Dark Chocolate Fudge Cake

I know there are hundreds of chocolate cake recipes on here, but you can never have too many to choose from! This is a dark, rich, moist cake with a touch of orange. Mmm... Delicious!

• Ready In: 50 mins
• Serves: 10
• Yields: 1 cake

Ingredients

• For the cake

• 200  g self raising flour
• 25  g cocoa powder
• 175  g butter
• 175  g soft brown sugar
• 1  orange, rind of, grated
• 100  g dark chocolate
• 3  tablespoons boiling water
• 3  eggs
•  apricot jam

• For the fudge coating

• 100  g icing sugar
• 25  g cocoa powder
• 37  g butter
• 2  tablespoons water
• 50  g caster sugar

Directions

1. For the cake:
2. Sieve the flour and cocoa powder and set aside.
3. Cream the butter and sugar together until soft and light, stir in the orange rind.
4. Break chocolate into a bowl (I recommend that you use 70% cocoa solid minimum), add boiling water and stir until the chocolate is melted and well blended.
5. Lightly whisk the eggs and gradually beat into the butter and sugar mixture.
6. Beat in the melted chocolate, and then fold in the flour/cocoa mixture with a metal spoon.
7. Spoon the mixture into two greased and lined tins and bake at 180/350/Gas 4 for 25-30 minutes, until cake shrinks away from the sides of the tin.
8. Allow to cool slightly in tins, and then turn out on wire rack. When cold, slice each cake horizontally to make 4 layers. Using a thin layer of jam, sandwich all layers of the cake together.
9. Fudge coating:
10. Sift icing sugar and cocoa and set aside.
11. Put the butter, water and caster sugar into a saucepan and heat gently, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Bring to a simmer.
12. Pour the hot mixture into the sieved icing sugar/cocoa mixture; mix together until its thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
13. Pour coating quickly over the cake; smooth over the sides. Leave to set before serving.