orange chocolate chunk cake
We brought in the Jewish new year with our combined families and our mothers delighting in telling us what difficult, exhausting, impossible-to-please babies we both were (our siblings were apparent delights, or nya-nya, as they put it), weeks overdue and really, it was all very funny and ha-ha until I learned that this one came out, this one I married, at over nine pounds. NINE AND A HALF POUNDS. Good god. I don’t even like lugging 5 pound bags of flour home. How could this work?
But, enough about all this. Let’s talk about a nine-pound cake! (Awesome segues like this are what keep you coming back, right?) Remember when I told you if there were ever a cookie versus cake contest, cakes would never win because you’re always fighting an uphill battle with their basic desire to be dry? Well, Ina Garten gets this. (Yes, her again. Can you tell I’m a little obsessed?) Not only does she favor pound-like cakes, whose butter-packed crumb holds moisture like a pro, she bastes them with related juices while they’re still warm, trapping in humidity that keeps the cakes fresh for days. (Something I wish our wedding cake baker had thought of, but that little box in the freezer awaiting its day in the sun, a story for another day.)
If you like orange/chocolate combinations or even if you think you don’t, I would encourage you to try your hand at this. This cake is One of the Greats, I think, and although it is on the labor-intensive side — zesting and juicing and straining and syrup-simmering and ganache-making, etc. — sometimes well-spent hours in the kitchen for an infinitely rewarding purpose is just the involved calm you need. Besides, how cute would it be in one of these?
Orange Chocolate Chunk Cake
Adapted from Barefoot Contessa Parties!
1/2 pound unsalted butter at room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 extra-large eggs at room temperature
1/4 cup grated orange zest (from 4 large oranges)
3 cups all-purpose flour plus 2 tablespoons
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
3/4 cup buttermilk at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups good semisweet chocolate chunks
Syrup:
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
Ganache:
8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour a 10-inch Bundt pan.
2. Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for about 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, then the orange zest.
3. Sift together 3 cups flour, the baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. In another bowl, combine the orange juice, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately in thirds to the creamed butter, beginning and ending with the flour. Toss the chocolate chunks with 2 tablespoons flour and add to the batter. Pour into the pan, smooth the top, and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a cake tester comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, make the syrup. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, cook the sugar with the orange juice until the sugar dissolves. Remove the cake from the pan, set it on a rack over a tray, and spoon the orange syrup over the cake. Allow the cake to cool completely.
5. For the ganache, melt the chocolate, heavy cream, and coffee in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally. Drizzle over the top of the cake.
Oh. My. God.
That looks so delicious.
Possibly because I’ve been having a lot of chocolate cravings lately? Stress induced, no doubt, but still.
I think you need to start sending free samples of all this delicious food to your dear readers.
Looks delicious! All that chocolate! I am a huge fan of the Bundt cake. Why? You don’t have to frost a Bundt cake. I have one of those mini Bundt cake pans. I have a minor obsession with it that usually surfaces during the holidays.
Oh my gosh all of your pictures of food are so amazing. I saw Ina make this one day on her foodtv show…..I think I might have to try it now bc of this picture!!!
The cake looks amazing – the baby comments hilarious. I also do not like hauling around bags of flour, but bags of flour do not have arms and legs that wrap around you and feel lighter than their approximate 10 pounds or so. Then again, a bag of flour doesn’t have to be pushed out of your va-jay-jay, so it has its perks…
Browneyedgirlie – If only it were so easy! I so wish I could send out samples but the one time I mailed baked goods, it was $XX! per package. For five-day delivery. Who knew?
Jennifer – I wholly agree. Love the bundt. Iced cakes let bakers get away with so much dryness because they plop on all this fat to compensate. These cakes either work or they don’t. Next, I want to try this.
Ashley – That’s where I first saw it. It’s almost exactly like her lemon cake, which is FOR REAL one of the best cakes I’ve ever made or eaten, um, except it’s with orange and also chocolate. The technique, however, is the same.
Jessica – The pushing, yes, that part. Back to my Safe Place now!
The cake was absolutely outstanding! I took some home, and it’s rapidly disappearing. You are more than welcome to bring another one next week.
Deb, that is gorgeous! I may have to try making one for the break-the-fast next week.
