As you can see, I’ve been really into making cakes lately. For the longest time now, I’ve been kind of sick of cake. I have no idea why! I guess I go through these weird creative cycles where I can only think about one type of recipe and right now, my obsession seems to be cake. I hope you don’t mind… Actually I know you don’t mind 😉
I can’t believe it’s almost December! Yesterday was the first of advent here in Sweden.. Christmas still feels very distant. This cake is kind of suitable for Christmas/winter actually. Orange and chocolate is a combination I adore. And with the addition of ginger, and honey in the frosting, it’s even better!
CITRUS GINGER CAKE WITH HONEY CHOCOLATE FROSTING
Yields one 8-inch cake, serves 8-10
What I really like about this cake, besides the moist, buttery crumb, is the frosting. It’s perfect if you don’t like it super sweet. As for which citrus fruits to use, it’s up to you! I used zest from 1 orange and 1 clementine but you could also use lemon, blood orange or lime. Make sure to not throw away the fruits after using the zest. Save them for the topping!
INGREDIENTS
CAKE
- 270 g (barely 2 cups) all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 175 g (1 1/2 stick) softened butter
- 270 g (1 1/4 cups) granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla powder
- 3 large eggs
- 225 mL (barely 1 cup) sour cream
- 1 tbsp. grated fresh ginger
- 2 tbsp. finely grated citrus zest (save the fruits for the brûlée topping)
FROSTING
- 200 g semi sweet- or dark chocolate (50-70%)
- 300 g cream cheese, at room temperature
- pinch of salt
- 4-5 tbsp. fluid honey
BRÛLÉED CITRUS
- 1 orange
- 1 clementine
- handful of kumquats if desired
- 3 tbsp. turbinado sugar
INSTRUCTIONS
CAKE
- Preheat oven to 175°C (350f). Grease and flour a 20 cm (8 inch) cake pan.
- In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- Beat butter, sugar and vanilla powder until light and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.
- Add the flour mixture, sour cream, zest and ginger to the butter mixture and stir until batter is smooth.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake in the lower part of the oven for 48-50 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
FROSTING & ASSEMBLY
- Coarsely chop the chocolate, then melt it and let it cool for a few minutes until lukewarm.
- Beat the cream cheese, honey and salt until smooth, then add the melted chocolate and beat until smooth again. If the cream cheese is too cold, the mixture might harden quickly. If it does, carefully heat the mixture in a pan so a small part of the chocolate melts, then beat smooth and creamy again.
- Split the cake in half so you have two layers. Place the first layer on a plate or cake stand, then spread with a layer of frosting. Put the second layer on top and cover the cake with the rest of the frosting.
BRÛLÉED CITRUS
- Slice the fruit and cut away the remaining peel and pith from each slice. Pat dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle sugar on top and using a kitchen torch, slowly and evenly caramelize the sugar until it bubbles and browns. Let cool for a minute, then place brûleed slices on the cake. Decorate with kumquats.
This is a beautiful looking cake! I love the brûléed citrus fruits on the top!
Thanks so much Lianne!!
Seeing this cake I travel to my grandma`s kitchen! This cake looks like classic homemade cakes, with that old school appearance, but, at the same time it seems to me original and creative, with the brûléed citrus and fresh ginger in the frosting…I was looking for ways to use it fresh, and now I gonna try! Thanks for show to me how I can do it!
You`re rigth! I don´t mind your current cake obssesion, It connects with my own cake craziness and I love it!
Thank you so much for your sweet comment Maria!
I agree, it totally looks a bit old school, so much easier to make!
xx
That looks so delicious! I love the fruit on top!
Kari
http://sweetteasweetie.com/biscuit-bar-appetizer-bar/
Thank you Kari :-*
Incredible! The cake is so moist and the frosting is perfect. I candied the oranges (used blood and regular with rinds left on) on top instead of bruleeing and drizzled the syrup between the layers after poking some holes to let it seep in. My friends were blown away. Will try the brûlée version when I can find my torch. Thanks for a recipe I’ll make many times again!
Hi Linda….
I baked this cake over the weekend for my mother’s birthday. Thank you so much for this recipe !! It was an instant hit in the family. everyone loved not to bits !!
I especially love the hint of fresh ginger in the cake.
Thanks a bunch !!
I made this the other day, and it was sooooo good!
I had no cream cheese for the frosting, and they were out at the store (yes I live in France and cream cheese isn’t all that easy to find…), so I used Mascarpone instead (I just added a little more salt). It turned out amazing!
How to get the bruleed citrus without a kitchen torch? How can i broil it in a convection microwave oven?
I haven’t tried any other way, but here’s one recipe using the broil setting on the oven so it might work 🙂 : http://www.sunday-suppers.com/blog/recipe-broiled-citrus-ricotta-toast
Hi! This cake is beautiful; I’d love to make it myself.
How deep is your cake pan? I worry mine may bee too shallow (2.5 inches), and that I may be better off baking it in two pans in order to get two layers. What do you think?
Hi Katie! I think the pan I’m using is 3 inches deep. I can’t remember exactly how much this cake rises in the pan, but I think 2.5 should be enough. Two cake pans would of course work as well, hey, at least they will bake faster 🙂
Hi Linda, I baked your cake for my uncle’s birthday last weekend and it was seriously lovely! My family and I absolutely love it! The fresh orange taste in the cake is intense and the rich chocolate frosting really goes perfectly well with the orange and ginger! Absolutely scrumptious and will bake it again! Thank you so much for your lovely recipe, Linda!
Hi Amanda 🙂 I’m SO happy to hear that you liked it so much! Thank you so much for leaving this lovely comment! x