Moist and Easy Chocolate Orange Cake
This Moist and Easy Chocolate Orange Cake is made from layers of fluffy yet decadent chocolate cake that is infused with fresh orange zest and orange juice baked in the batter. Sandwiched between the layers is a rich and easy to make chocolate buttercream that is also used to frost the outside of the cake. Simple yet impressive, any chocolate lover will love this cake!
You might think that the combination of chocolate and orange is a little strange- when I first tried it I did! But after making these chocolate orange shortbread, and these chocolate orange cupcakes, I am now a orange and chocolate lover!
The deep richness of the chocolate cake pairs beautifully with the refreshing brightness of orange. The orange flavor is a delicious undertone in this cake recipe but there’s no escaping it. You have to try it to see what I mean! As a professional baker, I am often experimenting with my recipes and different flavors, and this one is truly not to be missed.
What I also love about this recipe is how easy it is to make. We have simple directions of mixing wet and dry ingredients together to make a cake batter. The difference lies in the addition of fresh orange zest and orange juice to add a refreshing twist to the taste.
Once it’s baked up in the oven, you can fill it with your favorite chocolate buttercream recipe, slather the top with a decadent fudge frosting, or frost it with an light whipped chocolate frosting.
Cake Size
This recipe makes a 2 layer 8″ cake. If you want to make it into a 6 inch cake you don’t have to alter the recipe. Just separate the batter evenly into 3 6″ cake tins, instead of 2 8″ ones. My favorite cake pans are from Wilton because they are light colored which means they distribute heat more evenly than dark coated pans.
Check the cakes in the 6″ cake pans after 28 minutes.
Choose your own cake pan adventure and let’s get baking!
Ingredients
Orange Zest and Orange Juice – Were using both orange zest and orange juice for this recipe but you can totally use bottled orange juice for the batter.
Instructions
Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake pans evenly. Bake for 35-40 minutes (for 8″) or until the tops of the cake are fully set, and the cake begins to pull from the sides a bit. Let the cakes cool completely.
Cake Texture & Decorating
This cake has a very loose and thin batter so don’t get worried. It will result in a really fluffy cake! Because it’s so fluffy, I recommend putting it in the freezer once cool, for about 20-30 minutes before you level off the tops, it makes a lot of crumbs!
Then freeze again for another 10 minutes before you start filling and stacking the cake. This will really cut down on a mess.
To frost the cake like I did here, use the back of a spoon to swoop the frosting all around.
Garnish
To garnish you can buy or make dehydrated oranges to take it over the top! They are super simple to make.
All you have to do is slice 1-2 oranges 1/4″-1/2″ thick. Pat them dry and preheat the oven to 200° F. Place the slices on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 4 hours. That’s it!
Once you frost the cake you can stick them on wherever you like, just like in these photos!
Recipe tips
- For accurate measurement, fluff the all-purpose flour with a spoon, then gently spoon it into the measuring cup, and level it off with a straight edge to prevent packing the flour. This makes sure you don’t over pack the flour which can affect the recipe.
- Room temperature eggs and buttermilk will bake more easily into the batter, so take them out of the fridge in advance or warm them up gently in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes before adding them to the mixture.
- Once the cakes are done baking, let them to cool in the pans for about 10 minutes before flipping them over onto a wire rack. This will make sure your cake stays intact. If you flip it too soon, the cake can fall apart from the heat.
If you dont have buttermilk- you can make your own! Measure one cup milk- any kind, and take out 1 tbsp replace it with 1 tbsp of lemon juice or white vinegar and let it sit for 10 minutes. Voila! You just made your own buttermilk.
Moist and Easy Chocolate Orange Cake
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups (500 g) granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp (2 tbsp) orange zest, plus 1 more for garnish
- 2 ½ cup (312.5 g) all purpose flour
- 1 cup (86 g) cocoa powder
- 2 tsp (2 tsp) baking soda
- 1 tsp (1 tsp) baking powder
- ¼ tsp (0.25 tsp) salt
- 3 (3) eggs, at room temp
- 1 cup (240 g) buttermilk, room temp
- 2 tsp (2 tsp) vanilla
- 1 cup (180 g) orange, juice cooled
- ⅓ cup (78.86 ml) oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. In a large bowl or in the bowl of a hand or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment combine the 2 ½ cup sugar, and zest the orange over it.
- Then add the 2 ½ cup flour, 1 cup cocoa powder, 2 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking powder, and ¼ tsp salt. Mix on low speed or whisk lightly to combine.
- With the mixer on low speed or with a wooden spatula add in room temp eggs one at a time and mix until fully combined.
- Slowly pour in the 1 cup milk, 2 tsp vanilla, 1 cup orange juice and ⅓ cup oil. Mix on medium speed or mix by hand for 1 minute until evenly combined.
- Spray 2, 8” round cake pans with baking spray that contains flour. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans evenly, and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the tops are set and the cake starts to pull off from the sides. Cool.
- Assemble the cake. Place one cake on a cake board or serving tray. Fill with chocolate buttercream frosting or fudge frosting.. Place the other cake on top and frost the whole cake. You can use the back of a spoon and swoop it over the frosting for an easy way to frost.
- Top with chocolate dipped oranges or orange zest as garnish. You can also add more orange zest on top of the chocolate filling for the cake before placing the other cake down.
- See the post for how to make dried orange slices in the oven.
I recently made this cake for a family dinner, and it was a huge hit! The chocolate flavor was balanced, but not overpowered, by the orange flavor, and the cake was beautiful! (I forgot to take a photo, but definitely will the next time I make this). Instead of dehydrated orange slices, I simmered them in simple syrup, so they were tender and very sweet. Otherwise, I followed the recipe to the letter and wouldn’t change a thing!
Thank you Natalie! This is such a thoughtful comment, thank you so much for letting me know how the cake came out. So smart to simmer the oranges in simple syrup, I may just do that next time. Thank you for making this cake and the 5 star rating!
Made this cake for my mom’s 54th birthday and she loved it! This was my first time ever making a cake from scratch. The recipe was easy to follow and the cake turned out pretty good! The flavor was great, the perfect balance of chocolate and orange. Neither taste overpowered the other. I used the chocolate buttercream linked within the recipe as well. My only critique was that it could’ve been a little more moist in my opinion. It wasn’t extremely dry but when I make this again I’ll definitely be tweaking some elements to add a bit more moisture. Overall I would recommend giving this recipe a try, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed!
Thank you so much Mackenzie! I appreciate you using my recipe for your moms bday and as a first time making a cake from scratch, yay! Happy birthday to your mom!!