Chocolate Orange Bundt Cake
This is a beautiful marble bundt cake that keeps well and freezes wonderfully. An irresistible chocolate orange cake recipe to make during cold months, when oranges are in season. I made a few tweaks to the original recipe, and it's now even better than it was, with more flavor and a decadent chocolate ganache glaze!
Servings 8 servings
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons shortening softened, to grease the pan
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour to dust the pan
For the cake:
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter at room temperature
- 3 cups sugar
- 5 eggs at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons orange zest 2-3 oranges
- 3 tablespoon orange liqueur such as Grand Marnier, or orange juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose or cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup milk
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder sifted
For the chocolate glaze:
- 1 cup heavy cream or heavy whipping cream
- 8 ounces semisweet chocolate chopped
- ¼ cup brown sugar dark
- 1 tablespoon corn syrup or runny honey
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat oven to 350º F (180ºC).
- Grease a 10 or 12-cup bundt cake pan (26cm) with 2 tablespoons shortening, covering every angle, nook and cranny. Dust with 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, shaking off excess. Reserve.
- Beat softened 1 ½ cups unsalted butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer, or in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, slowly adding 3 cups sugar and beating for 2 to 3 minutes after all is added.
- Add 5 eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Add 2 tablespoons orange zest, 3 tablespoon orange liqueur or orange juice, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
- Sift 3 cups all-purpose , 1 teaspoon baking soda and ¼ teaspoon salt together in a small bowl or have them measured and sift directly over the butter mixture, as I do.
- Add the dry ingredients (also called the flour mixture) in three additions alternating with ¾ cup milk in two additions. Don't overbeat after adding flour, simply beat just until incorporated.
- Transfer 1 cup of this mixture to a small bowl and mix into it the sifted ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder. Gently mix until you have a smooth batter.
- Add half the orange batter into the prepared pan, spreading evenly. Drop half of the cocoa mixture over it, and swirl a few times with the tip of a knife. Repeat with the remaining batters. You will have to layers of marbled cake mix.
- Bake for 1 hour or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. It might take several more minutes.
- Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for about 20 minutes.
- Remove from the bundt pan, it will still be quite still hot, so be careful. Place on the cooling rack and let cool completely before glazing.
- Pour the chocolate glaze on top of the cake and let it drip down the sides. You can scoop the drippings and pour them over again. Do this quickly before it sets. You can decorate with orange slices, orange peel, or rind.m
For the ganache glaze:
- Finely chop 8 ounces semisweet chocolate and put it in a bowl, preferably glass.
- In a small saucepan heat 1 cup heavy cream with ¼ cup brown sugar. Remove just when it's about to boil. It should have small bubbles in the outer rim.
- Immediately cover the chopped chocolate with the hot cream. Let stand 1 minute to soften.
- With a wire whisk start mixing from the middle out. The chocolate will mix with the cream and create a smooth and shiny chocolate mixture.
- Add 1 tablespoon corn syrup, mix well and it's ready to use.
Notes
Baking time: keep in mind that all ovens and pans are different, even if they look the same or very similar. The baking time in my recipes is as accurate as possible, but it might take you more or less time. You can use a thermometer placed inside the oven to check that your oven is at the right temperature. I recommend you keep track of how your oven works and what tiny details you might need to adjust.
Sift the cocoa powder and baking soda: this is important as they can clump during storage and will not dissolve during baking.
Alternate dry and wet ingredients: this is an important step when making cakes because we always want to level temperatures and densities. By adding part of the flour mixture, then part of the milk, and repeating until we add it all, we make sure it's well incorporated. Important: Always start and end with the dry ingredients.
Layer cake: you can change the cake form and bake it in two 9-inch round springform pans or three 8-inch ones. Fill and frost with ganache or another frosting you like.
