Kūmara, Orange and Chocolate Cake - Keke Kūmara, Ārani me te Tiakarete Parauri
A delicious kūmara cake with flavours of orange and heavy spices with speckles of dark chocolate and a ginger hum in the background.
Servings 14 Slices
Equipment
- 2 x 19 cm or 20 cm spring-form cake tins
Ingredients
Kūmara, Orange and Chocolate Cake - Keke Kūmara, Ārani me te Tiakarete Parauri
- 300 g kūmara ārani (orange kūmara, peeled)
- ½ teaspoon tote (salt, fine)
- kiri ārani (orange zest, of 1 ½ oranges)
- ⅓ C wai ārani (orange juice)
- 1 tablespoon wanira (vanilla)
- 2 hēki (eggs)
- ⅔ C huka hāura (brown sugar)
- ⅔ C huka one (caster sugar)
- ⅔ C noni (oil, neutral)
- ½ C miraka tepe (yogurt, unsweetened)
- 2 ½ C puehu parāoa whakatipu (self-raising flour)
- ½ teaspoon pēkana houra (baking soda)
- 1 tablespoon rau kikini whakauruuru (mixed spice)
- 1 tablespoon hinamona kuoro (ground cinnamon)
- 2 teaspoon tinitia kuoro (ground ginger)
- 100 g tiakarete manarini me te tinitia (mandarin and ginger chocolate). Note: You can change the chocolate flavour here if need be, though dark chocolate is recommended.
The Dark Chocolate Buttercream - Te Pani Reka Tiakarete
- 1 quantity dark chocolate buttercream
- 180 g tiakarete parauri (dark chocolate of your choice). I often use 50% - 62%.
- 3 tablespoon (45 ml) kirīmi, miraka rānei (cream or milk)
- 190 g pata kūteretere (softened butter)
- ½ C (85 g) puehu huka (icing sugar)
- 2 teaspoon (10 ml) wanira (vanilla)
The Decorations - Te Whakarākei
- 8 rōpere (strawberries, cut in half)
- 8 slices ārani raki (dried oranges, cut in half)
- 4 sprigs rohimere (rosemary, cut in to pieces)
Instructions
Preheat the Oven:
- Preheat the oven to 150 °C bake setting or 140 °C fan bake setting. This low temperature helps keep the cakes flat and locks in the moisture when they are baking.
- Grease two 19 cm or 20 cm spring form cake tins and then line with baking paper.
Prepare the Kūmara:
- Grate the kūmara ārani (orange kūmara) in to a large bowl.
- Add the tote (salt), kiri ārani (orange zest), wai ārani (orange juice) and wanira (vanilla). Whakaranuhia (stir it together) and leave it to the side.
Whisk the Eggs and Sugar:
- Add the hēki (eggs), huka hāura (brown sugar) and huka one (caster sugar) in to a large bowl.
- Using a kōrori (whisk), whip the mixture for a minute or so until the mixture is smooth and light in colour.
- Continue to whip as you slowly add the noni (oil) and miraka tepe (yogurt).
Add the remaining Ingredients:
- Sift the puehu parāoa whakatipu (self-raising flour), pēkana houra (baking soda), rau kikini whakauruuru (mixed spice), hinamona (cinnamon) and tinitia (ginger) on top of the egg and yogurt mixture.
- Add the kūmara mixture on top of the sifted ingredients and fold all the ingredients together.
- Chop the tiakarete manarini me te tinitia (mandarin and ginger chocolate) in to fine pieces (the same size as small chocolate chips) and fold it in the batter.
Bake the Kūmara and Chocolate Cake:
- Divide the mixture between the two cake tins and smooth out the batter.
- Bake the cakes for 25 minutes.
- After 25 minutes, place a large tray on top of the cake tins and bake for a further 15 minutes or until the cakes spring back when pressed in the centre. Note: Adding the tray on top helps lock in the moisture in the final part of baking and stops the cakes from over browning. Trust me, you won't regret it.
Cool the Cakes:
- Remove the keke (cakes) from the oven.
- Tip the cakes upside down on to a cooling tray straight away to help flatten them out. Leave the baking paper on as they cool.
- Completely cool the cakes. Once cool, the keke (cake) can be stacked on top of each other and stored in a sealed container for around 3 days before decorating. I often cover mine with a resuable bowl cover too.
Make the Dark Chocolate Buttercream:
- Once you are ready to decorate the cake, make one quantity of my dark chocolate buttercream.
Add the Buttercream:
- Note: I decorate it as a nude cake but it can be covered all over with the buttercream too if you prefer.
- Place one of the cooled keke (cakes) on to a serving platter or cake stand.
- Spread half of the pani reka (buttercream) on to the cake and spread it out.
- Place the second keke (cake) on top. Spread the second half of the pani reka (buttercream) in a swirly pattern or you can get creative and pipe it.
Decorate the Top of the Cake:
- Arrange the rōpere (strawberries), ārani raki (dried oranges) and rohimere (rosemary) as you want.
- Serve the keke (cake) and enjoy the fruits of your labour.
Store the Cake:
- Store this keke (cake) in a sealed container in a cool place. It will develop in flavour as it sits and in my opinion is even better a few days after it is baked. It will keep well for up 5 days.
- In the hotter months you can store the decorated and uncut cake it in the refrigerator but bring it room temperature before eating. Once it is cut, don't keep it in the fridge as the cake will dry out.