I eagerly wait in anticipation for blood orange season. I know there are plenty of delicious orange varieties out there months earlier than when blood oranges hit the market (and I eat plenty of those), but there’s something special about cutting open the bright orange rind and discovering what shade of magenta- to wine-colored flesh lies inside. They are fairly easy to find at grocery stores these days, but if you can’t find them in your area or your looking for a good, small-farm provider, you can buy them from my friends at Good Taste Farm! Farmers Kris and Sarah have some of the best citrus I’ve eaten and they’ll happily ship directly to your house or office. Plus, you can sign up for monthly subscription boxes so you’ll get a tasty surprise box each month filled with goodies like limes, passion fruit, and today’s subject - blood oranges.

When I’m in need of something delicious but don’t have a lot of time and/or energy, I turn to quick breads. With a simple stir-together batter, this marbled style looks complicated, but it’s actually really easy. You make one batter, scoop some out, and add cocoa to one portion. No fuss, just a beautiful and tasty end result. The bright pink glaze gets its color from that magenta blood orange juice - thank you nature! You can get more creative with this recipe by adding in some spices like ginger or cardamom, adding a touch of almond extract, or stirring in some chocolate chips. Have fun with it, and happy baking!

Chocolate & Blood orange marble bread

Makes 1 (8x4-inch) loaf or 6 servings

ingredients

Bread

• 1½ cups all-purpose flour

• ½ cup plus 2 tablespoon white sugar

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• ½ teaspoon baking powder

• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

• ½ cup whole milk, room temperature
  and divided

• ½ cup salted butter, melted

• ¼ cup blood orange juice

• 2 large eggs

• Zest of 1 blood orange

• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract

• ½ teaspoon almond extract

• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder

Glaze

• 1 cup powdered sugar

• 2 tablespoons blood orange juice

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 325°. Spray an 8x4-inch loaf pan with baking spray. Line sides and bottom with parchment paper letting the excess stick up over the edges.

2. BREAD: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together ¼ cup milk, melted butter, ¼ cup blood orange juice, eggs, zest, vanilla paste, and almond extract. Stir butter mixture into flour mixture until combined. Reserve 1 cup batter in a small bowl; stir cocoa powder and remaining ¼ cup milk into reserved batter.

3. Add half of plain batter to prepared pan, smoothing with an offset spatula. Pour chocolate batter over plain, mostly cover it it. Top with remaining plain batter. Gently swirl batters together using a knife.

4. Bake for 55 to 57 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Let cool completely in pan.

5. GLAZE: In a small bowl whisk together powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons blood orange juice until smooth. Add additional tablespoons if a thinner consistency is desired. Top cooled loaf with glaze and blood orange slices, if desired. Bread will keep, covered, at room temperature for 2 days.