This super-easy chocolate orange cake recipe is rich, moist, gooey and packed full of flavour. Infused with zesty orange peel, freshly squeezed orange juice, tangy marmalade and orange-flavoured chocolate, this cake is the ultimate indulgence for chocolate orange fans. We're also adding a dash of robust coffee for extra depth of flavour.
If ever a cake deserved the title of 'death by chocolate', this is it. Bonus point, you only need one large bowl and a hand whisk to make the sponge.
If you love chocolate cake, why not try this fun chocolate cake shot for a chocolate fix without the calories?
What's to love about this recipe
- Fool-proof chocolate and orange cake recipe
- Very easy to make, even for novice bakers
- Stays moist for days
- No electric mixer needed for the cake batter, it can be whisked by hand
- The cake is rich with an intensely chocolate flavour
- It gets better as it matures
- No orange extract needed
- Ideal for a special occasion or as a birthday cake
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Key ingredient notes and substitutions
**Please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the full list of ingredients.
Light brown sugar - Light brown sugar adds depth of flavour to the cake. You can also use normal brown sugar.
Cocoa powder - We would highly recommend using a good quality Dutch-processed, 100% unsweetened cocoa powder like Valrhona, Callebaut or Ghirardelli. You can definitely taste the difference.
Eggs - Take the eggs out of the fridge to come up to room temperature an hour or so before you start the cake. See 'Tips and tricks' further down on how to speed up the process. This recipe only uses two eggs - a slight improvement on Nigella's chocolate orange cake, which uses six!
Strong black coffee - We use good quality instant coffee granules. You'll need one heaped teaspoon of coffee granules, or instant espresso granules, to 120ml of hot water. Alternatively, you can brew the coffee with your preferred method, just make it slightly stronger than you would normally for drinking.
Orange juice - Fresh orange juice would be ideal, but orange juice from a carton or bottle will do perfectly fine.
Zest from one orange- If you'd like a more subtle orange flavour, you can leave the orange zest out, or only use the zest from half an orange. Zest gives a more natural orange flavour compared to using an orange extract.
Orange chocolate - Use any plain orange flavoured chocolate you can find. Some options are ''Cadbury's milk orange chocolate'' and ''Terry's chocolate orange'' (decorate with Terry's chocolate slices on top of the cake, then you can call it a Terry's chocolate orange cake!). Lindt has a dark chocolate orange that you can use, it's just a bit pricey.
Marmalade - You can use either shredded or un-shredded marmalade.
How to make the chocolate orange cake - Quick summary
Which baking pans to use:
This cake requires 2 x 8 inch round cake pans (20cm). Alternatively, you can use 3 x 6 inch cake pans for a smaller, but taller three layer cake.
To make the sponges:
- Preheat the oven to 180C/356F/gas mark 4.
- Prepare 2 x 20cm (8'') cake tins by cutting two circles out of parchment paper the same size of the tins. Place the circles in the bottom of each tin. Lightly butter the sides or use a non-stick cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the light brown sugar, all purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking power, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Use a whisk to thoroughly mix it together. Ensure there are no lumps, especially with the sugar as brown sugar tends to be a bit clumpy.
- Add the room temperature eggs and sour cream. Fold to combine. You might want to set the whisk aside for this step and use a spoon. The mixture will be thick at this point.
- Add the prepared coffee, orange juice, vegetable oil, vanilla extract and orange zest to the dry ingredients. Using your hand whisk again, whisk until everything is well incorporated.
- Divide the cake batter between the cake tins.
- Bake for 35 minutes or until a cake tester comes out almost clean. This is a moist cake so there may be some crumbs sticking to the cake tester. The cakes will be done if they feel firm on top.
- Cool the cakes in their tins for at least 10 minutes. Run a palette knife, or offset spatula, along the edges of the cake to release it from the tin. Gently tip the baked cakes out onto a wire rack and pull away the parchment paper. Allow the cakes to cool entirely before decorating.
Make the chocolate orange buttercream:
- For the chocolate orange buttercream, place the softened butter together with the icing sugar (powdered sugar) to a stand mixer and beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the melted chocolate and cocoa powder. Continue beating until well combined.
- Add just enough orange juice for a spreadable consistency. Start with one tablespoon before adding the second. If you'd like it thinner, proceed with adding the second tablespoon.
How to assemble the cake:
- Before adding the buttercream, check if your cake layers are even. If there is a slight dome, turn one cake layer upside down so the bottom is now the top, this will be your base layer. A slight dome to the top layer does not really matter, but if you prefer you can carefully trim it with a serrated knife.
- Top the first cake with a layer of buttercream and the marmalade. Place the second cake on top of the first. Cover the surface of the whole cake with the remainder of the buttercream.
How to decorate chocolate orange cake:
Here are some ideas on how to decorate your masterpiece:
- Candied orange peel (how to make it)
- Chocolate shavings, chocolate chips or chocolate curls
- Fancy piping work
- Dehydrated oranges
- Fresh orange slices
- Use a chocolate ganache instead of the orange buttercream
- Whip up some heavy cream and serve it alongside the cake in a serving bowl
Storage
- This cake will keep very well for 3-4 days in an airtight container. Bonus point, it gets better by the day!
- The cakes will freeze very well for up to three months. Wrap them, without buttercream, in a few layers of plastic wrap and place them inside an airtight container, which will protect the sponges from freezer burn.
