Indulgent, sweet and zesty vegan chocolate orange cake is the perfect afternoon treat or celebration cake!
Chocolate orange is one of my favourite combos, I use to love Terrys chocolate oranges and this cake taste just like that. But in cake form!
It will always be a Christmas flavour for me and this would be the perfect cake to make for a celebration at Christmas time! Especially if you aren’t a fan of Christmas cake!
Or any time of year of course. Especially when oranges are in season! Luckily this cake is really simple to make and easy to adjust vegan!
What you’ll need for chocolate orange cake:
- Plain flour
- Baking powder
- Cocoa powder
- Caster sugar
- Oranges
- Rapeseed/canola oil
- Unsweetened almond milk
- Pinch salt
- Vanilla essence
- Orange extract
- Vegan butter
- Icing sugar
I used navel oranges for this recipe, go for good quality oranges. You could also use seville or blood oranges.
You want to use a neutral flavoured oil like rapeseed/canola oil. For the milk, you can use any vegan milk just make sure it is unsweetened.
As well as fresh oranges we are going to add orange extract for deeper orange flavour.
As always, I use scales for baking and so my recipe calls for grams. This will ensure a much more accurate bake and result.
How to make vegan chocolate orange cake:
Start by mixing the dry ingredients – plain flour, baking powder, cocoa powder and caster sugar.
Mix with a wooden spoon until combined and then measure out the wet ingredients.
Zest one orange and juice two oranges. It should make about 2 tbsp of zest and 140ml of orange juice.
Add orange zest and juice to a jug along with the rapeseed oil, almond milk, vanilla essence, orange extract and stir.
Pour the wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix until just combined, careful not to over mix it.
Pour into a lined 9×5 inch loaf tin and place in the oven on the middle shelf.
Let bake for 45-55 minutes. Check it after 30 minutes, if it looks done use a skewer to see if it comes out clean.
Whilst the cake is baking you can make the frosting. Place all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk until fluffy. Taste and if you want you can add a bit more orange extract.
Pop it in the fridge until the cake is baked and fully cooled. Then spoon on top of the cake and serve!
I like to serve with some extra orange zest and grated dark chocolate. It will keep in an air tight container for 2-3 days but is best eaten the same day!
For more cake recipes you may enjoy these:
As always if you make this vegan chocolate orange cake be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe and tag me on Instagram. I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations!
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Chocolate Orange Cake
Rich, indulgent and zesty vegan chocolate orange cake! Topped with the most perfect chocolate orange frosting. It's the perfect celebration cake for any occasion and simple to make!
Ingredients
Cake
- 240g plain flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 60g cocoa powder
- 185g caster sugar
- Pinch salt
- Juice of 2 oranges (about 140ml)
- Zest of 1 orange (about 2.5 tbsp)
- 125ml rapeseed/canola oil
- 200ml unsweetened almond milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp orange extract
Frosting
- 75g vegan butter
- 20g cocoa powder
- 125g icing sugar
- 1.5 tsp orange extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 160C/320F. Grease and line a 9x5 inch loaf tin.
- Weigh and mix dry ingredients in a bowl with a wooden spoon- flour, baking powder, sugar, cocoa powder and salt. Mix until all combined.
- Zest one orange and juice two. It should make about 2.5 tbsp zest and 140ml juice. Place in a jug with the rapeseed oil, almond milk, vanilla and orange extract. Mix well.
- Pour the wet ingedients into the dry and stir until just combined. Careful not to over mix.
- Pour into lined loaf tin and place in the oven for 45-55 minutes. Check after 30 minutes and keep an eye on it. It's done when a skewer place in the middle comes out clean.
- Make the icing whilst its baking. Place all ingredients in a bowl and whisk until fluffy. Taste and add more orange extract if you want.
- Leave cake to cool and once fully cooled, spoon the icing on top and serve. I like to top with some extra orange zest and grated dark chocolate!
Notes
Use a neutral flavoured oil. You can use a different vegan milk just make sure it's unsweetened.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 435Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 175mgCarbohydrates: 63gFiber: 3gSugar: 37gProtein: 5g
Nutrition information is a rough estimate
Cyan
Wednesday 6th of December 2023
Do you think this would be any good with Dutch processed cocoa powder?
Tamsin
Friday 8th of December 2023
Hi Cyan, it should work out fine, but I haven't tested it out. I would go with regular cocoa powder if you can get some. If not, just be sure to using baking powder not baking soda. Let me know how it turns out! Tamsin xo
Anne
Friday 4th of March 2022
This was a big hit at a party for a vegan! I didn't have orange extract so added a few tablespoons of orange marmalade into the batter and the frosting. I poked holes in the cake as it was cooling and added some juice from a mandarin orange can and sugar on the cake so it soaked in, then added the oranges on top for garnish when it was cooled. My mother was famous for her cakes and her secret was adding booze to cakes in this way, but this was a work party. It would be smashing with orange liqueur as the soaking liquid. Great recipe, thank you!
Tamsin
Monday 7th of March 2022
Hi Anne, thanks so much for your comment I am so glad everyone enjoyed it. I bet it was so good with the marmalade! Orange liqueur would be amazing in the sponge too, must try it next time! :) Tamsin xo
Fred & Tom
Friday 3rd of December 2021
this tasted soooo good!!!! usedmy hands to mix the frosting too - the flavours melted on my tobfue
Amandine
Thursday 8th of July 2021
Hi, Can I use whole wheat flour instead of plain flour?
Tamsin
Monday 12th of July 2021
Hi Amandine, I wouldn't recommend it, they work very differently and I have only tested this with all purpose flour. Thanks, Tamsin xo
Theva
Tuesday 23rd of March 2021
Hi is it okay if I leave the batter in the fridge and bake it afterwards?
Tamsin
Wednesday 24th of March 2021
Hi Theva, I would strongly suggest not doing this. The cake needs to be baked as soon as the batter has been mixed otherwise you'll risk the cake not rising and ending up dense. If you are looking to make it ahead of time then you can freeze the cake once it has fully cooled after baking, wrap well in cling film. Then ice once defrosted. Thanks, Tamsin xo