Fun and Easy Chocolate Orange Cake

Easy and quick to make, yet decadent and moist, this Chocolate Orange Cake is the perfect dessert for any occasion! With vibrant colors, very few ingredients, and a perfectly classy flavor combination, it will definitely become a favorite all year round.

This chocolate orange cake recipe is surprising: you have an upside-down moist orange cake sponge as a base for a glorious chocolate drizzle on top!

Whisk together the orange sponge batter in five minutes and flavor it with fresh orange juice, orange zest, and thin slices; bake in the oven, and voila'... ready to decorate to your liking, with chocolate buttercream or drizzle, some simple chocolate oranges or orange zest, or some fancy buttercream frosting and sprinkles (your call!).

The freshness and lightness of the citrus, coupled with the richness of the chocolate, make this cake a great choice for most occasions, be it an afternoon tea, a mid-morning snack, or an after-dinner treat.

The flavor combination will definitely make you think of the festive season, such as Christmastime, however, the color pairing will work perfectly for Halloween... this orange chocolate cake is definitely an all-rounder!

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• How To Make Chocolate Orange Cake?
• How to make chocolate drizzle that hardens?
• What buttercream goes with orange cake?
• How to decorate the chocolate orange cake?
• People Also Ask [FAQs]
• Tips and Tricks for the best Orange Chocolate Cake
• Recipe

Ingredients

• Dark Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: Dark cocoa powder helps to make the cake a darker color and gives it a chocolate taste. Going for unsweetened cocoa rather than pre-sweetened cocoa not only allows you to control the sweetness level, but also offers a deeper chocolate taste.
• Oranges: This is the best ingredient you can put in the orange cake, as it makes the sponge taste better and its juice keeps it moist, compared to artificial flavorings!
• Unsalted Butter: Butter is an important ingredient in baking as it helps to make the cake moist and fluffy, as it offers fat content.
• Caster Sugar, Self-Raising Flour, Whole Eggs: Together with the unsalted butter, these are the key ingredients to make a sponge cake.
• Baking Powder: Baking powder helps your cake to rise.
• Dark Chocolate: To decorate the cake after baking.

How To Make Chocolate Orange Cake?

This fluffy cake is flavored with fresh oranges and drizzled with chocolate and the preparation involves four main steps.

• Prepare the cake tin: start by covering the bottom of the round cake pan with a piece of parchment paper. Cover the sides of the pan with some unsalted butter, then with some unsweetened cocoa powder, remove any excess and your cake pan is ready.
• Should you want, you can grease the sides with some olive oil instead of butter, as it is known for working well with oranges, however, ensure you use a mild one.

• Prepare the two oranges: you will need three main ingredients from the two oranges, these being (1) The zest of half an orange (2) One tablespoon of orange juice (3) Roundels to cover the base of the baking tin; these should be about 0.2 inches (5mm) thick.

• Prepare the orange cake batter: start by beating the butter and sugar in a large bowl on medium speed using an electric hand mixer (or a self-standing one, like a food processor) until you achieve a homogenous fluffy mix.

• Once done, add two eggs to the mix, before mixing and adding the second two; once these are all well mixed, add the orange juice, orange zest, and the baking powder and mix well once more.
• As the last step, at a low speed, add the cake flour a bit at a time and allow it to completely incorporate into the mix; once done you are ready to put the batter in the prepared pan, on top of the orange slices (which can be positioned to achieve the preferred design).

• When putting the batter in the cake tin, don't bang the pan on the counter or try to make the batter flat, as this will remove the air bubbles formed during the beating and make for a dense cake.
• You are now ready to bake the chocolate orange cake in the center of the oven at 180 degrees Celsius (FAN), 350 Fahrenheit FAN, gas 6, or static oven at 200 degrees Celsius or 400 Fahrenheit for 35-40 minutes.
• Timing may slightly vary depending on the oven, so keep an eye on your sponge as you do not want it to overcook, but you want to achieve a moist cake. I have used a 10-inch round cake pan (25.5cm), so if the size of yours is different, you will need to amend the time considering that as well.

• To test, insert a toothpick in the center of the orange cake and if it comes out clean, the sponge is done; additionally, see if the sides of the cake are lightly separating from the tin.
• To cool the cake down, place it on a wire rack and, once it reaches room temperature, remove it from the tin and turn it upside down, making the top of the cake the one with the orange slices.

• Prepare and apply the chocolate drizzle: melt the chocolate Bain Marie and remove it from the heat as soon as it has melted.

