Have you ever had a Terry’s Milk Chocolate Orange? That was my most memorable Christmas stocking stuffer as a kid and the flavor combination always reminds me of the holidays. Seeing them on the shelf to this day brings back such fond memories and I couldn’t help but be inspired by the flavor combo to make this chocolate orange cake. It turned out beyond delicious, so nostalgic, and whether you’re already a fan of these flavors or not, it’s a must make for this season!
This chocolate orange cake is layers of deliciously moist, citrus-infused chocolate cake and decadent chocolate-orange buttercream. It’s deceptively simple to make but the results are stunning. A truly sophisticated flavor profile and ideal for any holiday get together!
Moist & Flavorful Chocolate Orange Cake
This chocolate orange cake is tender and moist, packed with the perfect balance of chocolate orange flavor, and EASY to make with simple ingredients. I didn’t want to send you to the store for orange extract or make you do anything over the top to get that fresh orange flavor. Instead, I used my very favorite one-bowl chocolate cake recipe as a starting point and infused it with every part of a fresh orange – the zest which is the most concentrated flavor-wise, and the juice which makes the cake extra moist while flavoring it. In fact, I mixed the orange juice with whole milk to create a homemade buttermilk before adding it into the batter and the results were phenomenal.
I love that this chocolate orange cake recipe uses ingredients you probably already have or can very easily find at your local grocery store. Here are the key ingredients in this cake:
- All-purpose flour. Most of my cake recipes call for cake flour, but with chocolate cakes all-purpose flour is the key to getting the perfect structure and tender crumb.
- Cocoa powder. You can use natural unsweetened cocoa powder or Dutch-processed cocoa powder in this recipe! I’ve made it with both and you can’t tell a difference, so use the cocoa powder of your choice.
- Orange Zest + Juice. You’ll need a total of 3 large oranges or 5 medium oranges, and you’ll be using both zest and juice. I blend the zest with the granulated sugar in the beginning to let the oils really soak in from the get go. Then, I add the orange juice to the whole milk to create a homemade buttermilk that adds tons of moisture to the cake while infusing it with beautiful orange flavor.
- Vegetable Oil. This makes for an ultra-moist chocolate cake. You can certainly use any kind of oil you want (olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, canola oil, etc) but keep in mind that the flavor of the oil will be added to the cake. For that reason, I like using plain vegetable oil because it doesn’t affect the flavor at all.
Whole milk. Normally my one-bowl chocolate cake recipe calls for buttermilk, but since citrus juice + milk equals homemade buttermilk, I decided to make my own with whole milk (aka Vitamin D milk) as a base. Whole milk has the most fat of your average milk options, which helps yield rich texture and flavor in the final cake. - Hot coffee. I know it sounds strange, but hear me out. You won’t taste coffee in the final cake, but adding the coffee to the batter will enrich the chocolate flavor and make it taste more decadent. If you don’t have hot coffee on hand, you can use hot water as a substitute, but I love the way coffee amplifies the chocolate flavor in this cake.
Irresistible Chocolate Orange Buttercream
The chocolate orange cake layers are delicious all on their own, but with the chocolate orange buttercream this cake is amazing. It tastes just like a chocolate orange in cake form. To make the frosting, I started with my favorite chocolate buttercream as a base, but whipped orange zest with the butter in the recipe and added fresh squeezed orange juice at the end. The balance of chocolate orange flavor is just perfect this way.
I love it so much that I’m going to make a blog post just for this chocolate orange buttercream. Yum.
Decorating a Chocolate Orange Cake
Any time I want to make it look like I put a lot of effort into decorating, I reach for a cake comb. It’s my favorite way to add beautiful texture to the frosting finish effortlessly. I dragged a scalloped cake comb through the chocolate orange frosting on the sides of the cake and I just love how it turned out!
After deliberating on the garnishes, I ended up keeping those pretty simple too. I already had a package of candied orange slices from Trader Joes and I thought the pop of orange would look so perfect as a contrast to the brown cake. I used Wilton Tip 1M to pipe swirls with the chocolate orange buttercream and placed a quartered candied orange in between each one. Then, I zested some orange peel over the swirls to make them pop even more.
PS: If you don’t have candied orange slices available to you, you can substitute those for some quartered fresh orange slices.
I am over the moon for this chocolate orange cake and think the flavor combination is so perfect for the holidays! It brings me right back to my childhood but also tastes sophisticated. It would be perfect for any holiday gathering, especially a fancy one, or as a casual dessert for your loved ones. She’s a versatile cake!
