White chocolate cardamom and orange layered cake with white chocolate ganache

Preheat the oven to 160°C. Grease and line 3 x 15 cm cake tins. Melt the white chocolate in a glass bowl over boiling water and cool until lukewarm.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and creamy, then add the orange zest.

Beat in the eggs, one at a time, adding 1 T flour after each egg to prevent the mixture from curdling. Transfer the mixture into a large mixing bowl. Sieve the remaining flour with the cardamom and baking powder and fold into the batter.

Mix the yoghurt and orange juice and fold into the mixture. Lastly, fold in the lukewarm chocolate until well combined. Divide the mixture between the tins and bake for 1 hour.

Cool in the tins for 10 minutes before turning out onto a rack to cool completely.

To ice the cake, divide the ganache between the 3 layers, keeping a little extra aside for the top layer. Spread the ganache to cover the top of each cake. Sandwich the three layers, keeping the cake with the most ganache for the top layer. Garnish with a sprinkling of pistachio nuts and orange zest.

To make the ganache, heat the cream to just below boiling point, add the chocolate and allow to stand for 1 minute. Stir to ensure the chocolate is melted. Allow to cool and thicken before using.

Cook's tip: Get hints and tips on making the perfect ganache here.

Abigail Donnelly recreated this winning cake recipe (Debbie Powell's Chocolate, cardamom and orange cake) for the cover of the October Issue of TASTE and to celebrate all the entries to the inaugural TASTE World's Best Cake Competition. See the top six recipes and get your free downloadable cake booklet here!