripled in volume. I folded them carefully into the chocolate batter as specified. When I put the springform in the oven in its water bath, everything looked beautiful--just like a souffle is supposed to look. I took it out after 25 minutes when the top was just set, as specified. The top had a lovely, light meringue crust and the souffle was still fairly high. As it cooled, the souffle fell. I put it in the fridge for the recommended 4 hours to set. At last check, it is a measly inch of pudding swimming in the giant springform pan. :(

The flavor is wonderful--a deep, rich chocolate flavor with the perfect touch of orange. It reminds me of a really good Grand Marnier truffle. However, underneath the thin crust, the "cake" is still a slightly runny pudding. Despite the good chocolate flavor, this dessert lacks that rich mouthfeel that butter would provide. It almost reminds me of a lowfat pudding cup in texture and taste.

So, what did I do wrong? Should I have baked it much longer than the specified 20 minutes? I really don't think it was user error, as most all my other baking attempts have been much more successful. I don't think I'll try again, but I think it would work better to bake in individual ramekins, since the batter was just too runny for a springform. I might also sub two tablespoons melted butter for the OJ.

Sorry this is so long! Just trying to help others who were curious.

[PamN]

Flourless chocolate cake is our family's birthday cake of choice, so I make them a lot. My recipe is different, but I do run into the problem you describe -- sometimes it takes quite a bit longer in the oven for the inside to firm up. I test with a toothpick -- it shouldn't come out as dry as for a regular layer cake, but it shouldn't be coated with liquid-y batter either.

Fourless cakes do fall when cool. The recipe I use even suggests using a plate to squash the cake flatter to get a fudgier texture. I don't ordinarily squash it down all the way, but we love the texture when it's halfway-squashed.

[Ophelia12]

Update...the problem was not baking this long enough (thanks, PamN). As an experiment, I scooped out a portion of the mixture into a ramekin and nuked it for about 30 seconds. Low and behold, it came out looking like the other flourless chocolate cakes I've made--moist and fudgy, but not puddinglike. It had also expanded some, as well. The taste is still very good today.

So...the recipe is not off--just the recommended bake time. Next time, I will bake for a full 30 minutes (or until the cake tester reveals a set, but still fudgy center). Why do the directions say to remove after 20 minutes, when the top is just set?? I guess I should have used better common sense, but it's still a little frustrating for the bake time to be so far off. Also, I think if I had baked it long enough, it would have taken up more volume in the springform and looked more like a cake.

I wonder how this recipe would taste using a different juice and liquor combo? Any takers, or have I scared everyone away? :o

[MinEaston]

I made this Friday night as written too. The eggs whipped up beautifully in my case also. I found it very easy to put together. Like Ophelia, I just put the eggs and sugar to beat (Oster Kitchen Center, in my case), set a timer, then went about doing other things. The only difference was that my smallest springform pan is 9", not 8. My batter wasn't very runny at all - it was thicker and fluffier than pancake batter. I baked it for only about 20 minutes until the center didn't wiggle.

Making it in the 9" pan resulted in a very flat cake, barely 1" tall. It was hard to cut without parts of it sticking to the knife - almost crumbly but very moist.

But it was delicious, and I would make it again. It would be interesting to do it with another flavor (coffee and Kahlua instead of OJ and Triple Sec?)

[brykate]

We had this cake for our desset at my Supper Club last night. Yes, it was pretty flat, but oh so moist and spongy like in texture! The flavor combo is one I love - but I admit ours was made with semi-sweet chcocolate instead of the bittersweet yielding sweeter flavor.
mmmm, it was good!

[rlrobb]

I made this cake the first time on Christmas for my husband and myself and was very disappointed and thought I had done something wrong until reading the reviews. Just like other reviewers said here, the cake was flat, too moist and it also tore apart when I tried to cut it. It was almost like eating crumbly truffles. The flavor, however, was really wonderfully chocolatey and my husband encouraged me to stick with the recipe. So, I made another one yesterday, this time using the whisk instead of the paddle on the KA and eggs which I had warmed up first by letting them sit in hot water for 10 minutes in their shells. The batter was much fluffier than the first time. I also used semi-sweet chocolate chips this time out, not wanting to waste premium chocolate on a cake that might not turn out. I also added boiling, not just hot tap, water to the pan and baked it for 30 minutes until the top actually felt crispy and a toothpick came out clean. Right out of the oven it was about 3 inches tall, but sunk to about 1 1/2 when it cooled. This time the spatula went easily around the outside of the cake without tearing it. When served, the knife still tore at the cake until I ran it under hot water between each slice and then it was ok. It was still a pretty delicate cake, but much more cake-like in texture than my first attempt. The taste was not as good though, so I will definitely stick with the bittersweet premium chocolate over the semi-sweet chocolate chips. I'll keep making this because my husband likes it so much, but I wouldn't serve it to anyone but family or very good friends because it's not all that pretty when done!