orange chocolate chunkcake

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I’ve been feeling kind of bewildered this week. It started when I asked my husband if he still thought the third year of marriage was an ideal time to try to make one of those little tiny things with roly thighs and he shocked me by saying yes, and it continued when I saw him, more than once, researching two bedroom apartments in the city. “How about Roosevelt Island?” he asked and I went to go rock in the corner for a while. Nooo Roosevelt Island, nooo.

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.

creaming the butter and citrus sugardry ingredientscan't resist blood orangessome juice for the syrupready to bakefrom the oven

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.)

messy

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.

topped with chocolate

Orange Chocolate Chunk Cake

You can make this as a bundt (as written below) or two loaf pans (8 1/2×4 1/2-inch is ideal; baking time is 45 to 55 minutes). I’ve also shown in new 2018 pictures turning one loaf into 3 miniature loaves (they bake in 30 to 35 minutes). In the newer photos, I use blood oranges as well but there’s no need to seek them out; it doesn’t turn the cake pink or anything because there isn’t enough juice used. They’re just pretty to look at while you’re cooking.
  • 1/2 pound (8 ounces or 225 grams) unsalted butter at room temperature
  • Finely grated zest from 4 large oranges
  • 2 cups (400 grams) granulated sugar
  • 4 large or extra-large eggs, at room temperature (Ina calls for extra-large but large works fine here)
  • 3 cups (390 grams) all-purpose flour plus 2 tablespoons (15 grams)
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 cup (60 ml) freshly squeezed orange juice (from about 2 oranges)
  • 3/4 cup (175 ml) buttermilk, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
  • 2 cups (12 ounces or 340 grams) semisweet chocolate chunks
    • Syrup
  • 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup (60 ml) freshly squeezed orange juice (from about 2 oranges)
    • Ganache:
  • 8 ounces (225 grams) semisweet chocolate chips or chopped semisweet chocolate
  • 1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules (optional)

Make the cake: Heat your the oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter and flour a 10-inch bundt pan.

Place sugar and zest in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; use fingertips to rub them together (this abrasion helps get the maximum flavor from the zest). Cream the butter and zested sugar together for about 5 minutes, or until light and very fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl between additions.

Sift or whisk 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 to the creamed butter, beginning and ending with the flour. Toss the chocolate chunks with remaining 2 tablespoons flour and add to the batter. Pour into the pan, smooth the top.

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.

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.

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.

Do ahead: This cake keeps very well for four days in the fridge. (I only chill it because of the cream in the chocolate. If skipping the ganache, wrap in foil at room temperature.)

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