Chocolate and rye go wondrously well together, as do oranges and rye. For more than 50 years our family birthday cake has been Old World Chocolate Spice Cake with Citron (from Rombauer & Becker, 1964 ed.), for which I early substituted (in decreasing order) rye flour, whole wheat flour, wheat germ, soy flour, and flax seed for the major portion of the original all purpose flour. That edition of Joy of Cooking still had the back story, of a homesick war bride wanting to make the dense sandy cake of her home country. (Hint: Long stirring helps, as does substituting heartier flours). That's exactly what I missed when we came to the United States. Tender crumb? Light cake? Not for me. There is so much more flavor in a denser cake. (One immigrant's opinion.) PS: There's a Siberian tradition of planting wheat and rye together, to improve the chances of a crop surviving the winter: wheat, after an easy winter; rye, after a hard one. PPS: People who think they don't like rye bread might try a darker rye, for a completely different taste. I order 100% dark rye sourdough from Latvia or from blackroosterfood.com here in the USA; loaves are large, but it keeps indefinitely. I slather mine with sunflower seed butter (I mix a 1-lb jar with 100 g of milled flaxseed, for nutrition and to limit oil separation) and the best orange marmalade I can find or make.

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