How to drizzle chocolate? There are a few ways this can be applied to the top of the cake; I allow the chocolate to lightly cool down (without starting to harden) and use a sac a poche (to fill it, I put it in a large glass, folding the sleeve around the rim), however, also a large spoon could be used for drizzling while the chocolate is hot.

Allow the chocolate to settle in the fridge and harden again before serving. Enjoy!

How to make chocolate drizzle that hardens?

Once the chocolate has melted, it will harden again once completely cooled down; to help this process be faster, the cake can be put in the fridge. If wanted and needed, a bit of butter or cream can be added to the chocolate before melting it, however, this will make the chocolate fattier and therefore a tiny bit softer; do not add cold or room temperature cream or butter to the chocolate when it has melted already, as this will make it curdle, but add them to the Bain Marie pot at the same time.

What buttercream goes with orange cake?

Chocolate buttercream, as well as orange buttercream work perfectly on top of this orange cake, however, I have a few interesting alternative options up my sleeve!

If you do not want to decorate your cake with chocolate or with more butter, then there are many other ways this can be done.

One of the most popular is to prepare an orange cream cheese frosting with cream cheese, confectioner sugar, and orange syrup, essence, or zest; an alternative to cream cheese can be hung Greek yogurt, with which you can follow the same process, although this may taste tangier.

Another great alternative is an orange glaze; this is a very easy recipe as it only requires mixing confectioner's sugar with some fresh juice and some optional orange zest. For a crunch and a shinier top, you can also use granulated sugar instead, however, this will require a bit more mixing before applying to the cake.

Should you wish to make the frosting using sour cream, then you can beat it with some butter, confectioner sugar, and some orange zest or extract for a delicious topping.

~~ LOVE fruit-based cakes? Try this delicious 5 Ingredient Vegan Banana Cake!

How to decorate the chocolate orange cake?

This cake requires very little decoration, as it is an upside-down cake, making it a very easy and beautiful solution.

Should you not have a round baking pan, then this can be baked in different sizes of loaf pans as well, however, depending on the size of it, different baking times will apply. To decorate the orange loaf, you can spread some orange cream butter or orange frosting on it (any from the suggestions in the question above) and drizzle with some orange zest. Should you be a fan of bundt cakes, then this would look spectacular with any topping, but I must admit that dark chocolate rolling down the edges of the bright and light orange cake, has a fantastic effect!

For a layered cake, either bake two of these cakes in 10-inch pans cake layers or choose two smaller pans and adjust the cooking time accordingly; in between cake layers, spread some orange cream cheese frosting or a lighter fluffy orange buttercream and decorate with either some confectioner sugar or some chocolate drizzle to finish the top layer. Should you have some leftover oranges, make it a 'whole orange cake' and use its slices to decorate the top, and use the orange peel by caramelizing it with some sugar.

To follow through with the chocolate and orange theme, add some chocolate oranges on top of the cake; these may be hard to find when not in season (normally Christmas), however online retailers tend to have them year-round (also because these colors would look fantastic for Halloween!).

People Also Ask [FAQs]

Tips and Tricks for the best Orange Chocolate Cake

• Zesting: When grating the zest of the oranges it is important that these are clean from any wax they may have had on top (wash under warm water or buy unwaxed oranges) and not to grate any further than the first layer. While the orange part of the zest is delicious and citrussy, the white part of the orange zest is very bitter and unnecessary for cake baking.
• Overmixing: Do not overmix the batter of the cake, this is very important. As soon as the flour is incorporated well into the rest of the orange chocolate cake batter, stop mixing. Overbeating the batter breaks down its structure and may result in a dense and chewy cake.
• Wet Ingredients: Give yourself enough time to use room temperature wet ingredients, as these will make your batter fluffier with air bubbles, creating a light and airy sponge cake. Ensure the butter is room temperature, not melted.

This may be the first time you will bake a chocolate orange cake, or you may be looking for an alternative for next time it does not matter. This extra moisture, perfectly tasty, orange cake will soon become your favorite, as it is made with simple ingredients, does not require any fancy methods, and other than a hand or stand mixer and a cake pan, it does not require any special ingredient nor accessory.

When you prepare it next, be your own chocolate orange cake tester and enjoy a slice in peace, you deserve it!

If you enjoyed this recipe, you may want to take a look at:

• Vegan Black Forest Gateau
• Chocolate Chip Shortbread
• Quick and Easy Banana Muffins
• Lemon Cupcakes
• Vegan Chocolate Muffins

Recipe