Chocolate Orange Cake

Moist orange cake made with whole oranges, drizzled with a rich chocolate ganache. This easy Chocolate Orange Cake comes together in no time and is sure to satisfy that craving for the classic combination of chocolate and orange.

If you love bundt cake recipes, you need to try out this recipe for a Funfetti Bundt Cake with White Chocolate Drizzle, this recipe for a Banana Bundt Cake with Caramel Sauce, or this delicious Marble Cake with Chocolate Glaze.

I love this recipe because it really celebrates both the star ingredients, the oranges in the cake, and the chocolate in the ganache drip. This is recipe is for a super simple orange bundt cake made with oil and fresh oranges (no essence here!) and a rich chocolate drip made with a combination of milk and dark chocolate. As Goldilocks would say, it's just right. Not too rich, not too sweet, and easy enough for any home baker to perfect.

Ingredients Needed for Chocolate Orange Cake

The ingredients needed to make this orange and chocolate cake are straightforward and easy to find. Just remember that before baking all ingredients should be at room temperature.

·     Frech oranges

·     Extra large eggs

·     Sunflower oil

·     Granulated sugar

·     Self-raising flour

·     Salt

·     Vanilla extract

·     Full cream milk

Fresh oranges - The cake is essentially a vanilla-based cake with whole oranges folded through the batter. The oranges needed to make the cake batter have been boiled in water for two hours before being blended in a food processor. Preparing the oranges in this way ensures the maximum amount of real orange flavor without the bitterness that came come from the pith of the oranges.

Self-raising flour - I prefer to use self-raising flour in most of my bakes as, well it saves time! If you don't have self-raising flour, you can use a mixture of cake flour and baking powder. For this recipe use 380 grams of cake flour and 2 tablespoon of baking powder. Sift the cake flour and the baking powder together before adding them to the egg mixture. Then follow the recipe as instructed.

Sunflower oil - sunflower oil is a type of vegetable oil and is great to use in bakes as a substitute for butter. It ensures a light and moist cake. All vegetable oils have different properties and therefore tastes so be used to pick sunflower oil when making this cake batter.

Vanilla extract - Vanilla flavoring varies in quality and taste! While there is a place for vanilla essence (kids cakes and vanilla cupcakes, sorry bakers) this recipe calls for a quality vanilla extract. Be sure to check the labels of the vanilla flouring you are buying to ensure you are choosing quality products.

Ingredients Needed for Chocolate Glaze

·     Dark chocolate

·     Milk chocolate

·     Whipping/ heavy cream

Since I made this cake just after Easter it was a great way to get rid of half-eaten chocolate Easter bunnies! When making chocolate drizzles for cakes, or chocolate frostings I prefer to use a combination of chocolate, dark, and milk chocolate as this is my taste preference. If you like a stronger chocolate taste choose to add more dark chocolate than the recipe states. Do this by decreasing the amount of milk chocolate and vice versa!

Dark chocolate - I love using Lindt 70% dark chocolate in my frosting and icing recipes. Choose good quality and great-tasting dark chocolate for your ganache. You could even use the orange flavor dark chocolate to add some extra orange flavor to this cake recipe. If you don't have chocolate bars use a mixture of dark and milk chocolate chips.

Milk chocolate - Use great-tasting milk chocolate for this recipe. If you wouldn't want to eat the chocolate on its own it isn't good enough for the ganache on this cake.

Whipping cream - Different parts of the world have different names for creams and these are based on their fat content. Here in South Africa, whipping cream basically means the cream has enough fat solids to be whipped. You are looking for a cream that is about 33% fat but is not double-thick cream. I don't know how many times I made that mistake when following recipes!

How to Make an Orange Cake Recipe

Step 1

Start by boiling the oranges, this takes 2 hours so be sure to give yourself enough time when baking this cake or boil the oranges the night before. To boil the oranges you need to place a large pot of water over high heat. Once the water is boiling, add the washed oranges and allow them to boil in the water until soft. Be sure to top up the water as most of it will evaporate during these two hours.

Once the oranges are soft, slice them into chunks, remove any seeds if necessary, and blend them in a food processor. When blending you want the orange puree to be smooth yet still have pieces of visible orange peel in the puree. Set this aside as the orange puree will be added last to the cake batter with a spatula.

Step 2

Add the eggs, sugar, and oil to a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat the ingredients together for about 2 minutes at medium-high speed.

Step 3

Sift together the salt and self-raising flour and add this to the egg mixture at once. Mix at low speed for about 1 minute until the ingredients are combined.

Step 4

Add the vanilla to the milk in a jug and with the motor of the electric mixer running add the milk mixture to the cake batter in a steady stream at low speed. Once all of the milk has been added, scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again. This is to ensure there are no lumps in the cake batter.

Step 5

Fold through the orange puree with a spatula, ensuring that the cake batter is well mixed. Pour the batter into a prepared bundt cake tin and bake in a preheated oven for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.

Step 6

Once removed from the oven, allow the cake to cool in its tin for about 20 minutes. Rushing this process could mean the cake sticking in the tin or falling apart when released from the tin. Once the cake has been removed from the tin, allow the cake to cool to room temperature on a wire cooling rack. Once cooled place the cake onto a cake plate.

How to Make Chocolate Ganache

Step 1

In a small saucepan set over medium heat add the chopped chocolate and the heavy cream. Allow the chocolate to melt and keep stirring with a spatula until the ganache is thick and homogenous. This ganache has a rich chocolate flavor thanks to all of the melted chocolate.

Step 2

Set the chocolate ganache aside to cool slightly before pouring the ganache over the cake. If you rush, the ganache won't be thick enough to coat the sides of the cake or the top of the cake.

Step 3

Pour the chocolate ganache over the top of the orange chocolate cake, allowing the ganache to drip down the edges of the cake. Decorate the cake with fresh edible flowers, orange peel, or fresh orange zest.

Equipment Needed

For the easy chocolate orange cake, you don't need much equipment! However, you do need a bundt pan and an oven. The recipe can actually be made in a large bowl with a hand whisk since this cake batter is without butter!

No matter what the stickers on bundt pans say, I always brush my pans with melted butter and dust them with flour. The last thing you want is a cake that won't release from its tin.

If you don't have a bundt pan you can bake this as cake layers. Use x2 22cm round cake pans lined with parchment paper and then bake the cakes in the oven for about 30 minutes or until done. The chocolate ganache can be added in the middle and on top of the cake.

This orange chocolate cake truly is a simple celebration of fresh orange flavor and rich chocolate, a great recipe to try for any special occasion. I hope you give this cake recipe a try as it really is one of my best cake recipes! And if you do, leave your comments below or tag me in bakes on Instagram!

How to Store a Chocolate Orange Cake

This bundt cake will keep fresh at room temperature in an airtight container for up to a week.

More Easy Cake Recipes

If you love baked goods that hero citrus fruits, then you have to try these Orange Cupcakes, this Homemade Clementine Marmalade, or this recipe for a Citrus Salted Caramel Layer Cake. But the ultimate citrus bake on this blog is this delicious Almond and Orange Layer Cake!

Happy Baking

With Love,

Kitty

📖 Recipe