Chocolate Orange Checkerboard Cake

Let me introduce you to Cake Thursday. It happens once a month. We have a rota in work, and the last Thursday of every month four or five people bring in cake and we stuff our faces until we can't eat any more. It's a very special day.

This month was my turn. I've been dying to try out a checkerboard cake for ages, so thought that this was the perfect time to experiment! I found a great recipe online, that just happened to include my two favourite flavours: chocolate and orange. I've never been so nervous about a cake, but I'm actually really pleased with how it turned out. And the GIANT cake disappeared by the end of the day, which is always a good sign!!

Chocolate Orange Checkerboard Cake

(adapted from The Great Australian Bake Off)

Orange Cake

2 1/2 cup self-raising flour

1 3/4 cup caster sugar

3 large eggs

1 1/4 cup milk

100g butter, melted

1/4 cup vegetable oil

Zest and juice of 1 orange

Preheat the oven to 170ºC and line two round cake tins. Place all ingredients in a bowl and beat until smooth. Divide the mixture evenly between the two tins. Bake for approximately 40 minutes, or until a skewer comes out soon. Leave to cool in the tins for about 10 minutes, before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Chocolate Cake

2 1/4 cup self-raising flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 3/4 cup caster sugar

3 large eggs

1 1/4 cup milk

100g butter, melted

1/4 cup vegetable oil

Zest and juice of 1 orange

Preheat the oven to 170ºC and line two round cake tins. Place all ingredients in a bowl and beat until smooth. Divide the mixture evenly between the two tins. Bake for approximately 40 minutes, or until a skewer comes out soon. Leave to cool in the tins for about 10 minutes, before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Chocolate Frosting

375g butter

45g brown sugar

3/4 cup boiling water

600g dark chocolate, chopped

Combine the butter, sugar and water in a large saucepan and cook until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate. Stir until all the chocolate is melted. Chill until spreadable.

To assemble the cake, you can use this template. I actually used a saucer and a cutter and found it surprisingly simple. From your four cakes, you should have four large circles, 4 medium circles and 4 small circles. Then you need to slot them together. Have a look at this tutorial. Take a large chocolate circle and spread chocolate frosting on the inside. Place a medium orange circle inside and spread on more chocolate frosting. Then place a small orange circle inside that. Repeat with all cakes, alternating the colours. Stack the cakes on top of each other, sandwiching with chocolate frosting and alternating the colours. Cover the top and sides with chocolate frosting.