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Chocolate Orange Cake

Chocolate Orange Cake
    • Prep time:
    • Cooking time:
    • Total time:
  • Serves: 8-10

Indulge in this rich and zesty Chocolate Orange Cake, a festive, and easy‑to‑make dessert bursting with real orange and smooth chocolate flavour. Perfect for Christmas or any special occasion, this simple recipe delivers a beautifully balanced cake topped with a luscious chocolate ganache - ideal for citrus‑and‑chocolate lovers

  • Vegetarian

Ingredients

For the chocolate orange cake

  • 1 Seville orange
  • 100g plain chocolate, broken into pieces
  • 3 free-range eggs
  • 200g caster sugar
  • 80g soft brown sugar
  • 240ml sunflower oil
  • 25g cocoa powder
  • 250g plain flour
  • 1½ tsp baking powder
  • Orange candied peel, to decorate

For the chocolate ganache

  • 225g plain chocolate, broken into pieces
  • 200ml double cream

Equipment

  • 23cm/9in round springform cake tin

Method

Chocolate orange cake is a nice alternative to making a Christmas cake, and it doesn’t require days of fruit soaking either, which means it’s easy enough to make if you’re running short of time!

Step 1

To make this chocolate orange cake, grease and line the base of a 23cm/9in round springform cake tin.

Leave the skin of the orange on, and pierce it with a skewer (right through). Cook the pierced orange in boiling water for 30 minutes until soft. Whizz the whole orange in a food processor until smooth; let it cool.

Step 2

Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water or in the microwave for 2 minutes on High, stirring after 1 minute. Let it cool.

Step 3

In a large bowl, lightly beat the eggs, sugar and oil. Gradually beat in the puréed orange, discarding any pips, then stir in the cooled melted chocolate. Sift in the cocoa, flour and baking powder. Mix well and pour into the tin. Bake in the centre of the oven for between 30 and 40 minutes, or until the cake springs back when lightly pressed in the middle. (I found that this cake could dry out easily, so check it after 20 minutes and cover with foil if it looks like it’s browning too much.) Allow to stand for 10 minutes in the cake tin, then turn it out on to a wire rack to cool completely.

Step 4

To make the chocolate ganache: put the chocolate into a heatproof bowl. Bring the cream to the boil and pour over the chocolate. Leave for around 2 minutes, then stir until smooth. Set aside until firm enough to spread over the cake – which can take up to 1½ hours.

Transfer the cooled chocolate orange cake on to a serving plate. Using a palette knife, swirl the ganache over the top. Decorate with strips of candied orange peel, and then sit back and enjoy a big slice with a mug of delicious coffee!

This Chocolate Orange Cake Recipe makes a moist, zesty cake. Here is a slice of this festive cake, served on a plate.

If you liked making this Chocolate orange cake recipe, check out a few more ideas.

Notes

I stumbled on a chocolate orange cupcakes recipe from the hummingbird bakery. I was initially going to just make that, but decided I’d prefer a full sized cake, so here we have the recipe for a festive chocolate orange cake!