2 to 3 lb. pound cake, chocolate marble is best

12 oz semisweet chocolate chips, the darker the better

8 to 12 oz orange liqueur (or one small bottle of Cointreau)

reserve 1/4 cup of the orange liqueur

8 oz bitter orange marmalade

12 oz whipping cream

~1/4 c sugar or to taste

Slice pound cake in thick slabs. Line the inside of a large clear glass bowl with the cake slabs. Sprinkle almost all the orange liqueur over the cake, soaking the cake. There will be liquid in the bottom of the bowl.

Heat marmalade carefully in the microwave, stirring occasionally, until it pours. Pour the marmalade over the soggy cake slabs.

Pour 4 oz (1/2 c) whipping cream over the chocolate chips in a bowl and heat the bowl in the microwave in 30-second bursts, to melt the chocolate. Stir very thoroughly after each 30 seconds. Once chocolate chips are completely melted and mixed with the cream, stir in 1 T or more orange liqueur to prevent the chocolate from re-hardening. Pour the chocolate mixture over the cake.

Whip the remaining 8 oz whipping cream with about 1/4 c sugar and 1 T or more orange liqueur until stiff peaks form. Pile this on top of the chocolate mixture.

This dessert is highly alcoholic. It can also be made with Framboise (raspberry liqueur) and frozen raspberries or raspberry jam, or with kirsch (cherry liqueur) and Morelli cherries, which come in a jar at your health food or imported food store.

For a nonalcoholic version, try the cherries but use the liquid the cherries come in instead of kirsch.

Serves eight to fifteen drunks.