Chocolate and Orange Marble Cake

It is hard to believe that we are almost halfway through January. I keep making the mistake of referring to things which happened last March as if they were yesterday (only to realise that they were almost a year ago!) I know that many people are being healthy this month as part of their resolutions, however if you are, I am not sure that this post will be helpful for you…… Apart from going ‘dry’ for the month, cake is still firmly on my agenda as I am too weak to resist. However if healthy is what you are looking for, I can recommend two of my lovely blogger friends who have been selected as Weight Watchers Blog Ambassadors and are sharing some yummy and healthy recipes – Nelly’s Cupcakes and Roswensian.I was very lucky to receive a Kenwood Mixer for Christmas. This is something which I have wanted for a VERY long time and will definitely be a massive help in the kitchen. It only seemed suitable to christen the mixer with a cake, and after much consideration I decided on a marble cake as they are great fun to make. I adapted a Mary Berry recipe to create a chocolate and orange marble cake, as adding fruit made it seem a bit healthier. The mixture is normally all baked in a loaf tin, however I split it between a mini-loaf tin and a normal loaf tin (which created a smaller cake loaf). You could also create marble cupcakes if you fancy something smaller – all cooking times are below in the instructions.

Ingredients

225g butter (softened)
225g caster sugar
4 large eggs
275g self-raising flour (sieved)
2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp milk (plus 1 extra tbsp for the chocolate mixture)
Zest of 2 oranges
1 tbsp fresh orange juice
2 tbsp cocoa powder
50g plain chocolate (broken into pieces)
50g white chocolate (broken into pieces)

Preheat the oven to 180C and grease and line your chosen tin. Put the butter and sugar in a large bowl and cream together. Mix in the eggs one by one, then gently fold in the flour, baking powder and milk until just combined. Spoon half of the mixture into a second bowl. In one bowl fold in the orange zest and juice, and in the other bowl fold in the cocoa powder and the additional tablespoon of milk.Spoon the two mixtures randomly in your tin or cases. This is where you can be creative, perhaps by having a chequered or rainbow effect. I also ran a knife through the tins a few times to create a deeper marbled effect.Place in the oven and cook for:
- Cupcakes: 12 – 15 minutes
- Mini-loaf tin: 20 – 25 minutes
- Loaf tin (half mixture): 35 – 40 minutes
- Loaf tin (full mixture): 50 – 60 minutes

The cake will be ready when a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely.Once cooled, melt the white and plain chocolate pieces in separate bowls (either in a microwave or over a pan of simmering water). Use a piping bag or a fork to drizzle both chocolates over the cake, then leave to set for about 30 minutes.Great with a cup of tea in front of the fire on a cold evening – enjoy