Orange Almond Grand Marnier Cake

Golden Grand Marnier Cake
Chop 1oz dark chocolate into minichip-sized pieces. Place in a small bowl and stir in 1/8t Grand Marnier until they are coated and shiny. Sprinkle 1/2t cake flour over and stir until evenly coated. Set aside.
Lightly toast, then finely grind 20 grams sliced or slivered almonds. Place in a medium bowl and add 83g sifted cake flour (I didn't have any cake flour, I used organic white pastry flour - it was fine), 1/3c sugar,1/2t baking powder, 1/3t soda, 1/4t salt and scant 1T grated orange zest. Stir to evenly distribute everything.
Have ready 1/3c very soft butter (I had it in a bowl and microwaved it at the last minute), 1/3c sour cream measured in a 1c glass measure or transfered into a small bowl, 1 egg at room temp and vanilla.
Add the soft butter and approx. 3/4 of the sour cream into the dry ingredients. Mix with a wooden spoon (I tried a wisk first and the batter is too thick for it) for about a minute and a half( ("to aerate and develop the cake's structure"). Beat the egg and 1/2t vanilla into the little bit of sour cream left in the measuring cup until smooth. Pour this into the batter and beat for about another minute until everyting is incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, stir in the chocolate, then transfer it to the pan which has been sprayed with a good non-stick spray. Bake at 350F for about 45-50 minutes.
Just before the baking time is over, mix 35g sugar, 2T Grand Marnier and 1T freshly squeezed orange juice in a small bowl. Heat very gently (10 sec. at a time in the microwave) and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Do not boil.
As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, poke the top all over with a wire cake tester or toothpick. Brush on 1/2 of the syrup. Cool in the pan of 10 minutes then invert onto the plate you intend to serve it on (it will stick because of the syrup so you only get one chance). Brush the remaining syrup on the top and sides. I used the little silicon goodie - it worked great. Store in an airtight container for a day to let the moisture even out.
If you want, you can do a drizzley thing with 1/2oz melted chocolate mixed with 2t cream or slightly less milk. I didn't have any cream so I used liquor which was probably too cold so instead of thinning the chocolate it made it thicker.
I've found that if I'm going to go to the effort to make a nice cake, it's worth the richness (use the sour cream instead of yogurt, even though you'll have tons left (bring a cheesecake to work or make stroganoff?) and have everything at the same warmish temperature.

Rating: 5/5 stars