Orange-gingerbread cake

Hello foodies,

It's already the end of October and Christmas is just around the corner.

I'd like to invite you to fill up on spices with a delicious cake with wintery flavours.

Have you already tried our insert cake mould "Kyoto 800"? It's really great! :-)

Thanks to this mould, I made a delicious gingerbread spice cake filled with an orange ganache, all coated in a milk chocolate and hazelnut rocher glaze. An incredibly comforting recipe!

To make this cake, you will need:

Whipped orange ganache

- 1 gelatine sheet

- 3 small oranges (or 2 large oranges)

- 1/2 tsp orange flavouring

- 40gr white chocolate

- 150gr full-fat cream

Gingerbread spice cake

- 85gr butter (room temperature)

- 80gr sugar

- 3 eggs

- 85gr ground hazelnuts

- 70gr flour

- 3gr baking powder

- 2 tbsp gingerbread spices

Rocher glaze

- 185gr milk chocolate

- 50gr milk chocolate

- 1/2 tsp gingerbread spices

- 65gr rapeseed oil

- 65gr caramelised hazelnuts

Decorations

- 1 orange

- Milk chocolate pearls

First of all, we are going to make the whipped orange ganache, as it needs to chill for a minimum of one night in the fridge.

Whipped orange ganache

Start by softening 1 gelatine sheet in a jug of cold water.

In a saucepan, pour 150gr of full-fat cream, then zest 3 oranges (if your oranges are large, use only 2).

To zest my citrus fruits, I always use the microplane grater. It's great for both savoury and sweet recipes.

Add 1/2 tsp of orange flavouring. This will enhance the orange flavour in the ganache. Set the mixture aside while you prepare the rest of the recipe.

Squeeze 65gr of orange juice (approximately 2 oranges).

Set the orange juice aside in a jug.

In a bowl, pour 40gr of white chocolate and heat it in the microwave for 30 seconds at 600Watt. It won't be completely melted, that's normal. It will finish melting when the hot cream is added.

Bring the cream, zest and flavouring mixture to the boil.

Once boiling, remove from the heat and add the well-squeezed gelatine sheet. Mix well so that the gelatine is fully incorporated into the mixture.

Pour the hot cream over the white chocolate in 3 additions. Mix well each time you add some.

Once all the cream has been added and the chocolate is completely melted, pour in the 65gr of freshly squeezed orange juice prepared at the beginning of the recipe and mix again with your whisk.

To get a beautifully smooth ganache, blend it with a hand blender.

Then place cling film directly on the surface. This will prevent a skin from forming on top of the mixture.

Refrigerate the orange ganache for one night in the fridge. If you don't respect the resting time in the fridge, your ganache will split when you whip it.

Gingerbread spice cake

About 20 minutes before you start preparing, take 85gr of butter out of the fridge.

In a large bowl, pour the 85gr of room temperature butter, then add 80gr of sugar.

Using the whisk attachment of your mixer, beat the butter and sugar for 5 minutes at maximum speed. The mixture will turn pale.

Preheat your oven to 160°C, fan-assisted.

In a jug, crack 3 eggs, this will make it easier to add them later.

Once our mixture is well aerated, add the eggs little by little. Keep the mixer on minimum speed while you add the eggs.

Once all the eggs have been added, increase the mixer speed to medium speed and mix for another 30 seconds.

Now we are going to add the dry ingredients. Start by adding 85gr of ground hazelnuts and 70gr of flour.

Add 3gr of baking powder. To weigh the baking powder precisely, use the measuring spoon scale.

As you have probably already noticed, it's one of my favourite kitchen tools. ;-)

Finish by adding 2 tbsp of gingerbread spices. Use measuring spoons to add the spices precisely.

Still using the whisk, mix everything together for 30 seconds at medium speed.

There we go, our cake batter is ready.

We are going to use the "Kyoto 800" mould from Silikomart.

I find it great to have an insert in the middle so you can fill the cake and add a little freshness to it. In this recipe, it will be filled with the whipped orange ganache we prepared earlier.

To ensure easy unmoulding, it is important to spray the mould and the insert with release spray.

I recommend removing the insert and spraying it separately to make sure it's covered everywhere. That way, no worries! :-)

Pour some of the cake batter into the mould, stopping just before the insert hole.

Then place the tube as shown in my third photo below.

Add the remaining batter.

Smooth the top with a small offset spatula and bake your cake for 40 minutes in the middle of the oven preheated to 160°C, fan-assisted.

After 40 minutes in the oven, check the cake is cooked by inserting a knife into the centre.

If the knife blade comes out clean, the cake is done. If not, leave it in the oven for an additional 2-3 minutes.

Once your cake is baked, remove it from the oven and let it cool for about 10 minutes at room temperature.

First remove the tube then unmould the cake.

Place the cake on a cooling rack and let it cool completely.

Once the cake is completely cooled, we can fill it.

Pour the orange ganache into a large bowl and using the whisk attachment of your mixer, whip the ganache at medium speed.

It should have the texture of whipped cream. Be careful, it whips up quickly so keep a close eye on it so it doesn't split.

Once the ganache is whipped, place a piping bag in a jug to fill it neatly and pour in the mixture.

Cut the tip of the piping bag with a pair of scissors.

Fill your cake with the orange ganache.

Gently tap the cake so that the ganache spreads evenly throughout the insert.

You will have some ganache left over for decorating the cake. Set it aside in the fridge.

Place the cake in the freezer for 15 minutes so that it is nice and cold for the glaze.

In the meantime, prepare the rocher glaze.

Rocher glaze

We are going to coat our cake with a hazelnut-milk chocolate and gingerbread spice rocher glaze.

To do this, pour 185gr of milk chocolate into a bowl and place it in the microwave at 600Watt for 30 seconds. Mix well then put it back for an additional 30 seconds in the microwave. Your chocolate should reach 43-45°C.

Check the temperature with the infrared thermometer. It's perfect for working with chocolate. :-)

Once the chocolate has reached the right temperature, add 50gr of milk chocolate, mix well and let the pistoles melt.

There we go, our chocolate is completely melted.

Add 1/2 tsp of gingerbread spices and mix.

Pour 65gr of rapeseed oil into the chocolate and mix well to incorporate all the oil.

To add crunch to the glaze, we are going to add 65gr of caramelised hazelnuts to the chocolate/oil mixture. Mix again then transfer the glaze into a large jug.

Time to glaze the cake!

Take your cake out of the freezer and place it on a rack. Remember to place a plate underneath to catch the glaze afterwards. ;-)

Pour the rocher glaze over the cake, making sure it covers everywhere.

Let the glaze drip for a few moments then move the cake onto a board, using a large offset spatula.

Place your cake in the fridge for about 15 minutes to allow the glaze to set.

If you'd like to reuse the rocher glaze for a future recipe, that's absolutely possible! Simply transfer it into an airtight container :-) The rocher glaze keeps for about 2 weeks at room temperature.

To decorate our cake elegantly, we are going to use the remaining whipped orange ganache.

To do this, place a 9 mm St-Honoré nozzle in a large piping bag and add the remaining ganache.

Pipe the ganache in a wave pattern on your cake.

Place a few milk chocolate pearls on top.

Use precision tweezers to place your decorations.

For the finishing touch, finish with orange slices.

And there we have it, our Christmas-flavoured cake is done.

It will keep for 3 days in the fridge in a well-sealed container.

I hope you enjoy this new recipe.

Wishing you a lovely Sunday, foodies.

Sophie

P.S.: All the equipment used can be found at the bottom of the recipe.