A tender chocolate cake infused with a hint of orange citrus gives this cake much depth in flavor. Add ganache over the top, garnish with twisted orange peel and you’ll have yourself one of the easiest cakes sure to impress your friends & family!
It’s been too long since I’ve made a chocolate cake or any chocolaty dessert for that matter. But today I have this one for you and it is gooood!
Before I dive right into this cake I want to introduce you to someone you may be familiar with, Alice from Hip Foodie Mom. You may remember her Blackberry Almond Cake she made for me very recently as her guest post here on URBAN BAKES. Well, today she’s on vacation so while she’s out-and-about traveling along the West coast, I decided to make her this luscious citrus cake.
Here’s Alice and I at the closing party of the BlogHer Food event. Sorry it’s a bit blurry. I’m obviously inexperienced on how to take a good selfie. Then again, this is what happens when you try to take a photo at night with that darn reverse camera on the iPhone.
Well here’s to you Alice, this simple, decadent, chocolaty cake. Have a safe trip back home! 🙂
To see additional photos, click HERE.
Chocolate Orange Cake
- Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 1 bundt cake 1x
Ingredients
CAKE
- 2 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate, chopped
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons grated orange peel or 1 teaspoon of orange emulsion
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
GANACHE
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 teaspoon orange emulsion (optional)
- 1/4 cup fresh orange peel (optional)
Instructions
CAKE
- In a small bowl, melt unsweetened baking chocolate in microwave on HIGH for 30 seconds, stir. Microwave for an additional 15 seconds until about 75 percent of chocolate has melted. Continuously stir until smooth; set aside to cool.
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and lightly flour a 12-cup fluted tube cake pan; set aside.
- In large bowl, cream butter and sugar using an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in melted chocolate, sour cream, orange peel (or emulsion), vanilla and eggs until just combined.
- On low speed, beat in remaining cake ingredients. Note: You may notice batter may be more airy than most cake batters, this is okay. Spread evenly into pan.
- Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Leave cake to cool in the tube pan for 20 minutes, remove and allow additional cooling for about 1 hour.
GANACHE
- Meanwhile in a small saucepan set over medium heat, melt 1 cup chocolate chips. Stir in cream. Whisk mixture until ganache is smooth and uniform in color. Remove from heat. Stir in orange emulsion.
- Once cake has cooled, drizzle ganache over the top and allow it to drip down the sides. Garnish with fresh orange peel. ENJOY!
Notes
A slightly greater amount of orange extract may be substituted for orange emulsion. To make orange peel, use a vegetable peeler to peel the skin of the orange. Be sure to not peel into the white flesh as this gives a bitter taste. Cut 2-inch long strands from peel about ¼-inch wide and twist strands around your index finger to create a curl; release.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes