Chocolate Orange Bundt Cake

One question before the recipe...Why won't Google let me log in and make comments to some people's blogs when I used to be able to? When I click "post comment", I have to choose Google account and it takes me to the Google Blogger log in page. I log in with my info, but it shows me my comment as "anonymous" and then just won't let me post the comment. I can log into my blog just fine. Any bloggers have any ideas???

I made this cake for the first time to take to my brother Jared and sister-in-law Debbie's house for a family Memorial Day BBQ. I really like the orange/chocolate combination. I will probably throw in a few more chocolate chips next time just cuz I like them. I drizzled it with a simple glaze, but you don't need to. I found this pretty cake at Joy the Baker. Head over there for good recipes and gorgeous food photos.

Chocolate Orange Bundt Cake


3 1/2 c. cake flour
1 T. baking powder
3/4 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1 c. unsalted butter at room temprature
2 c. sugar
4 large eggs, left at room temperature for 30 minutes
2 t. vanilla extract
2 c. sour cream
1/2 t. orange extract
Zest of 1 large orange
4 T. cocoa powder
1/2 c. 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.

It's Really June Already???

Since I don't get to update my blog much at all anymore or even keep in touch with friends like I would like, I'm just posting some random recent photos. It's mostly for my family and friends who actually know us (cuz others just might not care), but you can all enjoy the good music while you're here. This is Taylor Olson, a BYU student and pop/jazz singer/songwriter. We like BYU and good music at our house. If you are around, you can hear her live this Saturday, June 11th at 10:00 at Muse Music Cafe in Provo. She'll be performing and so will some other great women like Jacqueline du Plessis. So click play and look through the photos or listen to her while your reading other windows.

 Alexander and I went to a program at BYU called Foundations that helps prepare kids for college and parents to know what to do to help them (ACT tests, classes to take, GPA requirements, etc.). This was his second year and he loves it. The parents and kids were separated on different sides of the room for this opening session. Before I left him, I told Alexander to go up and dance or answer trivia because that's what they do at the beginning. He said, "No way!" Then they asked for people to get up and tell jokes and he ran right up. (Horrible quality photo, but it was the best of the 4.)

 He came home with free loot!

 We went over to the Provo temple for a quick photo shoot. Only like 10 minutes. It's not easy to get photos of my children without them making silly faces!

 Maria Mercer Adams, my sister's sister-in-law, so kinda, almost my sis-in-law, had an art show at BYU and Sabrina and I went to see it. They are illustrations that she painted for a book that is to introduce newly diagnosed children to Type 1 Diabetes, which Maria has. I am in awe of people with such talent!

 Sabrina loved the apples!

 Maria's mother Lanette and Maria's cousin, who I just met for the first time that night. You can barely see Maria behind her mother's shoulder in the background.

 Maria was so busy talking to friends and family (even an art editor for The Friend was there) so I didn't want to interrupt her for a photo. So I snapped one while she was conversing.

 When we were leaving the art show, Sabrina asked me to take a few photos of her on campus.

 Yeah, we like BYU!

 For my family birthday party, we went to my parents' house and Alex played the fluter while the girls sang a couple of hymns for me. Alex taught himself to play the flute recently and didn't even practice the hymns before he played for us. The girls just decided what they wanted to sing in the car on the way to my parents' house. Lots of talent there too!

My niece turned 2 and I snapped some photos at the party. My sister Heather made the cute cake.

 This is my cousin Angela and her son Sky. As you can tell, she is lots younger than me. I met her either once or twice before she got married and took a trip out to Utah like a year ago. When I was growing up, I only had 2 cousins. Yep, 2 total on my father and mother's sides. A few more came along over the years, but not many and I barely know them. So it's pretty special that she is living in Utah for a few months while her hubby is deployed away from home.

 This is my brother Jared and his wife Debbie. They have the two amazing boys below.

I think that's enough pics for today! My family has probably seen most of these anyway, thanks to Facebook. Hope to be back soon for a new post, but I have a test to study for so I dunno.