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I took my super popular moist chocolate cake and gave it an orange twist, and honestly? I think I love this one even more! This chocolate orange cake bakes in one 9×13 pan, so there’s no stacking layers or frosting the sides. The cake is rich, fudgy, and full of fresh orange flavor. The frosting on top is silky with just a little tang from the sour cream.
Chocolate and orange is one of those combinations that just works. It feels a little fancy without any of the effort, which is my favorite kind of dessert.
It’s in my regular rotation right next to my orange ricotta cake and my lemon olive oil cake, and you can find more of my favorites in all my dessert recipes.
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Pin ItWhat Makes This Chocolate Orange Cake So Moist
Three little things, and none of them are hard:
- Oil instead of butter. This is the big one. It keeps the cake soft for days, not hours.
- Boiling water stirred in at the end. It blooms the cocoa and doubles the chocolate flavor. Takes ten seconds!
- Real orange juice and lots of zest. Fresh is what makes it taste like an actual orange.
One heads up. The batter is going to look really thin when you pour it in the pan. That’s exactly right! Don’t add flour.
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“This is hands down the best cake recipe I’ve ever made. I’ve made it twice, and my family loved it, and also couldn’t believe I made it. We used a Bundt pan and it’s superior to the Nothing Bundt Cakes franchise in our town.”
Scotty
Chocolate Orange Cake Ingredients
Everything here is grocery store simple. No orange extract, no fancy chocolate, no special trip.
- Granulated Sugar: Sweetens and softens the crumb. Monk fruit sweetener works too.
- All-Purpose Flour: Gluten-free 1:1 flour works beautifully here. Just measure your flour the right way! Too much flour is the number one cause of a dry cake.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: Regular cocoa is perfect. Want a darker cake? Use Hershey’s Special Dark.
- Baking Soda and Baking Powder: You need both.
- Salt: A full teaspoon. It makes the chocolate taste like chocolate and the orange taste brighter.
- Large Eggs: Room temperature if you remember. No stress if you don’t.
- Whole Milk: For richness. 2% is fine.
- Vegetable Oil: The secret to a cake that’s still soft on day three.
- Vanilla Extract: Pure, please!
- Fresh Orange Juice and Zest: The whole point. Squeeze it yourself; it really is worth it. About 4 large oranges will do!
- Boiling Water: Goes in last. Don’t skip it.
Chocolate Orange Frosting Ingredients
- Unsalted Butter and Bittersweet Chocolate: Melted together low and slow.
- Powdered Sugar: Sift it if it’s lumpy.
- Sour Cream: My favorite trick. It adds a little tang that’s so good with the citrus. Full fat!
- Orange Zest and Juice: Two tablespoons of zest, one of juice.
- Vanilla Extract: Just a teaspoon.
How to Make Chocolate Orange Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Oil a 9×13 pan and line the bottom with parchment.
- Rub the orange zest into the sugar with your fingertips for about 30 seconds. The sugar turns a little orange and smells amazing. This is my favorite step!
- Whisk that sugar together with the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- In another bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, oil, vanilla, and orange juice, everything but the boiling water.
- With the mixer on low, add the wet to the dry. Scrape the bowl. Bump to medium for 30 seconds, then back to low.
- Slowly pour in the boiling water. The batter goes thin and glossy. Perfect.
- Pour into your pan and bake for about 30 minutes.
- Cool completely before frosting. Completely!
How to Make Chocolate Orange Frosting
This is just my chocolate sour cream frosting with a citrus twist! Make a half batch and add 2 tablespoons of orange zest and 1 tablespoon of fresh orange juice along with the sour cream.
That’s the only change. Head over to that post for the full method and all my tips.
A couple of things to know:
- It gets really thick before it gets smooth. Keep whisking!
- It might curdle when the sour cream goes in. Whisk right through it and it comes back glossy.
- Scrape the bottom of the bowl so you don’t end up with chocolate lumps.
Want something simpler? A classic buttercream frosting with orange juice and zest is lovely, and so is chocolate ganache poured right over the top.
Want something simpler? A classic buttercream frosting with orange juice and zest is lovely, and so is chocolate ganache poured right over the top.
Eden’s Tips
Rub the zest into the sugar. I know I already said it. It’s that good.
Check the cake at 25 minutes. Every oven is different and this one goes from perfect to dry fast.
Don’t overmix. Low speed, scrape the bowl twice, you’re done.
Sift clumpy cocoa. Clumps never dissolve; they just show up later.
Let it cool all the way. I’ve frosted a warm cake in a hurry, and I’ve regretted it every time!
Chocolate Orange Cake Variations
- Chocolate Orange Bundt Cake: Grease the pan really well, fill it two-thirds, bake 40 to 50 minutes. Glaze it instead of frosting so it drips down the ridges. So pretty.
- Chocolate Orange Layer Cake: Two 8-inch rounds, 25 to 30 minutes. Make the full frosting recipe instead of the half batch.
- Chocolate Orange Cupcakes: Fill liners two-thirds and bake about 15 minutes. Makes around 24, just like my chocolate cupcakes.
