White and Dark Chocolate Jaffa Swirl Cake

Ever since I went back to work, I hardly have any time to bake cakes, and this is probably my first cake for 2012! It was the picture of the lovely yellow and brown swirls in the cake that caught my attention when I was browsing through Belinda Jeffery's cookbook called "Mix & Bake". It has a wonderful collection of recipes for baking and my decision to try out this recipe was partially because I happened to have all the necessary ingredients on hand. Moreover, you can't go wrong with orange and chocolate.

This is a lovely orange and chocolate swirl cake that is absolutely moist and tender, thanks to the addition of buttermilk in the recipe. The dark chocolate ganache is a must as it brings out the citrus flavours in the cake. As the recipe for the ganache does not contain cream (as most ganache recipes do), this allows the cake to be stored  outside without refrigeration for a few days. I was afraid that we wouldn't be able to finish the cake as it was quite big, but all three kids loved it so much that almost half was it was gone by the next day. The kids don't usually like eating cake, but I was pleasantly surprised that this was such a hit with them. Hilary loved the chocolate ganache, whereas Zach's favourite part was the crunchy crust on top of the cake (well, now bottom after it's inverted).

Needless to say, this cake is perfect with a cuppa or served as dessert. Great for bringing to a party too, especially since it looks pretty and all. You can decorate the top with some candied orange zest if you like, just to jazz it up a bit, and so that people know it's a Jaffa cake! Delicious!

White and dark chocolate Jaffa Swirl Cake
Adapted from Mix & Bake by Belinda Jeffery

Ingredients

55g white chocolate, chopped
55g dark chocolate, chopped
290g unsalted butter, chopped, room temperature
2 1/2 cups (375g) plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
4 eggs
2 cups (440g) caster sugar (I used about 1 3/4 cups)
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 tsp finely grated orange zest (about 2 oranges)

Ganache:
80g dark chocolate
40g unsalted butter, chopped
1 tbsp water

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C (350F). Butter and flour a bundt tin.
2. Put white chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl with 20g of the butter. Do the same for the dark chocolate in another bowl. Microwave each bowl on high for 35-40 seconds until melted, stopping to stir halfway through. Stir until smooth and melted. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
3. Place flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a food processor. Whiz together until well mixed and transfer to a bowl. Put eggs and sugar into the processor and whiz for 1 minute. Add remaining 250g of butter to the egg mixture and process for 1 minute. Pour in buttermilk and vanilla and whiz for 10 seconds. Tip in flour mixture and pulse a few times until batter is just combined.
4. Transfer half the batter to a bowl and stir in the dark chocolate mixture. Add white chocolate mixture and orange zest to the batter in the processor and blend it in quickly until just combined.
5. Spread half the white chocolate batter into the bottom of the bundt tin to form an even layer. Dollop half the dark chocolate batter on top in an even layer. Repeat layering with the remaining batters. Run a narrow knife right through the batter and swirl through gently around the tube once.
6. Bake in oven for 55 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Cool the cake in the tine for 10 minutes, and then carefully loosen the edges of the cake and invert onto a rack to cool completely.
7. Meanwhile, make ganache by melting the ingredients in a heavy-based saucepan over low heat until melted and smooth.
8. To ice the cake, drizzle the barely warm ganache over the cake and let it set. Any leftover cake keeps well for up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in a cool spot.