Spiced Orange Chocolate Mousse Cake
Spiced Orange Chocolate Mousse Cake
Welcome to To Vegetables, With Love, a celebration of a vegetable life, less ordinary. ‘ Find archived recipes on my recipe index.
My book Tenderheart is available from Books are Magic, Kitchen, Arts and Letters, Book Larder, Bold Fork Books and also here or here.
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Last week, I was in Philadelphia for the Cookbooks & Convos series organized by Sisterly Collective. The series brings together female cookbook authors and partners them with a female owned restaurant. I collaborated with Bastia, a new and very impressive mediterranean restaurant helmed by Chef Tyler Atkin. The restaurant is located in the beautiful newly refurbished hotel Anna and Bel, a location with its own hallowed and intriguing history (read about it on their website). The hotel/restaurant’s location on a narrow, sleepy Fishtown street does nothing to prepare you for the elegant, meticulously designed interior. With hints of the Mediterranean, every detail is considered, stylish without being uncomfortable, cool but friendly. I highly recommend if you’re in Philly.
I digress.
At the end of the meal, a several course set menu of recipes inspired by Tenderheart, the server brought out a plate of clementines to the table, which we were told is a nod to the Sicilian tradition of ending a meal with oranges 🍊.
The gesture moved me and I sat for a moment, transfixed by the sight of the citrus, illuminated only by the flicker of a candle. The restaurant didn’t know this, but to end a Tenderheart-inspired meal with citrus was extremely appropriate, because my dad, too, concluded every meal with an orange ritual. At the end of his meal, while we flittered around taking dishes into the kitchen, he would remain at the table, and, with his small paring knife, remove the skin of the orange in a perfect, unbroken swirl. The rest of the family didn’t partake in the orange consumption; he never offered to peel one for us and at times, it felt like it was a moment he wanted to savor just for himself. Just a man and his orange. Still, sometimes I would stand next to him and charm a segment or two off him. This is one of my enduring memories of him.
Though this was my dad’s ritual, the idea of oranges for dessert is not unique to him. In Chinese culture, where sweet desserts are not revered in the same way as they are in the west, often it is oranges, or fruit in general, for dessert. Oranges and citrus are symbolic in Chinese culture. Their golden, round shape is said to represent continuity, prosperity and wealth. For me, an orange at the end of a meal is an ideal palate cleanser.
In celebration of oranges for dessert, I am sharing an on-theme sweet treat this week. This wonderful spiced orange chocolate mousse cake is from my friend
’s latest I'll Bring Dessert: Simple, Sweet Recipes for Every Occasion. I am a huge fan of Benji’s bakes - she prioritizes flavour and her desserts are never too sweet. In this recipe, oranges have been macerated with sugar, cinnamon and star anise, served with a divine, fudgy flourless chocolate mousse cake. Chocolate and orange is a personal fave flavour combo of mine and here, the added spices adds something very special. Whichever way, we will enjoy oranges for dessert.
Monday: Easy one-pot spinach, feta and dill pasta, a new recipe over at ABC Lifestyle. This is one of the favourite flavour profiles in our house.
Tuesday: Cabbage parm. Go on, I know you want to!
Wednesday: Breakfast udon, for dinner. Because we gotta get over the hump, to get to the weekend.
Thursday: It’s Halloween, so make a salad to counter all that damn candy. This pumpkin salad with lentils and honey miso dressing is on theme. This recipe is on Australian’s ABC website and in Australia, we call all winter squash pumpkin. So use whatever winter squash you like for this recipe. I just bought two sweet and caramelly honey nuts so I will be using those. Butternut is great too.
Friday: Crispy coconut rice with tof
🥦 My cookbook, Tenderheart is for cooking vegetables, all year round. Pick up your copy here. It is also mostly vegan (or vegan-izable) and gluten-free adaptable.
THIS WEEK’S RECIPE
Spiced Orange Chocolate Mousse Cake
© Excerpted with permission from I’ll Bring Dessert by Benjamina Ebuehi, published by Hardie Grant Publishing, April 2024, RRP $35.00 Hardcover, for Hetty Lui McKinnon for To Vegetables, With Love
Benjamina’s headnote: I love a good flourless chocolate cake and have developed quite a few of them over the years, all slightly different in texture and taste. As the name suggests, this version is more mousse-like. Airy and light with warming spices and macerated oranges, it’s a great one for the festive season.