- Add a Splash: Two tablespoons of Grand Marnier or Cointreau in the batter. Very good, very grown up.
- Mocha Orange: A tablespoon of instant espresso in the dry ingredients.
- Chocolate Chips: A cup folded into the batter or sprinkled over the frosting.
- Nutty: Chopped walnuts or pecans in the batter or on top.
- Gluten-Free: A 1:1 gluten-free flour, no other changes needed.
How to Store Chocolate Orange Cake
- On the counter: Covered, 2 days. It’s honestly even better on day two!
- In the fridge: Up to 4 days in an airtight container. Let slices sit out 20 minutes so the frosting softens.
- In the freezer: Up to 3 months. I freeze it unfrosted, wrapped in plastic then foil. Thaw overnight and frost the day you serve.
How to Serve Chocolate Orange Cake
Finish it with fresh orange zest right before serving. Or a few dehydrated orange slices if you want it a little dressed up. Dark chocolate curls are pretty too.
This is my Christmas cake. The flavor is so nostalgic and it always gets a reaction. I love setting it out with a fresh fruit platter or a fruit and cheese board when I’m feeding a crowd, or as part of a dessert charcuterie board.
Chocolate Orange Cake FAQs
You can, but I’d skip it if you can. Fresh zest has the citrus oils that make this taste like a real orange. If you’re truly stuck, use 1 teaspoon of orange extract in place of the juice and zest. The flavor will be much softer.
Almost always overbaking! Start checking at 25 minutes and pull it when a toothpick has a few moist crumbs on it, not when it comes out totally clean. The other culprit is too much flour from scooping it out of the bag. Spoon it into the cup and level it off.
Add powdered sugar a quarter cup at a time and whisk well between each addition. Out of powdered sugar? Pop the frosting in the fridge for 20 to 30 minutes and whisk it again. It firms up as the butter and chocolate set. Don’t add cream, that’ll thin it out more.
Yes! Bake and cool completely, wrap it tightly, then refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze up to 3 months. Frost the day you serve.
Not the first day. After that I refrigerate it because of the sour cream in the frosting. Just let slices come to room temperature before serving.
Yes and it’s so cute! Chop up a Terry’s Chocolate Orange and press the segments into the frosting or arrange them around the edge.
I use a 9×13, and this recipe is written for it. Two 8-inch rounds, a bundt pan, or cupcakes all work with the timing in the variations above.
You’ll need about 6 large navel oranges for the cake and the frosting together
Zest before you juice. Always! Zesting a squeezed orange half is no fun.
Use a microplane and only take the orange part. The white pith underneath is bitter.
You’ll have juice left over, which is the perfect excuse for one of my orange juice cocktails
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Chocolate Orange Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate Orange Cake Batter
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 5 tbsp orange zest
- 3/4 cup boiling water
Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting
- 4 ounces unsalted butter
- 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, confectioners sugar
- 4 ounces sour cream
- 2 tbsp orange zest
- 1 tbsp orange juice
Instructions
Chocolate Orange Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Oil a 9×13 baking pan well and line the bottom with parchment paper so the cake lifts out easily.
- Rub the orange zest into the granulated sugar with your fingertips for about 30 seconds, until the sugar smells like orange. This releases the citrus oils and gives you the best flavor.
- Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt to the sugar and whisk together. If using a stand mixer, use the fitted bowl for the dry ingredients.
- In another bowl or large liquid measuring cup, whisk together the eggs, milk, oil, vanilla, and orange juice. Leave out the boiling water, it goes in at the end.
- With the mixer on low, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Turn to medium for about 30 seconds, then back to low.
- With the mixer on low, slowly add the boiling water. The batter will be very thin and glossy, and that's exactly how it should be.
- Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes, until the cake has risen in the center and a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs. Start checking at 25 minutes.
- Cool completely in the pan before frosting.
Chocolate Orange Sour Cream
- Over low heat, melt the butter and bittersweet chocolate together in a small saucepan until smooth.
- Pour into an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on low speed.
- Add the vanilla and powdered sugar and whisk. It will get very thick, but keep whisking. Scrape the bottom of the bowl so you don't end up with lumps of chocolate.
- Add the sour cream, orange juice, and orange zest, and whisk until smooth. It may curdle; just whisk right through it, and it will come back together glossy.
- Once the cake is completely cool, spread the frosting over the top.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is hands down the best cake recipe I’ve ever made. I’ve made it twice, and my family loved it, and also couldn’t believe I made it.
My 20 year old daughter who is the baker in the house made it as well, and frosted it just like the Bundt Cake store.
We used a Bundt pan and it’s superior to the “Nothing Bundt Cakes” franchise in our town. Just wish I could attach a picture:)
I LOVE hearing this!! Thank you for the amazing review and I’m thrilled it worked for you. Try my banana bread too, SO GOOD!!
How can I thicken the sour cream topping.. I dont have any more icing sugar. can i use cream?
The ingredients list says to add 3/4 cup boiling water, but the instructions say 1 cup. Which is it?
Thank you for letting us know! It’s 3/4 cup and we will change it in the directions. Appreciate it!