ICCHFC - Week 58: Chocolate, chilli and orange cake

Seb's made quite a few adjustments to the original recipe (see below) and wasn't quite sure how it had turned out so was insistent that a photograph should be taken before it was cut, so hear it is:

This was certainly a substantial cake. Despite having changed the recipe it was pretty tasty, although I think the chilli and orange subtleties were lost on me.

Seb's Chocolate, chilli and orange cake (aka Simon Rimmer's original recipe on Something for the Weekend)

Ingredients:
For the chocolate syrup:
200ml/7fl oz water
125g/4½oz butter
1¾oz honey
1lb 2oz dark chocolate, minimum 70% cocoa solids
For the sponge:
9oz butter, plus extra for greasing
9oz caster sugar
5 free-range eggs
1 vanilla pod, seeds only
14oz flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 red chilli, finely chopped
1 orange, zest and juice
For the glaze:
1 orange, juice only
4½oz icing sugar
1 tbsp orange liqueur

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Grease a 25cm/10in bundt cake tin.
2. For the chocolate syrup, heat the water, butter, honey and chocolate in a saucepan, stirring regularly, until the mixture is smooth.
3. For the sponge, cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until well combined. Fold in the flour and baking powder. Spoon half of the mixture into a separate bowl.
4. Stir half of the chocolate syrup and all of the chilli into one half of the mixture. Add the orange zest and juice to the other half of the mixture.
5. Spoon the orange mixture into the cake tin and spread the mixture out until it is level. Spoon the chocolate chilli mixture on top. Bake in the oven for 40-50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and set aside to cool.
6. Meanwhile, for the glaze, mix the orange juice, icing sugar and orange liqueur together in a bowl until well combined.
7. Carefully remove the cake from the tin and brush with the glaze. Pour over the remaining chocolate syrup.