Brown-Eyed Susan Cake

Named for the orange wildflower with the dark center, this old-fashioned marble cake swirls deep chocolate through bright, fragrant orange. It is a clever single-batter trick: you make one butter cake batter, then split it and flavor each half differently, so two cakes come from one bowl.

Half the batter gets chocolate, with a touch of baking soda to balance the cocoa, and the other half is brightened with orange extract, fresh orange zest, and a little color. Dropped into the pans in alternating spoonfuls and left unstirred, the two batters bake into a marbled swirl, with chocolate and orange in every slice.

The pairing is a classic for good reason, the bittersweet chocolate and the perfumed citrus playing off each other beautifully. Keep the dollops loose and resist the urge to over-swirl, and the marbling stays bold and distinct.

Chef Tips

• Drop the two batters in alternating spoonfuls and don’t stir them together; over-swirling muddies the marble into one brown color.
• Use fresh orange zest along with the extract for the brightest, most natural citrus flavor.
• Don’t overbake; butter cakes dry out quickly, so pull them as soon as a tester comes clean.
• For a more dramatic marble, run a knife once through the batter in a figure-eight, no more.

Variations

• Frost with chocolate or orange buttercream, or a chocolate-orange ganache.
• Add mini chocolate chips to the chocolate batter.
• Bake as a bundt or in a loaf pan instead of layers.