Chocolate Orange Sour Cream Pound Cake

At Christmas time we were always thrilled if we received a chocolate orange. If you coarsely chop one up and add it to this tender, buttery cake you end up with a cake that will be just as well received as a chocolate orange. You can marbleize this cake or leave it as a vanilla-orange batter, with the Chocolate Orange pieces, dotted throughout the cake. Not as heavy as a pound cake, but moist and delicious. I highly recommend.

• Ready In: 1 hr 25 mins
• Serves: 10-12

Ingredients

• 1⁄4 cup  semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled (optional)
• 3⁄4 cup unsalted butter
• 1 1⁄3 cups sugar
• 3  eggs
• 1  cup sour cream
• 2  teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons  orange oil
• 1  orange, zest of, finely minced (optional)
• 1⁄4 cup milk
• 3⁄8 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 1⁄2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3  cups all-purpose flour
• 175  g  terrys orange-shaped chocolate, minced or 1⁄2 cup  miniature milk chocolate chips

• Garnish

•  confectioners' sugar
•  variety of melted chocolate

• Glaze

•  orange juice
•  confectioners' sugar

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F
2. Generously grease a 9 inch tube pan or bundt cake pan or two 8 by 4 inch, or two 9 by 5 inch loaf pans with non stick cooking spray.
3. Melt the chocolate and set aside.
4. Cream the butter and the sugar until fluffy.
5. Beat in the eggs, sour cream, orange zest and extracts , blending well.
6. Fold in the dry ingredients, scraping the bottom of the bowl to make sure it is all blended.
7. Stir in the milk, and then fold in the chocolate.
8. Remove 1/2 up of the batter and mix with the melted chocolate.
9. Spoon white batter into pan and then drop spoonfuls of the chocolate batter on top of that. Swirl briefly with a knife to marbleize.
10. Bake until cake springs back when lightly touched with fingertips, about 45-65 minutes (depending on pans used).
11. Dust with confectioners’ sugar or drizzle on melted white and dark chocolate or melted milk chocolate.
12. Alternatively, you can glaze with an orange juice and confectioner’s sugar glaze.