- Don't wrap the cakes until they are completely cooled, otherwise any condensation inside the cling film will cause ice crystals.
- To defrost, remove them from the freezer a few hours before you decorate them with freshly made buttercream.
Tips and tricks
- To bring the eggs up to room temperature quickly, place them in a small bowl with warm water for a few minutes.
- Use a kitchen scale for accurate measurements and the best results.
- To soften hard butter, place a glass bowl with about an inch (2.5cm) of water in the microwave for about 2-3 minutes at a high temperature. Pour the water out, give it a quick dry and place the bowl upside down over the butter. Leave for 5-10 minutes.
- When whisking the batter, ensure that you scrape the bottom of the bowl to incorporate all the flour. It tends to lurk there when it gets sealed in by the liquid.
- For cakes of equal height, weigh each tin after you poured the batter in. There should be circa 700g of batter in each.
- Placing cakes in the freezer for an hour or two before decorating makes them firmer and therefore easier to frost.
- When beating the butter and icing sugar, start on the slowest speed to avoid a cloud of icing. Alternatively, use a spatula to squish the butter into the icing before switching the stand mixer on.
- Always sift cocoa power before adding it to icing sugar. There is nothing worse than finding little clumps of cocoa powder when you try to smoothen out your cake.
- Turn the top cake upside down so the bottom of the cake is on top. It provides a level surface, instead of a slight dome. Alternatively, you can trim the dome off with a serrated knife.
- To create a mirror-like smooth surface with the buttercream, dip the pallet knife into boiling water, wipe dry and smooth over the icing.
FAQ
3-4 days if store in an airtight container. It gets better by the day and stays moist.
Coffee is often added to chocolate cakes because it can enhances and compliments the flavour of the chocolate. Coffee and chocolate share some flavour compounds and therefore adding coffee to a chocolate cake can help to amplify the chocolate flavour and make it richer and more complex.
Yes! You will need about 24 cupcake liners (filled ¾) for this amount of cake batter. You can bake them at 180C (350F, gas mark 4) for 18-20 minutes. Test them for doneness by pressing on top of the cupcakes. If they feel firm, they should be done.
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Recipe
Easy chocolate orange cake recipe
Ingredients
For the cake
- 400 grams light brown sugar
- 220 grams all purpose flour
- 85 grams cocoa powder - good quality unsweetened
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs - at room temperature
- 240 grams sour cream
- 120 millilitres strong black coffee - use one heaped teaspoon of instant espresso or coffee granules dissolved in 120ml water
- 120 millilitres orange juice
- 120 millilitres vegetable oil
- 1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
- zest of one orange
For the chocolate orange buttercream
- 200 grams unsalted butter - softened
- 375 grams icing sugar
- 40 grams cocoa powder - good quality unsweetened, sifted
- 80 grams orange chocolate - Like Cadbury's orange chocolate or Terry's chocolate orange
- 1-2 tablespoons orange juice - this is to loosen the icing up, you may need more, or less
- 140 grams orange marmalade
Instructions
To make the cake
- Preheat the oven to 180℃/356℉/gas mark 4. Prepare 2 x 20cm (8'') cake tins by cutting two circles out of parchment paper the same size of the tins. Place the circles in the bottom of each tin. Lightly butter the sides or use a non-stick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, combine the light brown sugar, all purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking power, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Use a hand whisk to thoroughly mix it together. Ensure there are no clumps, especially with the sugar as brown sugar tends to be a bit clumpy.
- Add the room temperature eggs and sour cream. Fold to combine. You might want to set the whisk aside for this step and use a spoon. The mixture will be thick at this point.
- Add the prepared coffee, orange juice, vegetable oil, vanilla extract and orange zest. Using your hand whisk again, whisk to combine.
- Divide the cake batter between the two tins. If you want to be precise you can weigh each tin. There should be circa 700 grams of batter per tin.
- Bake for 35 minutes or until a cake tester comes out almost clean. This is a moist cake so there may be some crumbs sticking to the cake tester. The cakes will be done if they feel firm on top.
- Cool the cakes in their tins for at least 10 minutes. Gently tip them out onto a wire cooling rack and pull the parchment paper away from the bottoms. Allow to cool entirely before decorating.
To make the chocolate orange buttercream
- Place the softened butter together with the icing sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Start at a slow speed to avoid a cloud of icing and gradually increase the speed. Beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- While it's beating, melt the orange chocolate in the microwave and sift the cocoa powder.
- Add the melted chocolate along with the sifted cocoa powder to the icing. Beat until well combined. Scrape the sides down once or twice.
- Add just enough orange juice until you have a spreadable consistency. You may not need both tablespoons.
To frost the cake
- Place one cake on a plate with the bottom facing up. Spread a layer of buttercream, followed by all the marmalade.
- Place the second cake on top of the first and cover the top and sides with the remaining buttercream.
- Decorate with chocolate shavings or candied orange peel.
**Nutritional data disclaimer**
Please keep in mind that the nutritional information provided below is calculated by a third party and we cannot guarantee the accuracy. We try our best to give you the most accurate information, but we do not take responsibility for errors that may be present. Also, the nutritional value of the recipe may change depending on the exact brands and products used. We recommend that you consult with a qualified healthcare professional or registered dietitian for personalised advice on your dietary needs.
Nutrition
For food safety advice, including guidance on food allergies
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