Shana tova.
mmmmmm…looks yummy!
Absolutely LUSH pictures Deb! And LOL on the “little tiny things with roly thighs”!
Dangle the possibility of a baby then immediately distract us with descriptions of delicious cake — good ploy!
Ooh, this looks amazing! I love that line from My Big Fat Greek Wedding (right?), and the poor mother-in-law can’t get them to say the word correctly – “BUNDT! BUNDT!!” And then they put the flower in the hole…
On an unrelated note, is your site design based on your love for the artichoke? I just realized that this chartreuse/purplish scheme was kind of artichokey… but maybe I’m just reading into things. Mm, love it anyway.
Followed you over here from your original smitten website, and I’ve got a hell of a lot to learn in the kitchen — which basically means I think it would take years for me to catch up for you; I started late, as in cooking at 30!! — but I just have to say that this cake does sound AMAZING…!! I saw your lemon cake recipe originally, too — still haven’t had a chance to make it — but I’m obsessed with lemon cakes in general. Over here in France I make a basic lemon pound cake, which is what they call a “quatre-quarts au citron” — and I actually just made one again yesterday! I’ve gotten so spoiled by easy recipes like that, though, that undertaking this beauty of yours is a bit intimidating…
How oh HOW do you get the ganache/chocolate glazing on the cake SO PERFECTLY?! May I ask? The pics are so perfect…
(As an aside, the first cake I ever baked, and ever tried baking again and again for years, is a cinnamon chocolate-chip cake recipe my mom gave me, and I always bake it in a Bundt pan — as a matter of fact, I specifically brought a Bundt pan with me here to France so I could bake it!)
BTW, I meant “to catch up WITH you” of course! You’re millions of miles and years ahead of me in the cooking department. But I’m just starting to get real pleasure out of cooking, and the results, so I hope I will continue!
SantaDad – How bummed you’ll be when I just make the lemon version for Yom Kippur.
Hilary – You should, you should! I can’t wait to hear how it goes. (Btw, I always find it makes too much ganache – really – it just ends up rolling off so if you run short on ingredients, don’t worry.) Happy new year.
Susie – Thank you.
Zarah Maria – The roly thigh versions are definitely superior, IMHO.
Julie – Hee hee. I admitted the cuteness of baby bundts didn’t I?
RA – My in-laws love love love that movie, and I expected them to say that all night as both my mother and I brought bundts. They are kind of a funny word, right? Also, what a good call on the artichoke-theme! Originally, I was using this image behind the Smitten Kitchen logo, but became frustrated because it was too busy and did scale down well. I kept the colors, though!
Always Ace – Ganache is just a perfect-looking (and tasting) substance; it can do no wrong and frankly, I think most things should be coated in it. (Though I took the picture before it hardened and looked slighly less shiny.)
Deb-What would it take for a girl to get the Lemon Cake recipe????
It just happens to be our luck* that she’s got it on her website right now. She suggests making two pound cakes loaves with it, but since it’s the same butter/sugar/flour/egg etc. amounts as the orange, I trust it will bake up well in the bundt pan, too. And look even more festive. For a visual, I made it once before.
* I feel oddly guilty reprinting recipes (though I do it sometimes) without baking them myself, as the latter adds something new to the dialogue and the former just seems like copying.
UMGYUMMMUMGYUM Cookie Monster want chocolate version!
I have a Canon Digital Rebel and need a good lens for close-ups! What kind do you
use? I know good lighting has SO much to do with good photos — I am an “anti-flash” person and love natural light but need a good lens. What do you recommend?
You’re food looks awesome! Very inspiring.
Deb, I found the lemon cake recipe on the food network website. Ina’s site has guacamole up right now…it does look fantastic!
I totally get not wanting to “double post” it’s one of the reasons we love you!
Hey Deb…what do you think about making the cake a few days ahead and freezing it. Then on erev Yom Kippur, defrost the cake and make the ganache? It would have to sit frosting for a day. Bad idea?
er, it would have to sit frosted for a day. We must get your live comment preview set up.
