1-Ready to bake? This Chocolate Orange Marble Cake comes together with ease, and I’ll walk you through it like we’re chatting in the kitchen. Start by preheating your oven to 350°F (175°C) so it’s nice and hot when you’re ready.

2-First, prepare the chocolate mixture by combining ½ cup sugar (100 grams), ½ cup cocoa powder (60 grams), and ¼ cup hot water (60 mL). Stir it until smooth and set it aside to cool a bit. This step is what gives you that gorgeous chocolate swirl.

3-Next, whisk together the dry ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour (300 grams), 2 teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon vanilla powder or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and ½ teaspoon salt. In another bowl, beat 3 large eggs with the remaining 1 cup sugar (200 grams) for about 5 minutes until it’s fluffy and full of air this helps make the cake light.

4-Gradually beat in ¾ cup olive oil (175 mL) to the egg mixture, then alternately add the dry ingredients and ¾ cup orange juice (175 mL), mixing in halves to keep things even. Once that’s done, scoop out about 2 cups of the plain batter and fold in the chocolate mixture.

5-To the rest of the batter, stir in 2 tablespoons orange zest and 1 teaspoon orange blossom water if you’re using it. For the fun part, layer the batters in a greased loaf pan: Start with the orange batter, spoon the chocolate over it (but save about a third), add the remaining orange, and top with the reserved chocolate. To get that marble effect, alternate spoonfuls or gently swirl once with a knife.

6-Bake for 50-60 minutes, checking with a toothpick it should come out clean when it’s ready. Let it cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then move it to a wire rack. If you like, dust it with icing sugar before serving. This whole process takes about 30 minutes to prep and 1 hour to cook, giving you a total time of 1 hour and 30 minutes for around 10 servings.