Countess Cake (German Komtess Kuchen)

You may have not heard about this cake, the Countess Cake or "Komtess Kuchen" in German. We searched the history why this cake has this unusual name but could not find anything about it. We only know that Komtess means "Countess". The cake is a delicious combination of an orange flavoured dough and chocolate. And it looks "aristocratic" indeed with the fine rectangle chocolate stripes. It is a very special cake for your special occasion. We recommend that you are somewhat experienced with baking in order to make this cake.

1 orange, freshly zested
unsalted butter, at room temperature (250 g)
sugar (175 g)
5 eggs
all-purpose flour, unbleached (250 g)
potato starch (100 g)
2 Tbsp. baking powder
4 Tbsp. Cointreau (Apricot liquor)
dark or semi-sweet chocolate, for the glaze and filling (300 g)
1 lb cake form 30 cm or 12" long
butter and breadcrumbs, for the form

Preheat an oven to 325°F (165°C/140°C fan, Gas Mark 3).

Wash the orange thoroughly under hot water and grate the peel. Juice it.

Add orange zest to the butter and mix it until creamy.

Slowly add the sugar and one egg after the other.

Mix all-purpose flour, unbleached, starch and baking powder and with a spoon add it to the dough.

Grease a rectangle lb cake form with butter and sprinkle it with bread crumbs all over.

Fill in the dough and smooth the surface.

Bake for 50-60 minutes on lower level (use a skewer or tooth pick to test if cake is done, if no dough sticks on the pick the cake is done).

Get the cake out of the form and let it cool off for some hours to one day, so it can be cut).

Cut the cake horizontal 5 times with a sharp knife (carefully, so it won't break).

Place the slices next to each other and with a spoon drip apricot liquor on each slice.

Melt chocolate by using the double-boiler method.

With a baking brush add the chocolate on each cake slice. Place wax paper under each slice.

Place the slices together again until the chocolate is soft.

Brush remaining chocolate all over the cake and let it dry completely on a baking rack.