Bittersweet Chocolate Cake with Orange Curd and Ganache

This cake was amazing. I have really been thinking about chocolate/orange combinations lately and I had the idea to do this cake…I blogged about the menu I had planned to use it in on ApronStrings and Inge suggested I submit it for Waiter There’s Something In My….
since this month is layer cakes.

So…here is my submission. I was pleasantly surprised that the cake was beyond good. It was definitely five star calibre…and oh my goodness is it rich…Do brew a pot of good dark espresso to go with it..you will need it to cut the intensity of the cake. Be sure to give yourself plenty of time for this…I should have assembled the cake the night before and then let it chill an firm up overnight.
This is everything a chocolate ckae should be..intense in flavor, rich, creamy, with the bite of the orange curd cutting through the initial taste of the chocolate on the tongue..and then disappearing to allow the chocolate to have the last word, so to speak.

Cake:
2 c sugar
1 3/4 c flour
3/4 c hershey’s special dark cocoa
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 c buttermilk
1 c dark, strong coffee
1/2 c oil
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350
grease and flour three 8″ round pans.

Mix dry ingredients together.
Pour oil into a mixing bowl and mix sugar in on medium speed until sugar dissolves. Add eggs one at a time. Add coffee, buttermilk and vanilla and then dry ingredients. Mixture will be very thin. Seriously, it will have the consistancy of half and half. Pour 1/3 of the mixture in each of the pans and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until done. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes, turn out and let finish cooling.

Bittersweet Frosting

Orange Curd Filling

This orange curd is super easy and wonderful as a topping for scone, a filling for cakes, or cheesecake, or sandwiched in cookies…or licked off your fingers….. you can cook it the traditional way, or microwave it.

1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1/2 c lemon juice
3 Tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate
1/2 c water
zest from one orange
1/2 c unsalted butter cut in pieces

Whisk together the sugar and eggs until smooth. Stir in lemon juice, orange concentrate, water and zest. Microwave ar one minute intervals, stirring, until mixture coats a spoon. Remove from microwave, add butter a little at a time and whisk smooth. Chill.

Ganache
1 cup heavy cream
5 oz bittersweet chocolate chopped small

Heat cream to just a simmer. Remove from heat and add chocolate, whisking until smooth. Chill.

Assemble

Place cake layer on plate. Cover with the ganache. Place another layer on top. Cover with about one cup of curd. Place last layer on top, gently, and chill until firm.
Frost sides of cake with bittersweet chocolate frosting, smoothing over sides. Frost top of cake, leaving an unfrosted 6″ circle in center of cake top. Pipe scrolls from frosting around circle and fill with about 1/2 cup orange curd in center. Sprinkle with chocolate shot. Chill.
serves 12.