Chocolate and orange are like a dream to me. Although my dream last night had nothing to do with chocolate and orange, and everything to do with watching some bizarre alley cat trying to eat giant hissing grasshoppers, or something. I woke up wanting a thick slice of this cake for breakfast. You know, to make everything right in the world again. It’s that simple.
Another reason I think this cake is dreamy is that it’s one moist cake batter, divided into two, flavored, then dumped in a bundt pan. It’s great for those last minute, in a pinch desserts.
The cake is loaded with sour cream, and is incredibly moist. The orange zest adds brightness and chocolate and chocolate chips add richness. It’s absolutely delicious, and perfect if you wake up from bad dreams.
Chocolate Orange Bundt Cake
adapted from the Gourmet Cookbook
3 1/2 cups cake flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter at room temprature
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, left at room temperature for 30 minutes
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups sour cream
1/2 teaspoon orange extract
zest of 1 large orange
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 cup chocolate chips
Put rack in the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 12 cup Bundt pan and set aside.
Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set aside.
Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add half of flour mixture, and mix until just blended. Add sour cream, mixing until just combined, then add remaining flour mixture and mix until smooth.
Divide the batter evenly into two bowls. In one bowl add the orange zest and orange extract and stir to combine. In the other bowl add sifted cocoa powder and chocolate chips and stir to combine.
First pour the orange batter into the buttered Bundt pan, spreading it evenly around the bottom of the pan. Next, simply add the chocolate batter on top of the orange to cover. No swirling is necessary, although you can swirl the batters together if you like.
Bake until cake is springy to the touch and a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Remove from oven and cool cake in the pan for 30 minutes. Invert onto a cooling rack and cool completely.
April 14th, 2008 at 1:08 am
oooo, Joy! Your bundt cake looks delicious! You have the chocolate layer baked perfectly.
April 14th, 2008 at 2:01 am
I have never tried this combination of chocolate and orange in a cake…but now I think I have to…
April 14th, 2008 at 6:54 am
Total food porn
There was a recipe like this by Ina Garten and it looked rich and decadent. I’ve been planning on making it and you just reminded me of the till-now forgotten recipe. Orange and chocolate work great together, bakingwise.
April 14th, 2008 at 6:59 am
Oh, wow–the presentation is amazing! Looks gorgeous!
April 14th, 2008 at 7:21 am
My mouth is watering like I haven’t had cake in months, when in fact I was eating cake all weekend. Damn, that cake looks good!
April 14th, 2008 at 8:58 am
What a beautiful looking cake! I always love checking in to see your beautiful creations!
April 14th, 2008 at 9:20 am
Wish I could’ve had a slice this morning…
April 14th, 2008 at 11:51 am
Orange and chocolate are irresistible together, Joy. Your cake is beautiful!
April 14th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
I love this combination of orange and chocolate! And I love bundt cakes - I am in heaven over this recipe!
April 14th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
You’ve certainly got me dreaming about a piece of this cake, looks awesome!
April 14th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
Looks great. I love Bundts with sour cream in them…so moist.
April 14th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
You’re right - chocolate and orange is a terrific combination. I can’t help but laugh though - every time I see a bundt cake I remember the Seinfeld episode about bundt cakes. If you haven’t seen it - check it out on YouTube - it’s hysterical.
April 14th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
that looks beautiful Joy! looks rich and moist! and I too love chocolate and orange together:)
April 14th, 2008 at 10:35 pm
Yum - one of my favorite combinations. The photos are beautiful and the cake looks very good. I’m going to have to give this a try!
April 15th, 2008 at 11:52 am
This cake says perfection to me!
April 15th, 2008 at 6:12 pm
Do you think this would work with a strawberry infused bundt cake instead of orange? I love the combo of strawberries and chocolate, so I’m curious how it would taste in cake form…
April 15th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
Oh my- I need to make this!!! I love poundcakes, and I love chocolate and orange!
April 16th, 2008 at 11:34 am
[...] Chocolate Orange Bundt Cake at Joy The Baker - Annotated [...]
April 16th, 2008 at 10:45 pm
I’m a recent convert to the chocolate and orange combo and this looks delicious!
