Layers of orange poppy seed cake with a chocolate cream filling topped with chocolate ganache.
I remember finding this recipe in a magazine and making it the first time for the restaurant. The woman who was baking for Myra’s quit to start her own bakery. Mom handed me the cake bible and basically said, go for it. I thought I found this cake recipe in a Bon Appetit magazine, but I’ve looked online, and I can’t find the recipe anywhere. It’s been around a long time…over 30 years!
The cake has a lot of parts, and it takes a few hours to put together, because you have to let the different parts of it set up before you can continue. With this recipe you are making your own crème fraiche, which has to sit out on the counter for 12 hours. Then, after you add the melted chocolate and orange, you have to let it chill before you can smooth it onto the layers. And then there’s the ganache.
Don’t worry if you don’t have a jelly roll pan. Use a regular half sheet pan with an edge. The cake will come out a little thicker, but that just makes it easier to cut in half. And you get an extra piece of cake to have later with any extra frosting, depending on how tall you want your cake!
Soaking the poppy seeds before baking helps to soften their tough outer coating, making them more tender and releasing their natural oils. This enhances their flavor and helps to prevent them from drying out during baking.
You can use regular orange slices to decorate, but the mandarin orange slices in a can look really pretty.
I made this cake for my birthday this week. It’s the kind of cake you want for a special occasion since it takes a lot of time and expensive ingredients. So treat yourself or someone special. It’s worth the time and energy!
Chocolate Orange Poppyseed Cake
Equipment
- 1 sheet pan or 12 X 17 inch jelly roll pan
- 1 cake plate
- 1 zester or grater with small holes
- 1 whisk
- 1 stand mixer
- bowls for mixing
Ingredients
Chocolate Orange Creme Fraiche
- 1 1/2 cups sour cream
- 1 1/2 cups whipping cream
for the Cake
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/3 cup poppyseeds
- 4 teas. grated orange peel about 2 oranges
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teas. baking soda
- 1 teas. salt
- 7 oz. butter (14 TBLS.) unsalted
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3 eggs separated
- 1 teas. vanilla extract
- 1 teas. cinnamon
For the creme fraiche layer
- 8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
- 2 tsp. grated orange peel about 1 orange
- 1 TBLS orange liquor or orange juice
Chocolate Ganache
- 6 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
- 2 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate, chopped
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 TBLS. sugar
- 1 can mandarin oranges for decoration
Instructions
- For the creme fraiche: In a medium bowl, whisk the whipping cream and sour cream together until smooth. Cover and let it sit on the counter at room temp for at least 12 hours. Refrigerate until ready to use the next day.
- For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour your sheet pan or jelly roll pan. In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the buttermilk, poppyseeds and 4 teas. of orange zest. Let stand while you:
- Sift flour, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl. Using stand mixer cream butter and both sugars in a large bowl until fluffy. Beat in egg yolks one at a time, and vanilla. Mix in dry ingredients alternating with buttermilk mixture, ending with dry ingredients. Using clean dry beaters, beat the egg whites in another bowl until stiff and fold into the batter. Pour batter into prepared pan, smooth the top and sprinkle with cinnamon.Bake until a tooth pick into the center comes out clean: 20 to 24 minutes. Cool in the pan.
- Melt 8 oz. of semi sweet chocolate in the microwave on high, 20 seconds at a time, stirring in between until smooth. Let the chocolate cool slightly and add to the cream fraiche with 2 teaspoons of orange zest and orange liquor (if using) and whisk until smooth. Chill in refrigerator until cake has cooled
- Cut the cake into 4 pieces. You can set aside one piece for eating later, and make a 6 layer cake, or use all the cake and have 8 layers. Using a serrated knife, cut the pieces in half horizontally, forming 6(8) layers. Place one layer on your cake plate and spread about 1/4 cup of the orange/chocolate fraiche evenly over the layer. Repeat with the other 5 layers, ending with a cut side down. Smooth the remaining creme fraiche over the the top and sides of the cake. Refrigerate until the filling is firm, about 2 hours.
- For the chocolate ganache: Put the semi sweet and unsweetened chocolate in a heat proof bowl. . Put the cup of cream on the stove in a small pot with the TBLS of sugar and bring to a boil. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let it sit for 5 minutes. Then take your whisk and stir until the ganache has a smooth consistency. Let it sit until it comes to room temp.
- Take the cake out of the refrigerator and smooth a layer of ganache over the entire cake. Decorate with orange slices. Refrigerate until ganache has set. Cover and keep in the refrigerator until 30 minutes before serving. Cut down the middle, and cut 8 slices from each side (see post photo for example).
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