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Chocolate Orange Marble Loaf Cake and a Giveaway

Chocolate Orange Marble Loaf Cake And A Giveaway
I’ve been trying to stay away from baking all summer (that doesn’t mean I haven’t had my share of ice cream however).
But when a new cookbook arrived and I started flipping through it, my resolve quickly dissolved.
The next day I baked this cake — one of the most delicious cakes I’ve had in a long time, with rich chocolate and subtle orange flavor, a tender crumb and a luscious chocolate ganache topping.
Fortunately, later in the day I was meeting some board members from an Italian cultural institution I’m part of, who offered to lend with our annual mailing.
I lure them each year by bringing food, and they happily stuffed envelopes and slapped on stamps, sustained by this cake from Jamie Schler’s new cookbook, “Orange Appeal.”  Several of them took slices home too, leaving me with just enough cake to give my dad the next day.
It’s definitely a cake that will make appearance after appearance in my kitchen.
The photos are beautiful too, by Ilva Beretta, who also collaborated for two years with Jamie on the blog, Plated Stories.
Jamie now lives in Chinon, France, from which she writes the blog “Life’s A Feast,” and where she also runs a hotel (Hotel Diderot) — a place I’m longing to visit at some point.
With her busy life, I don’t know how she found time to write a cookbook, but it contains a plethora of recipes that include oranges in some form or other — not unexpected for someone who grew up in Florida.
I’ve made my share of candied oranges, but never tried orange powder, orange sugar, or orange salt. But with Jamie’s instructions from the book, they’ll be on my to-do list as soon as citrus season rolls in here in the Northeast U.S.
The book contains many savory recipes as well as sweet ones, and I’m really looking forward to trying the sweet-and-sour marmalade-glazed oven baked chicken next.
I’ve also got my eyes fixed on the glazed blood orange yogurt loaf cake and many others too, but they’ll have to wait until I make this chocolate orange marble loaf cake again, this time for my husband to try.
After you mix the batter, it gets divided in two parts. One is for the chocolate mixture, and into the other go the orange peel and orange juice. The raw batter was so delicious I had to restrain myself from licking too much off the spatula.
I swirled the chocolate batter into the white batter using a knife.
The kitchen smells divine while it’s baking. Let it rest for a few minutes before removing it form the pan.
The recipe says the chocolate glaze is optional, but for me it was an absolute necessity (especially if you’re using a Lindt chocolate bar that contains orange bits).
It’s a good thing I had a meeting to take this to, or I’d have eaten half the cake myself.

 

I did have to eat one slice before taking it to the meeting (you know, quality control and all that stuff).
Now I’d like to offer one of you a free copy of “Orange Appeal” so you can try this and all the other recipes in the book.
Just leave a comment at the bottom of the blog post (not in email), and a way for me to contact you if your name is chosen.
Want more Ciao Chow Linda? Check out my Instagram page here to see more of what I’m cooking up each day.
You can also connect with Ciao Chow Linda here on Facebook, here for Pinterest or  here for Twitter.
Chocolate Orange Marble Loaf Cake
From “Orange Appeal” by Jamie Schler
1 3/4 cups (8 ounces/230 g) all-purpose flour
2 Tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
12 tablespoons (6 ounces/175 g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 1/8 cups (225 g) granulated white sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large orange, zested
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 packed tablespoons (18 g) unsweetened cocoa powderPreheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).   Butter a standard 9 x 5 x 2 1/2 inch (23 x 13 x 6 1/2 cm) or 8 cup 2 l) loaf pan; fit a piece of parchment paper in the bottom.

Stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.

Cream the butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl, beating until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, and then beat in the oil. Beat in the flour mixture until blended, scraping down the sides of the bowl.

Divide the batter evenly between 2 bowls. Beat the zest and juice into 1 portion of the batter, and the milk, vanilla and cocoa into the other portion of batter until well-blended.

Spoon large dollops of each mixture, alternating the batters, into the prepared loaf pan. Drag a skewer or a long, sharp knife blade back and forth through the batter in swirls to create a marble pattern. Smooth the surface if necessary.

