Whole Orange and Chocolate Truffle Cake (The Misadventure of Mr Orange)

You may have heard of nose to tail eating, but how about peel to pip? In this recipe I've used the orange in its glorious entirety, the zest, the pith, the lot. This gives the finished cake a unique citrus flavour, sweet and fragrant with a slight tangy bitterness. I love it, especially when combined with its most favoured bedfellow, chocolate. The texture is velvety, almost truffle like and melts luxuriously on the tongue. It's a fitting tribute to Mr Orange, who after giving his life for your eating pleasure deserves no less than this Viking funeral.

Prep time: 20 Mins (Plus 2 hours to boil and cool the orange)
Baking time 60 Mins
1 Whole Large Orange
175g Unsalted Butter (Softened)
200g Light Muscovado Sugar
4 Large Eggs
1tsp Orange Extract
100g Ground Almonds
50g Cocoa Powder
50g Plain Flour
1tsp Baking Powder

First up is Mr Orange, who is sentenced to death by boiling. Mwah hah hah! Bring a saucepan of water up to the boil then add the orange and bring down to a simmer. Leave for 90 minutes (ignoring his screams), topping up the water when required, then turn off the heat and leave the orange in the water to cool until just warm.

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4, grease a 20cm deep loose bottomed tin and line the base with baking paper. Chop the orange into quarters and place into a mini chopper or food processor. Blitz until smooth then set to one side. In a large mixing bowl cream together the butter and sugar, then beat in the eggs one at a time along with the orange extract. Fold through the ground almonds, followed by the puréed orange. Sift in the cocoa powder, flour and baking powder, mix to a smooth batter, then pour into your prepared tin. Bake in the centre of the oven for around 60 minutes, until a metal skewer can be cleanly removed when inserted into the middle of the cake. 

When you're happy the cake is cooked remove it from the oven, leave in the tin for 30 minutes then carefully turn out and leave to cool completely on a wire rack. Slice, serve and say a silent thank you to Mr Orange.