Orange Chocolate Chunk Bundt Cake

This weekend I actually had my best friend in the kitchen with me.  My wife, the original baker in the house was the lead and I was her sous chef.  The idea for the recipe was her inspiration.  I love fruit with chocolate and cannot say I have ever mixed chocolate and orange but they are a natural together.  The Orange Chocolate Chunk Bundt Cake is from Ina – the Barefoot Contessa – so you know it is good.  We really like to use a bundt pan.  I am sure you agree that when you can get them out of the bundt pan without breaking, they looks so beautiful.

 

 

Ingredients (adapted from the Barefoot Contessa):
1/4 pound unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 extra-large eggs at room temperature
1/8 cup grated orange zest (2 large oranges)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour plus 1 tablespoon
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
3 ounces buttermilk at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup good semisweet chocolate chunks
1/2 cup of chocolate turkey

For the syrup:
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

For the ganache:
4 ounces good semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon instant coffee granules

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray your bundt pan well with non-stick cooking spray.

Cream the butter and sugar in your mixing bowl using the paddle attachment.  You want the mixture to become light and fluffy. This will take from 3 – 5 minutes.  Be sure that your butter is well softened before you start mixing.  Next, add the eggs, 1 at a time, and finish by adding the orange zest.

Meanwhile,  in a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  In a separate bowl, combine the orange juice, buttermilk, and vanilla.  Slowly begin to add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately in thirds to the creamed butter, beginning and ending with the flour.

Meanwhile, toss the chocolate chunks and chocolate turkey with 1 tablespoon flour in a bowl and then add to the batter (Mixing them with flour helps them float and avoid sinking in your batter).

Pour into the bundt pan and bake for 30 minutes.

The cake is done when a toothpick is inserted and it comes out clean.  Let the cake cool in the bundt pan on a wire rack.

Meanwhile, make the syrup.  In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, cook the sugar with the orange juice until the sugar dissolves – about 2 minutes.  Remove the cake from the pans, put it on a rack with baking sheet underneath, and spoon the orange syrup over the cake.  Allow the syrup to coagulate completely.

Finish by making the ganache.  Melt the chocolate, heavy cream, and coffee in bowl set on top of a pot with boiling water.  Reduce the heat to a strong simmer,  stirring reasonably consistently until the chocolate is fully melted and combined.  Pour over the top of the cake with parchment paper or a baking sheet underneath.

 

 

Serve and enjoy!