Lisa – I’ve been swinging back and forth between this 50mm (don’t know why there is an adorable infant with punk rock hair where the lens should be pictured – I guess Amazon is not-so-subtly onto the theme of this post) and the Canon Rebel’s kit lens. This was taken with the latter because it gets in a little closer. We have a skylight in our kitchen which makes daylight pictures a cinch. When there is little available light, I use a tripod and a remote clicker, one of the better $25 investments we’ve made this year. All this said, better photographers than I always say don’t worry about the equipment, just get the basic techniques down and your photography will show.
The low-light pictures, by the way, are very much a work in progress.
Christine – Guac sounds very good right now! I’m incapable of following recipes for it, though, I always just make it lime-ier than called for.
Hilary – We’re like *this*. I was just telling Alex how I want to make these cupcakes this week on Wednesday and freeze them until I need them Saturday because cakes always freeze well, not icing. (Yet another reference to our nasty, frost-bitten wedding cake top in the fridge.) Ganache, however, keeps fine in the fridge, or at least for a day or two. So, your idea would work. Make sure you 1) wrap it twice for the freezer, first wrapping in plastic seems to do the trick and 2) defrost it in the refrigerator for a day and not at room temperature.
And yes, Live Comment Preview. Soon.
Man I love how you slip baby news into a post about a chocolate cake. Women everywhere are swooning. Correction, double swooning.
Funny that your husband is thinking along those lines–mine blew me away last night by asking if maybe we should move our “date” up a little. And by date, I mean the time when we start making our own roly thing. Wow, talk about being bewildered! So I know how you feel!
yarrrmmmmmmmmm
My mouth is WATERING. I love orange and chocolate together. So much better than the overrated raspberry-chocolate combo.
Make cakes not babies!! At least for now.
I tried the lemon version because I had some homegrown lemons I wanted to use. So nice!!! I made them into muffins instead of 2 loaves. The texture and flavor were fantastic.
Photos at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/48023611@N00/252792123/in/photostream/
and
http://www.flickr.com/photos/48023611@N00/252792127/in/photostream/
This looks FABULOUS!! Omg – love the Ina. Just out of curiosity, do you and Alex eat all of the food that you make? Or would you say that some (most?) of it goes to entertaining needs? I really would like to start cooking more but have the sense that if I made what I like, my fiance and I would be in serious trouble. I love the new site!! :) thanks, ss
Kelli – No news! Really! Long way off. So he can stop looking those two-bedroom apartments “for research purposes” – OKAY?
Lauren – Also, we went to a bris (!) tonight and Alex has lint from my angora sweater all over his suit now because I am not cut out for this stuff and hid the whole time, um no pun intended. Then we went out to dinner with one couple with two kids and others who want kids soon and you’ll never believe what we talked about. Yup, babies. Aaaaack.
Hurricane – I remember that you like that combo and you are absolutely right. Raspberry goes well with lemon, I think. Cake not babies! I’m totally getting that on a tshirt.
Marce – Lovely! I’m glad you loved them.
Smallstatic – Hells no. 90% of the time I am baking for a specific occasion – party, bbq, holiday – and a location that is not our apartment. The rest of the time I’ll set aside a piece or two for us, and dump the rest on my coworkers. Don’t you pity them? The trick is to get them to eat it all before my late-afternoon snackiness hits. Quite often, it doesn’t work.
sorry for the triple commenting, but I came across this at flickr, and if this doesn´t make you swoon and want to start procreating, i don´t know what will hahaha enjoy!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/79166618@N00/249437199/
If you are interested, the Loaves and Fishes Party Cookbook has a version of this cake that I have made for years that is phenomenal.
No ganache, and has sour cream instead of the buttermilk. It needs a day to come into itself, but when it does it is sublime!
Oh man, that looks amazing. I am SO fearful of baking, though, I haven’t tried to make many desserts because I just get so nervous about them. I need to get over it and just go for it!
And a skylight in your kitchen? I am totally jealous.
Lord! My blood sugar went up just looking at the photos. Man alive!
Hey, I tried the white batter bread from ICE and it knocked my socks off. You doll, you. Keep it up.
Marce – Ooh, those look like they’d be good with ketchup. But, no, they will not make me want to procreate, not when MY last pair of shoes (albeit Keds) were less than $46!
Lauren – That sounds delicious. I’ve always wanted to figure out what the buttermilk to sour cream ratio is because I suspect you can go one for one with your preference, but who wants to risk ruining a cake if you get it wrong. ALL baked goods are improved by sour, tangy tangs.
