Categories: Cake, Dessert

Ingredients

• The Swirl:
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or 1/2 cup pecans
• 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (or 1/3 c. mini chocolate chips)
• 1/3 cup plump moist raisins (dark or golden, or may use dried currants)
• 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• freshly grated nutmeg, a pinch
• salt, a pinch
• The Cake:
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 1 orange, zest of
• 8 ounces butter, at room temperature (2 sticks)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup sour cream
• powdered sugar, for dusting

Directions

1. Position oven rack in center; preheat oven to 350°; butter a 9- to 10-inch Bundt pan, dust the interior with flour and tap out the excess; do not place the Bundt pan on a baking sheet.

2. Make the swirl: add all the ingredients to a bowl; stir to mix.

3. Make the cake: whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl.

4. Working in the bowl of a stand mixer, rub the sugar and zest together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and aromatic.

5. Add in the butter; with the paddle or whisk attachment beat on medium speed for 4 minutes.

6. Add in eggs one at a time, beat for 1 minute after each egg goes inches.

7. Beat in the vanilla; decrease mixer speed to low and mix in the sour cream.

8. Still on low speed, add in the dry ingredients and mix only until they disappear into the batter.

9. Give the batter a last stir or two with a rubber spatula, then scoop about 1/3 of the batter into the Bundt pan.

10. Evenly sprinkle on half of the swirl mixture, then spoon in the rest of the batter.

11. Make a shallow indentation with the back of a spoon in the center of the ring of batter and fill it with the remaining swirl mixture, then cover the mixture lightly with the batter on the sides of the indentation?the batter probably won?t cover the mixture completely and that is fine.

12. Bake for 60-65 minutes, or until a pick comes out clean.

13. Transfer pan to a rack and let the cake rest for 10 minutes before unmolding it onto the rack to cool to room temperature.

14. Just before serving, dust the cake with powdered sugar.

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