Chocolate Orange Cake
This chocolate orange cake is easy to make and is bursting with vibrant citrus and chocolate flavor. It's a simple single layer of moist chocolate cake made with fresh orange juice, orange zest and buttermilk. It's topped with swirls of quick chocolate orange ganache made with sour cream and dark chocolate.
Servings 12 slices (1 layer 8 inch cake)
Ingredients
Chocolate Orange Cake
- 150 grams all purpose flour
- 52 grams cocoa powder Dutch process
- 32 grams black cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt Diamond Crystal
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 83 mL vegetable oil
- 200 grams granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 187 mL buttermilk
- orange zest from 1 navel orange
- 7.5 mL vanilla extract
- 187 mL orange juice freshly squeezed
Chocolate orange ganache
- 240 grams sour cream full fat
- orange zest from 1 navel orange
- 200 grams dark chocolate finely chopped
Dried orange decoration
- dried orange slices (click for recipe)
Instructions
Chocolate orange cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (177° Celsius, Gas mark 4). Place rack in center of oven.
- Line the base of an 8 inch x 3 inch cake pan with parchment paper. Grease the sides. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powders, salt and baking powder. Set aside.150 grams all purpose flour, 52 grams cocoa powder, 32 grams black cocoa powder , ½ teaspoon kosher salt, 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together oil and granulated sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating well between additions.83 mL vegetable oil, 200 grams granulated sugar, 2 large eggs
- Add buttermilk, orange zest, and vanilla extract. Whisk well to combine all wet ingredients.187 mL buttermilk, orange zest, 7.5 mL vanilla extract
- Add ⅓ of dry ingredients, whisking thoroughly. Add ½ of orange juice and mix well.187 mL orange juice
- Alternate adding remaining dry ingredients and orange juice, ending with dry. Whisk until fully blended. Pour into prepared pan.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes, until top springs back when touched and a toothpick comes out with just a few wet crumbs attached (but not gooey batter.) Do not overbake! Cool in pan for 10 minutes and then flip out onto a baking rack to finish cooling.
Chocolate orange ganache
- Add sour cream to a large mixing bowl. Add finely chopped orange zest and whisk to combine. Set aside while you melt chocolate.240 grams sour cream, orange zest
- In a microwave safe bowl, melt chopped chocolate in 30 second bursts, stirring after each.200 grams dark chocolate
- Add melted chocolate to sour cream mixture, whisking gently to combine. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl with a spatula to ensure chocolate is fully incorporated. Scoop ganache onto cake and spread to edges using a swirling motion with a mini offset spatula or the back of a spoon.
Notes
Cake
- I like to use part black cocoa powder in the cake as it adds dramatic color and an extra depth of flavor. If you can't source it, feel free to replace it with an equal amount of Dutch process cocoa powder.
- This is a very moist and fudgy cake. When you test for doneness, there should still be some wet crumbs (but not gooey batter) on the toothpick. I recommend you test at the 40 minute mark as oven temperatures vary!
- Make sure the cake is fully cooled before adding chocolate ganache.
- Add the ganache while still soft so it is easy to spread. It will thicken and set up as it cools.
- If the ganache thickens too much before you add it to the cake, warm it in a metal or ceramic bowl over a small pan filled with hot water. Stir frequently until the consistency becomes thinner and more spreadable.