Ombra – Don’t be fearful! Baking’s the easy stuff – just follow the recipe. Start with one bowl stuff. Don’t overbeat your flour. See? You’re all set. Oh, and the skylight? D’lovely. But you gotta walk up four flights of high-ceiling flights to get to it.
Brooke – I’m so glad you liked it. You’re the second blogger who told me she’d tried it! Of course, being me, I wonder if it would be good in muffin tins, like a mini-bread? Imagine showing up with those at a dinner or brunch!
Ohhhhhh! It’s a kek! Thank you, very very much.
(sotto voce) there is a hole in this kek…
I love Ina. I trust her, Alton and America’s Test Kitchen. I tried this for a dinner party and it was yummy. I have to say I don’t love it as much as the coconut cupcakes from her first book but I got rave reviews. I think it’s personal preference though.
I’m a new fan and can’t wait to see what else is posted….
Hi, was just wondering, if I make the cake on a Wednesday and chill it in the fridge, will it still taste good if I plan to serve it on Saturday?
Hi Nabilah — I think it would. I might make the cake, wrap it three times in plastic and even freeze it (freezing keeps things much better) until Friday night, when I would place in the fridge overnight to defrost. However, you’d have to make the ganache on the last day. If you can do this, I think it is your best option to keep the cake both moist and fresh in appearance. If this is not an option, the cake will definitely keep three days in the fridge.
Made this last night. Unbelievable!!!
great recipe, wonderful pictures. Thank you for sharing. I thought I was going to have to throw out a bunch of blood oranges because I just couldn’t find something to make with them (pathetic I know) and then I found this recipe. Salvation! :)
My favourite game is to go to Smitten Kitchen and choose a month at random to find something fun and exciting. Today I found this and boy am I glad. I have to bake a special cake in 2 days and I really think that this is going to hit the nail on the head! Yay for me, thank you for exsiting Deb!!!!
http://www.peaandpear.com
mmm.. yeah, stunning.
eh eh ehhhhhhhhh.
SANTA DAD IS MY HERO
yumm
that looks looks suckulent i dont know how to splell dat woops yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Once again you made a beautiful, yummy cake that is easily replicable for novices like me. Thanks! This cake was a fun departure from the norm, pretty easy to make, and reminiscent of the chocolate oranges that I love to eat at Christmas.
http://dandelionsandfireflies.blogspot.com/2008/12/chocolate-orange-bundt-cake.html
i spent a lovely evening last night cooking four of your dessert recipes for a charity morning tea i hosted at work this morning. of the four (this, brownies, chocolate biscotti, flower cupcakes) this delicious cake was my absolute favourite, both to bake and to eat, so moist and orangey and gooood. i just wanted to pass on my unending gratitude to you for this wonderful website which is always my first stop for inspration when stepping into the kitchen. i hope you have a wonderful time over the holidays and please never ever stop sharing the love.
xjill
ps. i forgot to mention – all four recipes were massive hits, leaving clean platters for me to take home and a lovey amount of money for some worthy charities.
Your cake looks absolutely delicious. Sharing with you my Orange Chocolate Butter Cake.
i just baked this today and the cake turned out great. can’t wait to bring it into the office tomorrow. i am just a little disappointed that the cake did not rise evenly. the next time i will set my oven at 160°C to see if it would turn out better. thanks for the inspiration!
I love this cake. Love, love, love it! Orange and chocolate are my two favourite ingredients in cakes, and I could not help but try it when I saw this recipe some time last year. The first time I made it the way the recipe reccomends, and since then I’ve also made it without the chocolate; as the cake part of a ten-layer cake (without chocolate); as cupcakes (they were awesome) with chocolate buttercream icing. It is delicious in all forms, and I find it really suits a mild orange glaze, as an alternative to the syrup. I have never had anything but rave reviews about this cake, even from people who aren’t chocolate, or orange fans (I know, heretics)!
