I need to apologize. I have been holding out on you guys for at least two weeks. And honestly, it has been longer than that but the exact amount of time is beyond me and any guess would be a straight exaggeration because I can not, for the life of me, make an educated guess without adding a touch of nonsense.
So, lets just say I have been holding out for ages and for this, I am sorry. Because when there is cake this good, it should be brought to the masses as soon as possible. I, however, was selfish and while I shared most of the renditions of this cake with those near and dear to me and within driving distance – those of you out of my 50 mile radius of cake delivery were left out of the cake eating loop. One of the worst loops to be on the outside of. And this coming from someone who considers cake her 5th favorite dessert. You guys, it’s damn good cake.
But then again, citrus cakes are my exception to my dessert flow chart…mention lemon cake or grapefruit or lime and cake begins to slowly take over cookies and step on the face of ice cream and gets creepily close to bumping pie from its second place slot. God love exceptions.
Minneolas here, blood before that, and grapefruit from the start – have been my go-to citrus mash-ups – with and without chocolate. If you wanna go the lemon or lime route – I dare ya not to be smitten (without chocolate unless you are daring – lemon and chocolate?? I can’t even.). I have lemons just waiting to be squeezed and zested – their final destination, this cake – that is if I bake before I play bartender and use them for another round of hot toddies.
Yea…we are still drinking hot toddies in these parts.
Seriously, though. Whip up this cake. Glaze it or don’t. Add chocolate or don’t. Share it. Or don’t. I get it. My point is. BAKE it. Do it and quickly before the aisles of citrus are cluttered with unripe ginormous flavorless strawberries from lands unknown and peaches that would make better paper weights than juicy mid-day snacks.
Go, Team Citrus!
- Cake
- 1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
- 1+3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1+1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1+1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 3 large eggs
- 2/3 cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon bourbon (optional)
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- Orange Syrup
- 1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon bourbon (optional)
- Glaze
- 3/4 to 1 cup powdered (confectioner’s) sugar
- 2 -4 tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice
- 1 tablespoon bourbon (optional)
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line the base of an 8 inch round springform pan with parchment paper. Spray sides with non-stick spray. Set aside. If you do not have a springform pan, a basic 8inch round cake pan will work – the sides will need to be at least 3 inches high. This can also be baked in a 9x5inch loaf pan – note the baking time will need to be increased by about 10 to 15 minutes.
- In a medium saucepan, place 1/2 cup of orange juice. Bring orange juice to a simmer and reduce by half – 1/4cup will be final amount. Remove from heat and let cool.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar and zest and with your fingers or the back of a spoon, rub the zest into the sugar until it is thoroughly incorporated. Whisk in flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add chocolate chips and gently toss to coat chocolate chips with flour mixture.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together sour cream, eggs, olive oil, bourbon (optional) and cooled reduced orange juice. Whisk until a creamy uniform mixture exists.
- Create a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, gently fold the dry into the wet just until everything is incorporated.
- Pour batter into prepared pan. Place in preheated oven and bake for 35-45 minutes until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean. (if you are using a 9 inch round pan, the baking time will be decreased, if you using a 9x5inch loaf pan, time will be increased)
- While the cakes bake, prepare orange syrup. In a small saucepan, combine orange juice and sugar and place over medium-low heat and cook until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and stir in bourbon if using. Let cool.
- When the cake is done, remove from oven and let sit on a wire rack for about 5 to 10 minutes. With a toothpick, poke a million little holes all over the top of the cake. Gently and slowly, use a pastry brush to apply the orange bourbon syrup over the top of the cake, letting the cake soak up the liquid. Let cake sit and cool completely.
- If you are so inclined, an orange bourbon glaze is kinda fantastic. In a small bowl, combine 3/4 cup powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons orange juice, and 1 tablespoon bourbon. Whisk to combine. Add more orange juice or sugar to obtain the perfect thickness. When cake is completely cool – remove it from its pan and set on a cake stand and pour glaze over cake, letting it fall over the edges as you see necessary.
- Slice and enjoy. This cake keeps well in an airtight container for several days.
*Tip – to get the final glaze to set and to reach that crusty stage (like a glazed donut per say) – turn on your oven broiler. Pour glaze over cake. Place cake under broiler for about 30 to 45 seconds. Remove from oven and let cool. Works like a gem and makes you feel like a flipping pro!
**The olive oil flavor will shine through – so use mild if not crazy about the flavor of olive oil or cut it with some canola oil ( go halfsies)
***Bourbon is totally optional but I LOVE orange and bourbon smashed together. If using other citrus besides orange, I would leave out the bourbon. That goes for the chocolate as well. But experiment if you want – this is your cake as much as it is mine.
Fork Vs Spoon 