Orange and marzipan cake with chocolate sauce

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit or 200 degrees Celsius.

Grease the mould with a teaspoon of soft butter, add a teaspoon of flour and shake the pan so the flour coats the buttered surface out to the edge.

Break the marzipan into pieces in a blender, add the orange juice and zest and blend to a smooth, slightly liquid cream.

Work the soft butter and icing sugar together in a bowl until creamed.

Whisk in one egg, then the second.

Add the flour in about three additions, whisking between each.

Add the candied orange and the blended marzipan and orange cream, and stir until smooth.

Add three tablespoons of Grand Marnier, whisk to combine and transfer the batter to the prepared pan.

Bake at 400 Fahrenheit or 200 Celsius for about 20 to 25 minutes.

Spread the sliced almonds on a tray and toast them in the oven for a few minutes until golden brown, without burning them.

Bring the milk to a boil in a saucepan, add the chocolate and turn off the heat.

Whisk the chocolate into the hot milk until melted.

Whisk in the cocoa powder, then leave the sauce at room temperature to thicken; cool the almonds too.

At 20 minutes, insert a toothpick into the centre of the cake; it comes out dry when the cake is cooked.

Cool the cake to room temperature, unmould, and trim the outside -- optional, for presentation only.

Cut a slice. Put a drop of chocolate sauce on the plate and spread it with a dry brush; set the slice diagonally over it and add a little more chocolate.

Garnish with a few pieces of candied orange, sliced almonds and, optionally, gold leaf.