Orange Chocolate Cake

This orange chocolate cake is super moist, decadent and easy to make! Plus, easy chocolate orange layer cake tips to make your cake look super duper fancy.

Course Dessert

Cuisine dessert

Prep Time 10

Total Time 32

Servings slices

Calories 428kcal

Author Aubrey

Cost $8

Equipment

Two (2) 9 inch round cake pans, 2 large bowls, hand mixer or whisk.

Ingredients

1 ¾ cup all purpose flour (see notes to measure flour)
1 ½ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (natural not dutch)
2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup canola, vegetable oil or olive oil
2 eggs
3 teaspoon orange extract
1 cup buttermilk
½ cup orange juice (no added sugar, 100% juice)
½ cup water
Optional Garnish: Candied oranges.

Instructions

Preheat oven 350 degrees.
Grease two 9-inch round cake pans with butter, oil or pan spray. Line with parchment paper. grease parchment paper. Parchment paper is critical to make sure your cake doesn't stick. See parchment paper notes.
In large bowl, mix flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir to combine. Set aside.
In large bowl, mix olive oil, eggs, orange extract, buttermilk, orange juice and water. use hand beaters or whisk to combine.
Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and beat until combined.
Divide batter and pour each half into your 9-inch round cake pan.
Bake 22-24 minutes until cooked through. You can test with a toothpick. If it comes out clean with no batter, the cake is done.
Place cake on cooling rack and allow to fully cool before removing from pan.
Once fully cooled, remove from pan and frost. See notes regarding frosting.

Notes

Tip to Measure Flour: When you measure your flour, do not scoop it out directly as that can lead to using more flour than is needed. To correctly measure your flour, give the flour a stir with a fork or a whisk to loosen it. Spoon the flour into cup until it is heaping, then level with the flat side of a knife.

Parchment paper: Trade your cake pan over parchment paper and cut out the rounds so they fit easily into your cake pan.

Freezing and Frosting: This cake freezes amazingly well. When I serve this cake, I actually freeze overnight. This allow the cake to harden which makes it super easy to assemble into a layer cake and frost. If you choose this method, allow cake to come to room temperature before serving (about 30 minutes).

Store Bought Frosting: You can make your own homemade frosting or you can use store bought. I recommend Betty Crocker Rich and Creamy Dark Chocolate Frosting. If you are a major orange lover, you can also add extra orange extract to the frosting if you choose.

Storage: Wrap individual cake pieces. Refrigerate for 2-3 days. Freeze for up to 2 months.

Convert Cake to Cupcakes: This orange chocolate cake recipe can easily be converted to cupcakes. Follow the cake instructions to make the batter and then prepare as follows:

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Place 24 cupcake liners in cupcake pan.
Fill cupcake liners ¾ full and bake for about 15-20 minutes. You can test with a toothpick and it should come out clean.
Cool for 5 minutes and transfer to cooking rack.

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