Easy Chocolate Orange Cake

This moist and delicious chocolate orange cake is just what you need for your next holiday or birthday party. It’s easy to make, looks fancy, and comes together with really simple ingredients.

Is it a healthy cake or regular cake?

That’s a pretty common first question when I serve dessert at this house. They do love my healthy desserts, but yes, they get extra excited for the “regular” desserts.

I’m totally fine with that–nobody can argue that desserts made with regular old white flour and white sugar taste pretty darn good. And they certainly have a place in our balanced, healthy lifestyles, as “sometimes foods.”

So, do you want to add another super hit cake recipe to your dessert repertoire? Would you like to try something different than your traditional chocolate cake recipes? This heavenly orange chocolate cake recipe is lit.

This cake is a tasty combination of chocolate, orange zest, and juice. Top the bundt cake with a dark chocolate ganache or chocolate glaze, garnish with orange slices or wedges, or simply dust it with some powdered sugar.

It’s perfect to take to a birthday party, serve on a special occasion, or just have it on a lazy Sunday afternoon. I love this cake for its texture, flavor, and aroma. It’s SO good, you won’t want to stop at just a serving!

Plus, the recipe only includes about 15-20 minutes of prep time. Yep, easy peasy. My kind of dessert! And, the best part, no fancy ingredients, no fancy equipment. I mean, what else one could ask for?

Ingredients for the Best Chocolate Orange Cake

All Purpose Flour – Here’s our base ingredient. For best results, sift the flour first. It’ll help to avoid any lumps in the batter.

Sugar – Get caster sugar if you want it to mix with other ingredients like magic. It’s superfine and just the right amount of sweet. If you want to stick to regular white sugar, you can grind it finely.

Cocoa Powder – I prefer using unsweetened cocoa powder in all my chocolate cake recipes. It’s what my grandmother used, and I like to keep it that way.

Eggs – Room temperature eggs are easy to mix with the rest of the ingredients.

Vinegar + Whole Milk Solution – This substitute for buttermilk works great in most cake recipes, especially chocolate. It’ll add a light, fluffy texture to the cake. Want to use a store-bought version? Go for it!

Baking Soda – This helps brown your cake. And, of course, it’s a rising agent. You’ll need it for the fluff.

Baking Powder – For a moist and fluffy cake, baking powder lends a helping hand to baking soda. The perfect combination of the two gives us a sky-high cake.

Salt – Yep, salt! Just a tad bit to balance the flavors.

Avocado Oil – You can also use any mild oil. Olive oil will do, too.

Eggs- Eggs will help with binding, flavor, and texture of our cake. Yes, the eggs are missing from the photo. Sorry!

Orange Zest – This is what’ll bring the natural orange flavor to our cake. Use fresh oranges for this–you’ll be so glad you did.

Orange Juice – Freshly squeezed orange juice is used in this cake. If not, store-bought fresh orange juice will work in a pinch.

The recipe card at the bottom of the post includes exact quantities and a detailed step-by-step guide. 

How to Make Orange Chocolate Cake

1. Combine the vinegar and milk in a glass measuring cup and set aside.
2. Grease a 12-cup capacity bunt pan and lightly dust it with flour. Set aside. (This is the bundt pan I recommend–ceramic coated instead of nonstick) 
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder,
   and salt.
5. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the milk, oil, eggs, orange zest, and orange juice.
6. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir to combine.
7.  Transfer the cake batter to the bunt pan and bake in the preheated oven for 40-55 minutes.
8. Start to check the cake at 40 minutes, when a toothpick comes out of the center of the cake clean, it’s ready. Allow to cool completely on a baking rack before removing from the bunt pan.
9. Serve naked or add a chocolate glaze, as desired.

Making a Smooth Chocolate Ganache

I added a Chocolate Orange Glaze to my cake and it was so good. A velvety chocolate glaze  layer is just what you need for your cake. And you’ll be delighted to know that it’s a pretty easy fix and you can make it in only a few minutes.

Ingredients for Chocolate Orange Glaze

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 4 tablespoons heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions for preparing Chocolate Orange Glaze

1. Sift your powdered sugar and cocoa powder into a medium bowl (this assures there are no lumps).
2. Whisk in the heavy cream, orange juice, and vanilla until it is incorporated and a smooth consistency.
3. Pour over your cooled cake.

Can I make this a layer cake?

Yes, you can turn this into a layer cake if you don’t have a bundt pan or just prefer layer cakes. To make this recipe into a layer cake, divide the batter into two 9″ round cake pans, and bake in a 350 degree oven for 22-25 minutes.

I have four tips that’ll make the entire cake layering process so much easier. Stick to them, and you’ll never mess up your cake layers.