April 21st, 2008 at 12:20 pm
I just made this today. I haven’t cut into it yet but it looks and smells delicious!
I didn’t have orange extract so I used zest of two oranges and it certainly smells orangey.
April 22nd, 2008 at 1:06 am
never had this, but it looks great!
April 22nd, 2008 at 3:43 am
Love the flavours Joy…have to say that orange & chocolate go together really beautifully! I haven’t made a pound cake in ages (mainly because of so much butter)…but am now seriously tempted to make one!! Cheers
April 22nd, 2008 at 8:43 pm
Yum! My boyfriend loves chocolate and orange, and I haven’t used my new mini bundt pans yet - so this sounds perfect.
April 26th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
Orange and chocolate, my favourite!
I just bought my first bundt pan yesterday, and this cake is the first bundt I’ve ever made. It’s baking now - I’ll let you know how it turns out. It certainly sounds wonderful.
April 29th, 2008 at 5:26 am
This cake looks awesome! In fact, all the recipes on this site do. I love baking cakes, and I’m going to try this one, earliest possible.
April 29th, 2008 at 11:09 am
[...] blog, and came across a bundt cake that I had all the ingredients for. Not only that! A chocolate-orange one, possibly my favourite flavour combo for desserts [...]
May 18th, 2008 at 7:46 am
[...] been dying to make this recipe ever since I saw it on Joy the Baker’s gorgeous site: chocolate orange bundt cake. The provides the recipe, I provide photos of my version, with the addition of a light glaze made [...]
June 24th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
[...] Chocolate Orange Bundt Cake, from Joy the Baker [...]
June 27th, 2008 at 5:56 am
[...] Chocolate Orange Bundt Cake, from Joy the Baker [...]
June 27th, 2008 at 8:27 am
[...] Chocolate Orange Bundt Cake, from Joy the Baker [...]
August 9th, 2008 at 1:48 am
Thanks for this recipe, Joy! It has seriously become a staple in my recipe arsenal now. I’ve passed the recipe along to at least half a dozen fellow bakers already, and my co-workers’ faces light up whenever I walk through the door with this wonderful bundt cake.
Here’s a variation I’ve been working on, using strawberry instead of orange as the fruit flavor:
Substitute half the sour cream for strawberry yogurt. Use strawberry extract (found in a specialty grocery store) instead of orange extract. Add in an extra tablespoon or two of flour and a couple of tablespoons of strawberry preserves into the non-chocolate batter.
The strawberry ends up being very subtle and it’s just so delicious.
September 18th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
Hi Joy
I freeze orange and lemon zest, I would like to know what’s the measurement of 1 large orange in teaspoons or tablespoons.
November 24th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
what a great cake! made this one this evening, used goat yoghurt instead of sour cream, and chocolate covered orange peels instead of chocolate chips.
we just had a piece, so moist and zesty! turned out just like the picture
February 15th, 2009 at 7:27 pm
I FOUND THIS SITE, PURELY, BY ACCIDENT, I WAS SO GLAD, I DID. THIS CAKE LOOKS, SO LOVELY & GOOD..
WELL, I MADE THE ATTEMP, TO BAKE IT, BUT IT TURNED OUT DRY…. COULD SOMEONE, HELP & TELL ME WHY?
IT IS GOOD, BUT I DON’T THINK, I MADE THE TWO BOWLS OF BATTER, EVEN, HAD MORE CHOCOLATE THAN ORANGE, BUT I DO LIKE IT VERY MUCH, THINK I WILL TRY TO MAKE IT AGAIN….THANK YOU JOY THE BAKER.
March 6th, 2009 at 8:11 am
Thank you for a great cake recipe! I tried your recipe for chocolate orange bundt cake and I loved it! I shared it with family and friends too! I returned to your web page for the recipe and to peruse your web site. Thanks for sharing the JOY! -Kelli
April 23rd, 2009 at 7:32 pm
[...] my favorite food blogger. This is the story of the Bundt cake that made it so. B introduced me to this recipe and Joy’s blog just a little over a year ago, and I fell in love with both. This recipe calls [...]
June 3rd, 2009 at 11:59 am
Chocolate Orange Bundt Cake
Did you use milk chocolate or semisweet chips?
Thanks!
Debbie