Almost everyone had been looking forward to Chocolate week. I really thought this weeks technical challenge was difficult but doable. I presumed that the bakers would know how to make a swiss roll and that the only tricky part of the bake would be tempering the chocolate and, maybe, creating the glaze. I have to say I couldn’t believe the swiss rolls that were presented.

I just felt so bad for Paul, as it was his creation, and so bad for the bakers, as I could see in their faces that they really had tried so hard. It did make me think though, are people baking the traditional basic cakes like Swiss roll anymore?

I have memories of learning how to roll them as early as in Home Economics class, baking them at home for years then creating luscious chocolate roulades in Ballymaloe.

It’s a cake I really though everyone would have had some experience with. Thankfully their chocolate boxes gave us the sweet ending we needed. I loved Cathy’s superfood angle and Clare’s looked great.

Whilst Damien had a brilliant idea he just didn’t have the basics right like a good cookie for the pizza. I really hope himself and Darina continue to bake. It was great to see Clare get back her baking confidence after last week and I felt that everyone knew it was getting a little more competitive, especially with two contestants going home.

Chocolate Orange Cake

The cake:

225g (8oz) butter

225g (8oz) sugar

4 eggs

225g (8oz) self raising flour

3 tbsp cocoa

2 tsp baking powder

50ml milk

The juice of an orange

The Orange Icing:

55g (2oz) butter, soft

250g (9oz) icing sugar

1 tbsp milk

3 tbsp orange juice

Ganache:

3 ½ oz (100g) orange dark chocolate (like Green & Blacks Maya Gold)

1 ½ oz (40g) butter

The thinly sliced rind of 1/2 orange

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 180C. Butter two 7” sandwich tins and dust lightly with flour.

Cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs one by one.

Mix in the milk and orange juice. Sieve the flour, cocoa and baking powder into the egg mixture.

Mix until well combined.

Spoon the mixture into the two prepared sandwich tins.

Bake for 30 mins until a skewer comes out clean. Cool on a rack.

For the Icing:

Mix the butter, milk, orange juice and half the icing sugar until well combined.

Add the rest of the icing sugar and mix well until fluffy.

Sandwich the cake together with the icining.

For the ganache:

lace the butter and the chocolate chunks into a heatproof bowl and place over a pan of simmering water.

Stir until melted. Leave to cool slightly and thicken before spreading generously over the top of the cake. Top with the orange rind.

See Lilly Higgins on The Great Irish Bake Off on TV3, every Sunday at 9pm.