Chocolate Orange Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate Orange Cake
- 1/2 Cup (120ml) fresh squeezed orange juice from about 2 large oranges
- 1/2 Cup (120ml) whole milk, room temperature
- 1 2/3 Cups (340g) granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp orange zest from about 1/2 large orange
- 2 Cups (265g) all purpose flour
- 2/3 Cup (60g) unsweetened cocoa powder natural or Dutch-processed
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 Cup (120ml) vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 Cup (240ml) hot coffee or hot water
Chocolate Orange Buttercream
- 2 Cups (452g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 Tbsp orange zest from about 1/2 large orange
- 1 Cup (90g) unsweetened cocoa powder natural or Dutch-processed
- 5 1/2 Cups (660g) powdered sugar
- 5 Tbsp (75ml) whole milk, room temperature
- 1 Tbsp (15ml) fresh squeezed orange juice from about 1/4 large orange
- pinch of salt, or to taste
Garnishes
- 2 orange slices (candied or fresh), quartered
- 1-2 tsp fresh orange zest
Instructions
Make the Chocolate Orange Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC) and prepare three 6-inch or two 8-inch cake pans by spraying the sides with baking spray and placing a parchment paper circle into the bottom of each one.
- In a small jar or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the fresh squeezed orange juice with the whole milk and set aside. The mixture will begin to curdle over the next few minutes, and that chemical reaction is a good thing in this recipe!
- Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a hand mixer with a large bowl), mix together the sugar and orange zest until fragrant and well combined, about 1 minute. Add in the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. On low speed, mix together with the orange-sugar mixture until combined.
- Add the vegetable oil, eggs, vanilla, and orange-milk mixture, then mix on low speed until just combined. With the mixer still on low, add the hot coffee (or hot water!) in a slow stream, then turn the mixer to medium and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes. The batter will be very thin.
- Pour into prepared cake pans and bake for 32-36 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let the layers cool in the pan for about 5 minutes before removing and continuing to cool on a wire rack or flat surface. Cool completely to room temperature before frosting.
Make the Chocolate Orange Buttercream
- With a hand mixer or paddle attachment on your stand mixer, cream the butter with the orange zest on medium-high until the butter is creamy and light, about 5 minutes.
- Scrape down the bowl and paddle, then add the cocoa powder, half of the powdered sugar, and half of the milk. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel (to prevent ingredients from flying out), then turn the mixer on low speed. Remove the kitchen towel after about 30 seconds and continue mixing on low speed until well combined.
- Add the rest of the powdered sugar, the rest of the milk, the orange juice, and the salt. Then, continue mixing on low speed until well combined and smooth, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed.
Assembly
- Once the cake layers are completely cooled, level them to your desired height. Add a swipe of chocolate orange buttercream onto a cardboard cake circle and place the first cake layer on top. Fill and stack the cake with chocolate orange buttercream, then crumb coat the cake with chocolate orange buttercream. Place the crumb coated cake in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to let the buttercream set firm.
- To create the design pictured, reserve about 1/2 Cup of the remaining chocolate orange buttercream for the piping on top of the cake, then use the rest of the buttercream to frost the cake. Use a cake comb to create the scalloped texture, then place the cake in the refrigerator for another 15+ minutes to let the frosting firm up.
- Place all of the remaining chocolate orange buttercream into a piping bag fitted with Wilton tip 1M and pipe swirls around the top of the cake. Place quartered orange slices in between each swirl, then zest some orange peel over the top of the cake.
Notes
- The chocolate orange cake layers can be baked ahead and stored at room temperature, wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to two days. Alternatively you can store the cakes in the freezer for up to two months.
- The chocolate orange buttercream can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. When you’re ready to use it, bring it back to room temperature and re-mix in your stand mixer to bring it back to smooth buttercream consistency.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know what you think in the comments below, or by tagging me on Instagram! I love to see your creations and hear your feedback.
I have a question that might not be feasible. I have a friend who would like this cake but with a white buttercream (she has a certain decor idea in mind). Are there any options to have a white one but that complements this well?
Hi Traci! If you want to keep the chocolate orange flavor profile, you could fill and crumb coat the cake with chocolate buttercream, then frost the exterior with vanilla buttercream (https://sugarandsparrow.com/vanilla-buttercream-recipe/) or any of my other white frosting recipes: https://sugarandsparrow.com/category/recipes/frosting/ I hope that helps!
If you were to do this would you half the chocolate buttercream recipe?
Hi Karina! Yes, you’d halve the chocolate buttercream amounts. That should be perfect for filling and crumb coating the cake.
Hi Whitney, I am wanting to do what you have described above. Would you halve the chocolate buttercream recipe?
I think this recipe would highly benefit from some fresh chocolate vs just cocoa
powder. The cake was alright but the frosting tasted really powdery. Going to try a Swiss meringue buttercream instead.
Thanks for the feedback, Dingle! If you mix the buttercream for longer (at low speed) it will give the cocoa powder/powdered sugar a chance to dissolve. It shouldn’t taste powdery if everything is mixed in fully and dissolved. I’m sure it will taste wonderful with a swiss meringue buttercream too though!
This is the most amazing chocolate cake I’ve ever made! Instead of adding the buttercream to one of the layers, I added orange marmalade. Incredible!
Yay, Marie! I’m so happy you loved this cake and orange marmalade sounds next level amazing!