I’ve wanted to make this cake since the moment I laid eyes on it. Over a year later, I magically had all the ingredients on hand and actually remembered my plan to make and so I whipped it up. And it is DELICIOUS but very ugly–nothing like your beautiful first bundt!! I have made lots of bundt cakes, but yours puts mine to shame. I stirred the flour into the chocolate, but it still sank and then stuck to the pan (there was a lot of loose flour in the bowl, so maybe I should have stirred it more?) and I was so mad that I ate the chunks stuck to the pan instead of trying to patch them into place like I usually would. So I guess I’m glad I didn’t make it for any special occassion and in any case, it was wonderful and I will be making it again…but with extra grease and flour lining the pan this time! Oh, can I use your gorgeous picture on my myspace blog to compare it to what I turned out? :)
P.S. I of course will credit the picture to you with a link to this page.
I made this for Mother’s Day, and it was a sensation! Unfortunately, I had the same problem as Veronica did, with the chocolate chunks sinking to the bottom of the pan, but this turned out to be a stroke of luck, because the orange syrup soaked into the cracks & crevices beautifully, and then the ganache covered up the mess. I posted some photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sophiebiblio/3521003771/in/set-72157605251584033/
I baked this cake last night for a potluck lunch at the office. I couldn’t contain myself when the cake was on the cooling rack so I ate a piece. It was wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!! This recipe is “out of this world.” I can smell the orange from a mile away. The orange taste just bursts in my mouth after that first bite. I modified the syrup and used less sugar because I love the taste of fresh orange juice and just drenched the cake with it. I didn’t have a problem with the chocolate chunks at all. They are all over the cake. Next time I would definitely buy good quality chocolates. I think it worths every penny!!! Thank you again for sharing this recipe.
THIS WAS SOOOOO GOOD! Seriously to die for. I made it yesterday for my husband’s birthday party. If it was just him and me I would’ve kept on eating pieces of cake because it was that delicious. Whew. Definitely making this one again… and again!
looking forward to serving this as a guest at a christmas eve gathering. my only question is should i refrigerate it overnight or is it ok under a beautiful cut glass cake holder?
i made one addition to the orange syrup – i added some cointreau to the sugar and orange juice – we’ll see how that is tomorrow.
i even floured my chocolate chunks and with the batter being so thick I’m thinking that my chocolate chips didn’t sink – i feel like they are all through the cake evenly – will take a pic tomorrow night…if it comes out good!
merry christmas, happy hanukkah and happy new year everyone…and INA!
i meant to type that i EVENLY floured my chocolate chips.
I made this cake for a holiday party- minus the syrup and ganache- and it was fantastic. I don’t like a lot of frosting and it surely didn’t need it! I used choc chips instead of “chunks” and avoided the problem of removal from Bundt and sinking to bottom.
Hey dear!I am from Singapore! :)
I am so mesmerised by your website as i am a really big fan of baking things! :)
For this cake recipe could i actually do it in cupcake style? :)
The cake is delicious – moist and fragrant, but the ganache was overkill. I also made the chocolate stout cake and then I skipped the ganache, because it was already wonderfully chocolate-y. It just needed a little bit of powdered sugar. With this one I feel I should have also skipped the ganache. So…much…chocolate! Delicious cakes, both of them- thank you for the recipes!
You can make this into cupcakes. They are awesome and easier for picnics.
i doubled the recipe and made one bundt cake and 16 cupcakes and baked them all at the same time. Bundt on top rack, cupcakes on middle and lower racks. At the 20 minute mark, I rotated the muffins and swapped their positions. I then baked them for about 10 minutes more. My timings will not be completely accurate as my oven is “fan forced” and I had to lower the temperature. You’ll just have to watch.
I followed the rest of the recipe with one substitution. I cannot find semisweet or bitter-sweet chocolate in my supermarkets or speciality shops. I used organic dark chocolate that is about 70% cocoa liquor. It is the ALDI organic kind and is pretty reasonable in price.It is a bit intense, so I didn’t use so much.
This is seriously one of the BEST cakes I have ever eaten! A London friend made this cake for a family dinner and when we finished the last piece several days later, I could not stop thinking about it! Wow – great with a wonderful scoop of rich vanilla ice cream to balance the richness and texture of this melt-in-your-mouth cake! Wonderful! Thank you for sharing this terrific recipee!
Deb,
I made a version of the cake with key limes. It is so awesome! (I also left out the chocolate chips) It is wonderfully tart and buttery. It took about 20 limes to get enough zest, but sooooo worth it! I made it in three disposable bread pans, about 2 cups of batter each.