Marble Cake

how about a shave or two of orange zest instead of buying the orange flower water that will never be used again? Just a thought....

While it might be good with zest, orange flower water has a completely different scent and flavor, which I love. I use it for Moroccan and Middle Eastern desserts and orange salads. It lasts forever and does not spoil. I’ve had bottles for years.

Nanci - who seems to roll her eyes at orange blossom water. I love the stuff, I'm Persian and we find plenty of uses for it. Non-Persian recipe - pour a tablespoon or two and a couple teaspoons in French toast batter, and thank me later.

This was a lovely cake! I did not use the orange blossom water but otherwise made as directed and pulled it out of the oven at 50 minutes. It was a tad on the sweet side, but tender crumb and the swirl is beautiful. The almond flavor definitely comes through, so if you are not a fan of almond I would recommend using a bit less - although the chocolate/almond flavor is quite tasty!

Any idea what the fully baked internal temp should be? If using loaf pans (easier for freezer storage) would two 8x4” work? One 9x5”?

From King Arthur Baking, "Most classic cakes (butter cakes, pound cakes, chocolate and vanilla cakes, etc.) hover around 210°F when they're fully baked, but this isn't always a reliable threshold to look for." For me, the best method, still, is the clean toothpick in the center of the cake.

This was a beautiful cake. Personally, I did not find the almond flavour came through. So maybe add more almond essence or make sure it’s fresh. Maybe I didn’t cook it enough (baked for a full 55 minutes and passed the toothpick test) but the cake collapsed ever so slightly. Otherwise, easy to make and delicious on its own. It was gorgeous with a covering of slivered almonds. Was a hit for a family of all ages. Will pair wonderfully with a glass of milk or a cup of coffee.

Could this be made in a loaf pan, and if so, by how much would one reduce the recipe?

Recipe writers of Bundt cakes such as this one need to specify the cup size of the pan. It’s not enough to say 9- or 10-inch pan because all are different depending on depth of the pan. When this information is missing in the recipe I go by how much flour, sugar and eggs are called for. This sounds like a 10- to 12-cup size or a deep 9 incher. If you’re not sure measure your pan by seeing how many cups are needed to fill it to the top.

If you leave out the cocoa, you have to replace it with an equal amount (1/3 cup) of flour as cocoa is part of the dry ingredients and it might affect the texture of the cake if you don't. Dissolve the espresso in the 1/3 cup hot water called for and mix the cinnamon in with the dry ingredients.

This is an excellent cake. I made a few modifications: 1) I replaced a quarter of the butter (by weight) with neutral oil to make the cake moister. 2) Instead of white sugar mixed into the cocoa mixture, I used muscovado sugar for a brown sugar flavour that complements the cocoa. 3) I added half a teaspoon of instant coffee to the cocoa mixture to enhance the chocolate flavour. 4) I increased the orange blossom water to 2 tablespoons because from experience it evaporates as it cooks.

Strange tasting cake. If you are expecting a traditional marble cake -that tastes like vanilla swirled with chocolate, stick to the original. Rose water and almond essence really change the taste and not for the better.

I did something radical — made this exactly as written (orange extract since that’s what was on hand). Delicious. Will make again — exactly as written!

Cake, internal temperature when baked 206-207°

As an alternative to nonstick baking spay with flour: Melt 1 T butter in a small bowl. Add 1 T neutral oil (like canola) and 1 T flour. Mix well and apply to your pan with a pastry brush. Keep leftovers in the fridge. You can also use 2 parts oil to 1 part flour to keep it dairy-less.