1. Never skimp on parchment paper. Parchment paper is a cake saver! You can’t let your precious chocolate orange cake stick to the pan.
2. Make ahead and freeze the cake before layering. Freezing the cake a night before frosting will make it so much easier to work with.
3. Tort it. Slice the layers using a bench scraper for an even layering. If you don’t have one, a serrated knife will also work great. Pay special attention to the edges of the cake.
4. Use a turntable for frosting. This solves every problem you’ll ever have while frosting a layered cake. The turntable allows you to spin the cake around and make it easier for you to get an even frost each time.

Decoration Ideas You’ll Love

I am pretty simple when it comes to decorating cakes–it’s not my talent! But there are plenty of easy ways you can add festive touches.

• Place some sliced oranges on top or just on the serving plate in different patterns. You could also add some orange zest for a pop of color and extra flavor.
• Want to make it even more festive? Use a few slices of candied orange peel. They’re sweet, chewy, tangy – all at once!
• Dust the cake with some powdered sugar for that magical finish.
• And, of course, serve this beauty on a nice white serving plate. Trust me; it’ll impress everyone at the table.

Tips and Tricks

• Don’t over mix the batter. Just mix until all ingredients are incorporated. Over-mixing will result in a dense cake.
• Speaking of blending, you don’t need an electric mixer or stand mixer for this cake. Hand mixing is super easy!
• Insert a skewer in the thickest part of the cake to check if the cake is done. It should come out without any wet batter on it.
• Let the cake cool down on a cooling rack/wire rack before working on it any further.
• Don’t add the ganache to a hot cake. It works best when the cake has time to cool.
• To transfer a bundt cake to a cake plate, put the plate or cake stand upside down on top of the bundt pan, then flip the plate/stand over to release the cake.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make this dairy free?

Yes, with a few simple swaps.  Simply use non-dairy milk in place of the whole milk and your favorite non-dairy cream or coconut milk in place of the heavy cream in the glaze recipe. My vegan chocolate ganache would also work as a glaze frosting.

Can I Swap Chocolate Glaze for Any Other Frosting?

Of course. I won’t stop you from being adventurous. Chocolate Orange Glaze is easy to make and is perfect for this recipe, but if you want to try a different flavor, go for it! A plain orange glaze made with orange juice and powdered sugar would be nice.

Can I Make This Cake Ahead of Time?

Absolutely! You can make it a day ahead and store it in an airtight container in the fridge. Just don’t add the ganache until you are ready to serve.

Can I Freeze the Cake?

YES! You can freeze the uniced version for about 3 months in the freezer. Cut it into slices, wrap it with plastic wrap, and tuck it in your freezer. Thaw when needed.

If you love chocolate cake as much as me, scroll past the recipe card for more recipes to try.

I hope you love this Chocolate Orange Cake as much as me and my family did! If you try it, or any of my healthy recipes, please leave a star rating and comment below. It’s so helpful for other readers to see which recipes are tried and true! I appreciate you. Share your photos on Instagram and I’ll feature you!

Easy Chocolate Orange Cake

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5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 6 reviews

• Author: Maryea Flaherty of Happy Healthy Mama
• Total Time: 55 minutes
• Yield: 10 servings 1x

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Description

This Chocolate Orange Cake is moist, rich, and has a lovely orange flavor.

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 tablespoon vinegar + enough whole milk to equal 1 cup
• 1 3/4 cup (219 grams) flour
• 1 1/2 cup (300 grams) sugar
• 3/4 cup (64 grams) natural cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup avocado oil
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons orange zest
• 1 cup orange juice

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

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Instructions

1. Combine the vinegar and milk in a glass measuring cup and set aside.
2. Grease a (12 cup) bunt pan and lightly dust it with flour. Set aside.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder,
   and salt.
5. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the milk, oil, eggs, orange zest, and orange juice.
6. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir to combine.
7. Transfer the cake batter to the bunt pan and bake in the preheated oven for 40-55 minutes.
8. Start to check the cake at 40 minutes, when a toothpick comes out of the center of the
   cake clean, it’s ready.
9. Allow to cool completely on a baking rack before removing from the
   bunt pan. Serve naked or add a chocolate glaze, as desired. (see notes for chocolate orange glaze recipe)

Notes

Ingredients for Chocolate Orange Glaze

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 4 tablespoons heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions for preparing Chocolate Orange Glaze

1. Sift your powdered sugar and cocoa powder into a medium bowl (this assures there are no lumps).
2. Whisk in the heavy cream, orange juice, and vanilla until it is incorporated and a smooth consistency.
3. Pour over your cooled cake.

*nutritional information INCLUDES this glaze

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 40 minutes
• Category: dessert recipes
• Method: baking
• Cuisine: American

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 slice
• Calories: 411
• Sugar: 45 grams
• Fat: 15 grams
• Carbohydrates: 68 grams
• Fiber: 3 grams
• Protein: 6 grams

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