Favourite Chocolate Delight : Exec Chef Nitin Mathur, Taj Santacruz, Mumbai

Chocolate unites us all!

If there ever was anything that everyone unanimously agreed upon, it would be about chocolate’s delicious taste.

During these tough times, it is essential to keep up your mood and nothing better than having a bite of a chocolate dessert!

Today’s Traveller invites Exec Chef Nitin Mathur, Taj Santacruz, Mumbai to share his favourite Choco Delight…

Chocolate Orange Torte

INGREDIENTS

Chocolate sponge:-

• All-purpose flour – 800gm
• Coco powder – 200gm
• Baking powder – 35gm
• Baking soda – 35gm
• Sugar – 1000gm
• Water- 500ml
• Soft butter – 500ml
• Milk – 500ml

Orange Chocolate Ganache:-

• Fresh cream – 500gm
• Orange zest – 200 gm
• Dark chocolate – 1000gm

Candied orange:-

• Organic orange peel- 500gm
• Water – 1250gm
• Sugar- 1250gm
• Honey- 300gm

Orange syrup:-

• Sugar- 300 gm
• Orange juice- 400ml
• Orange slice – 2nos

METHOD 

Chocolate sponge

1. For making the sponge, we mix the wet ingredients together (water, milk). After it is mixed well, add sugar to it and mix well.
2. Add the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, baking  soda, baking powder) into the above mixture
3. Combine the wet and the dry ingredients together & mix well
4. Once well incorporated, proceed to add in the soft butter gently
5. Line the tin with parchment paper and pour the batter in the lined tin
6. Put the tin in the preheated oven at 180 degree Celsius for 20 to 25 minutes

Orange Chocolate Ganache

1. Scale all the ingredients
2. Add fresh cream to the heavy bottom pan and allow it to boil
3. After the fresh cream is boiled add dark chocolate and orange zest and mix it well

Orange syrup

1. Add orange juice and sugar into a heavy bottom pan. Allow it to simmer
2. Add two slices of orange to the orange syrup and allow the sugar to melt
3. After the orange syrup gets its first  boil, check the consistency of the orange syrup
4. Keep it aside and allow it to cool

Candied orange

1. Peel  a whole orange and cut the skin in to fine juliennes
2. Add the juliennes into room temperature water and allow them to be soaked overnight
3. Next day add honey & sugar into the soaked cut juliennes water & allow it to boil until the sugar is melted
4. Keep the mixture at room temperature

 Assembling

1. Start cutting the sponge into three equal  layers
2. After cutting the sponge, apply orange syrup to the first base sponge ensuring that the sponge absorbs the orange syrup into it. Keep in mind that the syrup isn’t poured too much
3. Add orange ganache to the  sponge and repeat this for all the three layers
4. Finish the cake by applying  an even coat of  orange ganache  from all the directions
5. See that there is equal quantity of ganache from all sides of the cake
6. With small  star nozzle  piping bag, make  dollops of orange ganache on the rim of the  cake and garnish it with the orange candied peels

Read more: Food Voyager