Ingredients

Step by step

1. A few days ahead, place the dried cranberries and Cointreau in a small bowl, cover and leave to steep. If you haven't been able to do this in advance, very gently warm them together in a small saucepan, without bringing to the boil, then remove from the heat, cover and steep for 2 hours.
2. To make the sponges, preheat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4. Grease and base-line 2 deep, round 18cm cake tins with baking paper.
3. Put the butter, caster sugar and orange zest in a mixing bowl and beat with an electric whisk for 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Gradually add the beaten eggs, a little at a time, until smooth. Add 1 tablespoon flour if the mixture looks like it might split.
4. Beat in half the flour with the whisk, then fold in the remaining flour, using a large metal spoon.
5. Divide the mixture between the tins and bake for 25-30 minutes until well risen and golden brown; the cake should be just pulling away from the sides. Remove from the oven, leave the sponges in their tins for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.
6. To make the orange and white chocolate cream: first, put the orange zest, orange juice and sugar in a medium pan and bring to the boil. Boil for 7-8 minutes until the liquid has reduced to just 2 tablespoons and has a syrupy consistency. Pour into a small bowl and cover with clingfilm until needed.
7. Pour 150ml of the cream into the same pan and bring it to the boil. As soon as it comes to the boil, remove from the heat. Add the white chocolate and stir until it has melted. Mix in the orange syrup and the Cointreau. Pour this orange ganache into a large bowl and leave to cool.
8. Whisk the remaining cream with the icing sugar until it is thick and holds its shape. Fold this into the orange and white chocolate ganache, to make a light, mousse-like cream. Chill until needed. It will firm up a little as it chills.
9. For the frosted cranberries: whisk the egg white with 2 tablespoons cold water in a medium bowl until frothy. Stir in the cranberries. Scatter the sugar onto a large plate. Lift a few cranberries at a time out from the egg white, using a fork so that the excess drips off, and roll in the sugar until they are well coated. Spread out on a tray lined with baking paper and leave to dry at room temperature for a few hours or overnight.
10. To make chocolate and cranberry panels:
    
    Cut out 2 x 10cm wide x 40cm long strips of baking paper. This length makes enough to go around the cake with spares in case of breakages. They will stand a little taller than the height of the cake.
11. Mix the melted chocolate with the cranberries and spread over the baking paper using a palette knife. Leave to cool at room temperature for the chocolate to set fully.
12. Dip a long sharp knife in hot water and cut the chocolate into rectangles about 2-3cm wide. Keep dipping the knife into hot water as you cut the chocolate, to prevent it from shattering, and press down on the whole length of the knife for a clean edge. Store in an airtight container until needed.
13. To make oven-dried orange slices:
    
    Preheat the oven to 110°C, fan 90°C, gas ¼. Lay the orange slices on a tray lined with baking paper. Dust each side with half the icing sugar.
14. Bake for 2-3 hours until they are crisp, turning the slices over after about an hour.
15. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
16. To assemble the cake:
    
    Remove the lining paper from the sponges and slice each cake in half horizontally to give 4 thin layers of sponge. Drain the cranberries; drizzle the drained liqueur over the sponges.
17. Divide just over half of the chilled orange cream between 3 of the sponges; spread out evenly and scatter the soaked cranberries on top of each layer. Layer up on a cake board or a large flat plate, placing the fourth sponge on top.
18. Spread the rest of the orange cream over the top and the sides of the cake.
19. Place the white chocolate and cranberry panels around the cake, very slightly overlapping, gently pressing each against the cream to ensure they remain in place.
20. Decorate the top with the rest of the frosted cranberries and a few dried orange slices, if using.
    
    Please note: this recipe contains raw egg.