Chocolate, Orange and Coffee Bundt Cakes

Bundt cakes trace their origins to the German bundkuchen — a “gathering” or “together” cake. The “t” was added in the 1950s by a Minneapolis aluminium pan manufacturer who couldn’t trademark the word bund (you can’t trademark togetherness!), and so the bundkuchen pan became a Bundt pan and its popularity increased, so much so that we use the term for any ornate cake pan with a hole in the middle. We are not looking to trademark anything but would like to make the case for a return to the direct translation — is there anything more heart-warming and homely, anything better to bring out at the end of a dinner party than a “gathering cake”? For us these are the ultimate party cake: they have a light, almost moussy texture, they’re a fun size, and they have a deep, delicious chocolate-orange-coffee taste — a crowd-pleasing, season-appropriate combo if there was one. Other bonus points, if you need them: the cakes are gluten- and nut-free, very easy to prepare and there are only a few ingredients, so please no skimping on quality (fine butter, finest chocolate, fancy marmalade and coffee liqueur* that you’d drink). We bake ours in gathering pans (or Bundt tins) but a muffin tin will serve you well too — these cakes will have your guests gathering round no matter what they were baked in. *Orange or coffee liqueur sit really nicely with this recipe but we are leaning more towards the coffee one — our personal favourite is made by Conker. For full size tin double the recipe and the cooking time.

Unbalanced

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

Heat your oven to 170 with a fan assist (or Gas Mark 5).

Step 2

Place the eggs and sugar in a mixing bowl and whisk (electric or handheld both work) them to a fluffily pale mix. In the meantime, melt the butter with the chocolate.

Step 3

Fold the chocolate mix into the whisked eggs, then fold in the cocoa powder and cornflour to make an even mix.

Step 4

Lastly fold in the marmalade mixed with the zest and liqueur and transfer into well-oiled Bundt tins. Place in the centre of the oven and bake for 12 minutes, then remove and rest for 10-15 minutes before carefully placing a flat tray on top of the Bundt tin moulds. Use a cloth to lift and flip the tray and the moulds so you can easily release the cakes.

Step 5

Mix the icing ingredients together till smooth, then drizzle loosely all over the cakes and dust with a little cocoa powder to serve.

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