Bake for 55-60 minutes, until the cake is set in the center and just barely beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan. Cover the top of the cake loosely with a sheet of foil for the last 5-10 minutes of baking time to over over browning, if necessary.

Allow to cool in pan for about 10 minutes before sliding a knife around the edges to loosen the cake and turning it out onto a cooling rack. Remove parchment paper from the bottom, allowing the cake to cool, top side up, on the rack.

Drizzle chocolate orange ganache over the top. (recipe below)

Chocolate Orange Ganache 
3/4 cup (3 1/2 ounces/100 g) coarsely chopped orange-infused 70 percent dark chocolate, such as Lindt Excellence Orange intense
1/2 cup (125 ml) heavy creamPlace the chocolate into a medium heatproof mixing bowl. Slowly heat the cream in a small saucepan until it comes just to the boiling point. Pour the cream immediately over the chocolate and stir until it is smooth and creamy. Allow the ganache to cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally, until thickened to a drizzling consistency before spooning over the sponge cake.

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This Post Has 31 Comments

  2. Orange and chocolate, what a great combo.Would love to have this book to add to my cookbook collection!

  5. It looks so delicious. Love the chocolate/orange combination. Thank you for sharing and the giveaway chance.
    Carol L
    Lucky4750 (at) aol (dot) com

  7. Wow! The cake looks beautiful and just perfect! And I love that you found the orange-infused Lindt chocolate for the ganache – I use it all the time and love it and it certainly is perfect for this cake! Thank you so much for sharing AND for the giveaway! I hope whoever wins the copy lets me know how they enjoy the cookbook! I will tell you that the sweet and sour marmalade chicken is a favorite of not only my own but my recipe testers who tried it as well! Keep on cooking and let me know how you like everything you try XOXO

  8. Linda!!!! I am trying to stay away from sweets but this loaf is really tempting. me. My blog is really light on desserts just because Hubby and I are at that delicate age where the calories won't get consumed no matter what we do. I always wait for special occasions — like your meeting. That was smart! Give it away. It really sounds amazing and you did such a great job of putting it together. It looks beautiful. I can't wait to find out more about this ladies recipes. Un abbraccio forte.

  10. So happy you treated your colleagues in the Italian Department to this cake Linda! We met at the Jhumpa Lahiri lecture last year and I've enjoyed your blog and Instagram ever since. Chocolate and orange are always a great combination of flavors. Johanne lamarche frenchgardener@comcast.net

  11. Oh my goodness, I think I'm going to have to brave our upcoming hot weather and bake this, it sounds SO yummy! The cookbook sounds wonderful!

  15. Wow, that looks good! I've been baking Stacey Snacks' blueberry scones for a friend to cheer her up. Once this weather cools down (also in San Diego), I will make this, because chocolate and orange? I also love the sound of the blood orange yogurt cake, too.

  17. @Mary Clark – I have included my recipe for warm orange cardamom scones with a side of orange honey spiced butter in the cookbook that you'd enjoy! And for a comforting breakfast/snack I also have a recipe for orange, date, and pecan muffins that my photographer Ilva's husband swooned over!

  18. @Jamie, thanks! I will check them out! I love anything with cardamom! Oh, and so does the friend I'm baking for. Her husband says we are conspiring to make him gain weight:)

  20. @Mary Clark – Ilva – who photographed the book – her husband actually put on weight eating the recipes she made to shoot. And if you love cardamom I add it to my caramelized orange upside down cake! 🙂

    @Shelley Finke – I loved being able to write a cookbook about my favorite (Florida) fruit and you are correct that no one has done it before! Astonishing, right? Enjoy!

  23. questo dolce mi tenta ma devo resistere ancora qualche settimana, la mia dieta non è ancora finita ! Nel frattempo stampo la ricetta "! Buon weekend Linda

  25. What a delicious looking cake – the chocolate is so intense!Adding citrus to a cake just takes it to the next level, I think! I love baking cakes and barely a week goes by that I don't bake.

  27. You had me at orange and chocolate – a marriage made in heaven; your cake loos absolutely iresistable Linda, I was not familiar with the book but with so much available citrus here in California, I will consider purchasing a copy.

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