Chocolate Orange Almond Gateau

      Well, it is the Birthday fever that is still going on in my blog .Its this time of the year that i truly look forward to , my little girl's big day. Yes, i know that my little girl is no more a baby but i really loved to bundle up in her baby pink blanket . She is the most beautiful and the most cheerful one, well more than everything the most daring one, she keeps on bumping herself to anything but its a rare thing that she comes crying to me complaining herself being hurt. 
At times she does makes me understand by her acts that " I'm a Toddler " . 
She is a bit on the " more " side nowadays, more beautiful, more talkative , more interactive, more cheerful, more funny , more fussy, more active, Well !! i would say.. more, more and even more hyper active nowadays :) But she is the best thing that happened to me :)

Other than the Birthday Bash we celebrated her actual B'day on 6th November at home with just the three of us with a yummy cake and her ever favorite lentil soup. She loves Cakes, and more over loves when we all sing her " Happy Birthday to U" and now after the Nemo Cake , she wants Nemo Cake and wants to eat the Nemo too !!! 
About this Cake it is a Orange - Almond Flavoured Cake covered with Chocolate ganache , i love this flavour , even before i started blogging i used to try out recipes from Deeba's Blog Passionate About Baking , i love her Cakes , its like a hobby for me to go through her recipes.

Chocolate Orange Almond Gateau
Recipe Source: passionateaboutbaking

Ingredients:
For the Orange Sponge
1 1/4 cup Plain flour
1/8 cup Cornflour
1 1/4 cup Powdered sugar
Pinch of salt
2 tsp Baking powder
3 large Eggs, separated
5 tbsp oil ( vegetable oil )
5 tbsp water
Rind of 1 Orange 
1 tbsp Orange juice
1 tsp Orange extract ( i did not use this )


Method:
Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a 9″ spring form tin with parchment paper.
Sift the cornflour, plain flour, baking powder, salt and powdered sugar into a mixing bowl.
Beat the egg whites till they stand in soft peaks. Keep aside.
With a whisk, lightly mix the oil, water, yolks, juice, rind and extract together. Stir into into the dry ingredients.
Beat with an electric beater on low speed until smooth.
Carefully fold the beaten whites gently into the yolk mixture.
Turn intothe lined tin and bake for about 45 minutes till well risen and golden brown / until done. Check if it is done with a wooden pick. {Slide a sheet of foil lightly over the top if it begins to brown too fast}. Leave in tin for 10 minutes, then turn out and cool completely on rack.
Once cool, cut into 2 layers each.
Ganache
3/4 cup low Fat cream ( i used whipping cream )
1 cup Dark chocolate
Method:
Place the cream & half the dark chocolate in a pan over low heat and stir until the chocolate has melted.
Put the remaining chocolate in a bowl, and pour the melted cream and chocolate mixture over it, and stir until all the chocolate has melted and is glossy. Reserve. {It will continue to thicken as it stands}
Filling / Almond Nut Whipped Cream
3/4 low Fat cream, chilled
4 tbsp almond meal
4tbsp powdered sugar  ( increase if needed )
Method:
Whip all ingredients together till thick and hold peaks. Adjust sugar if required.
Syrup
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 cup water
1/2 tsp orange extract
Small stick cinnamon
Method:
Simmer till the sugar has dissolved, and cool completely. {I usually keep a thick syrup in a jar in the fridge, sieved leftover syrup from poaching pears in}
Assemble the Gateau
Brush the cake with the cooled syrup and sandwich with the almond nut whipped cream.
Frost the sides and top of the cake with the ganache. Decorate with whipped cream and orange slices.  Chill well for the flavours to mature. In winter keep out at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving. In warm weather, serve straight out of the fridge.