A Chocolate & Orange Checkerboard Cake Recipe

A Recipe: Chocolate and Orange Checkerboard Cake Recipe (taken from The Great Australian Bake-Off recipe book 2013) Original recipe here.

Serves 12-16 (6 hours of preparation and baking time between me and my friend)

For the Orange Cake (makes 2 cakes):

2 and 1/2 cups self raising flour

1 and 3/4 cups sugar

3 free-range eggs

1 and 1/4 cups milk

100g butter, melted

1/4 cup vegetable oil

zest and juice (approximately 140ml) of 1 orange

red and yellow food dye (to make a subtle orange batter)

For the Chocolate cake (makes 2 cakes):

2 and 1/4 cups self raising flour

1/4 cup dark cocoa

1 and 3/4 cups sugar

3 free-range eggs

1 and 1/4 cups milk

100g butter, melted

1/4 cup vegetable oil

zest and juice (approximately 140ml) of 1 orange

few drops of Parisienne essence to colour darker (optional)

For the frosting:

375g butter

45g dark brown sugar

3/4 cup boiling water

600g dark chocolate, chopped

To finish:

additional dark chocolate for decoration

zest of 1 orange

* also need: 4 x 18cm round cake tins, lined with baking paper; 1 baking tray

*Tip: to create a flat and evenly baked cake, wrap a wet folded tea towel around the cake tin, and secure with string before placing it into the oven

*Cool all cakes fully; it will ensure for an even and clean cut when creating rings

*Tip: when making the template, trace around the cake tin to create the foundation, then use a ruler to measure 6cm inwards around the circumference

*Tip: use a long skewer to poke holes closely together around the template to make it easier and even to cut the cake rings when using a knife

*When frosting, be generous with it, to ensure rings stick together

Well, here I present the most technical and challenging recipe I have ever had the pleasure to tackle. Me and my bestie Betty, I don't know, kind of thought it would be fun to do the hardest recipe out of my 'The Great Australian Bake Off' recipe book and we cleared a whole Saturday for it.
And it was the most memorable and most bonding experience, baking this cake.
It took us about 6 hours to achieve - preparation, waiting time, baking time and decorating. I am happy Betty was there, she was full of useful tips and so precise and intelligent about baking.
At the end, it was absolutely satisfying to cut into the cake and get a perfect checkerboard pattern that was even and defined. And we were so damned proud. Even if we have had failed, just spending such quality time with Betty was more than enough to make it a perfect Saturday <3

A Recipe: Chocolate Crackles Cookies via The Great Australian Bake-Off

Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate. It never disappoints with my circle of friends and colleagues, and most importantly, it never disappoints me. So flicking through my new book from The Great Australian Bake-Off, intending to dog-ear only complicated recipes to challenge myself, I found myself drawn to these simple and delicious cookies. These are made with dark chocolate ( 70% cocoa was stressed) to create a not-too sweet but rich taste and is then doused in icing sugar. Hmmm....

A Recipe: Chocolate Crackles Cookies via The Great Australian Bake-Off 

Ingredients (Makes 30):
100g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), roughly chopped
100g unsalted butter, softened
150g brown sugar
1 large free-range egg, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
175g self-raising flour
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/2-2 teaspoons icing sugar

1-2 baking trays, greased

Instructions: 
1. Put the chopped chocolate into a large heat-proof bowl and set over a pan of steaming-hot but not boiling water (do not let the base of the bowl touch the hot water). Leave to melt gently. Remove the bowl from the pan and stir in the butter. When the mixture is completely smooth, stir in the sugar. Leave to cool for 5 minutes.

2. Beat the egg with the vanilla just until combined, then add to the bowl. Sift the flour and bicarbonate of soda into the bowl and mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and chill for about 1 hour or until firm.

3. Preheat the oven to 200*C. Divide the chocolate dough into 30 even-sized pieces and roll into neat balls. Spoon the icing sugar into a shallow dish. Roll the balls, one at a time, in the sugar to coat thickly. Set the balls on the prepared baking trays, spacing well apart to allow for spreading. (Bake the biscuits in batches, if necessary).

4. Bake for 10 minutes for a softer biscuit, or 12 minutes for a crisp result. Remove from the oven and leave on the trays for a minute, then transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely. The biscuits will continue to firm up as they cool. Store in an airtight container and eat within 5 days.

** This recipe was taken straight from the The Great Australian Bake-Off Recipe Book and only found one issue with the process of baking: my cookies did not flatten out, instead it stayed in a round ball shape. At about the 8-9 minute mark of the cookies being in the oven, I just simple got my wooden spoon and pushed the dough down quickly and then let it bake for another minute or so.

The surface of the cookies are meant to crack to look like crazy paving as they cook. They look amazing and taste so good, taking only half an hour to make (with one hour waiting time in the fridge).

Happy Baking! xx