Easy Chocolate Orange Cake

I love orange chocolate. The flavor combination of the delicious citrus with chocolate is, in my opinion, really tasty. The orange creme chocolate in a box of Quality Street is my favorite, followed very closely by the Green Triangle. 

When deciding what type of cake I wanted for this recipe, I wanted a simple elegant, single-layer cake that would be baked in a 23cm/9 inch springform cake pan. Something that could come together really quickly, and have a minimalistic frosting/decor. And decided to start with my orange loaf cake as a jumping-off point.

This orange chocolate cake is the perfect dessert for any dinner party.

Why You Will Love This Recipe

• This orange cake recipe is super easy and is flavored with orange zest and orange juice. 
• The dark chocolate ganache is the perfect chocolate frosting to be paired with the orange sponge. 
• This is a super simple cake that comes together fairly quickly.

Dark Chocolate (Bittersweet chocolate) - I used 62% Whittaker's dark chocolate for the chocolate ganache. I feel that dark chocolate pairs best with orange. I would highly recommend using a dark chocolate you enjoy eating. Milk chocolate can be used to make the ganache, I recommend using the best chocolate 

Butter adds flavor, softness, and moisture and sometimes aids in the leavening of baked goods. I use New Zealand butter in my recipes, which has approximately 82% butterfat and can be very yellow (similar to European or Irish butter). Butter cannot be substituted with butter or margarine spreads, but it can be substituted with baking margarine. If using salted butter you can leave out the additional salt in the recipe.

White Sugar or caster sugar to sweeten the cake and the orange drizzle. White sugar also adds some leavening power to the song through the creaming of the butter and sugar. 

Plain flour (all-purpose flour/standard grade flour) refers to flour that has a protein content of approximately 9.5-12%.

Eggs - I now use a New Zealand size 6 egg, around the same size as Australian and South African Large Eggs, but closer to a US/Europe Medium sized egg.

Salt is a crucial ingredient in all baked goods. I use table salt in all my recipes. One teaspoon of table salt equals 1.5 teaspoons of Morton Kosher Salt equals 2 teaspoons of Diamond Crystal.

Vanilla extract enhances the flavors of the other ingredients in the recipe and is a cornerstone ingredient in baked goods and desserts containing eggs.

Orange Zest and Fresh Orange juice to flavor the sponge cake. I opted to not use orange extract because honestly, I could not find it very easily in the supermarkets, so decided to rely 100% on natural orange flavor for this orange chocolate cake.

Orange slices for decoration - optional extra. 

Cream - a heavy cream or whipping cream, approximately 35-37% milk fat, for the dark chocolate ganache. 

Make sure your baking powder is fresh (especially if you haven't bought some in a while) by placing a ½ teaspoon into a cup or bowl. Pour about a ¼ cup of boiling water over the baking powder. If it foams and bubbles it is still fresh.

Reduced-Sugar Variation

If you really want to reduce the sugar content in this cake, you can keep to the lower version of sugar for the orange drizzle/syrup.

And for the ganache, stick to a lower amount of chocolate and cream.

Small-Batch

This recipe can be divided in half (click the handy "½" button above the ingredients) and baked in a 6-inch round cake pan. Follow the instructions and check the cake about 10 minutes before the recommended baking time. 

Cake Pan Variations

This orange chocolate cake recipe makes approximately 4½ cups of cake batter. This, in my opinion, is perfect for a 9" or 8"(23cm or 20cm) round cake pan, however, a 9" square pan can also be used.

This recipe would make about 18 regular-sized cupcakes - which can be made by measuring out a ¼ cup of batter per cupcake liner and bake for 18-22 minutes.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1 - Preheat the oven to 180°/350°F. Grease a 9-inch or 23-cm round springform cake tin with non-stick cooking spray and baking/parchment paper.

NOTE - I typically crunch up a piece of baking/parchment paper, then press it onto the bottom portion of the cake pan before clipping the spring in place. 

Step 2 - In a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the sugar and the finely chopped orange zest. Run the mixer at a low speed for 3 to 5 minutes, or rub the zest into the sugar for 3 to 5 minutes.

NOTE - rubbing the zest into the sugar releases the oils and flavors in the orange zest, deepening the orange flavor. 

Step 3 - Pop the room-temperature butter into the sugar-zest mixture and cream on high speed until light and fluffy (3-5 minutes). 

Step 4 - Add in the vanilla extract and room temperature eggs, and beat on a medium-high speed until well incorporated, light, and fluffy. 

Step 5 - Combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and salt) in a separate bowl, whisk, or stir together. 

Step 6 - Add in the orange juice and mix through until combined. Then add in half the dry ingredients, and mix until combined. Add the rest and mix until combined.

Step 7 - Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake pan and bake in a preheated oven for 35-45 minutes. The cake is done when a cake tester comes out mostly clean from the center of the cake. 

Step 8 - While the cake is baking, combine the orange juice and sugar in a small pot. Bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes, or until the syrup thickens slightly. 

Step 9 - While the cake is hot/warm, poke it all over with a cake tester/toothpick, then pour the syrup over the cake. Allow the cake to cool completely before removing it from the springform pan and placing it on a cake stand or plate. 

Step 10 - To make the chocolate ganache, heat the cream over medium heat in a small saucepan or in a heatproof bowl in the microwave. Once the cream is hot and bubbling at the edges, toss in the chocolate, and the orange zest. Allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes and whisk together until the ganache is smooth and creamy. 

Step 11 - Allow the ganache to cool, stirring every 15 minutes to check on the consistency. The ganache is ready when it is thick yet still spreadable. 

Step 12 - Dollop the ganache over the top of the cake, using an offset spatula or the back of a spoon, and swirl over the top of the cake. Decorate the cake with thin slices of orange if desired. If you want, a more pourable ganache can be poured over the top of the cake and allowed to drip down the edges of the cake. 

Step 13 - Allow the ganache to set before serving. Use a knife run under hot water to slice evenly through the ganache.

Storage and Freezing

This cake can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days and then refrigerated for up to a week. 

Slices of cake can be frozen in an airtight container for up to a month. Defrost and bring to room temperature before serving.

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