Vegan Chocolate Orange Cake

Close up of a slice of chocolate orange cake on a plate in front of a wood cake board with the double-layer cake on it.

Vegan Chocolate Orange Cake

This vegan chocolate orange cake is richly flavored. Along with a decadent chocolate orange frosting, this cake is truly spectacular!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American-inspired, Vegan

Keyword Eggless chocolate orange cake recipe, Vegan chocolate orange cake

Prep Time 25

Cook Time 40

Total Time 1 5

Servings Slices (Single Cake)

Calories 369kcal

Equipment

Large bowl
Sifter/ sieve
Whisk
8-inch round cake pan
Box grater (or citrus zesting tool)

Ingredients

Cake

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (220 grams)
½ cup cocoa powder (55 grams)
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup sugar (granulated white sugar; 235 grams)
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup oil (100 grams; I used avocado oil) must be liquid oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup orange juice (250 grams; about 3 large oranges) fresh squeezed is ideal
3 tablespoons orange zest (30 grams; about 3 large oranges)
¼ cup plant-based milk (68 grams; I use soy milk)

Frosting

¾ cup icing sugar (powdered sugar)
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
½ tablespoon orange zest (4th orange likely needed)
1 tablespoon orange juice (fresh squeezed ideal; 4th orange is likely needed)
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup vegan butter (or margarine)

Instructions

Cake

Preheat oven to 350 °F.
Grease an 8-inch round cake pan. Ideally, cut a piece of parchment paper to cover the bottom of the pan (then grease the parchment paper to prevent sticking).
Prep the orange zest and juice. You’ll need about 1 fresh orange per tablespoon of zest. Use the small grating side of a box grater or a handheld micro plane to zest the orange. Only grate the bright orange portion of the peel and not any of the white pith underneath.
3 tablespoons orange zest
Juice the oranges after they're zested. If the oranges are large and juicy you should have enough, but may need an extra orange (or store-bought orange juice) to get enough.
1 cup orange juice
Measure the flour by gently scooping the flour into the measuring cup until it's over filled. Then, use a flat edge, like the back of a knife, to scrape off excess so you have a perfectly measured amount. Measure the cocoa powder the same way.
In a large bowl sift together all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and baking powder.
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, ½ cup cocoa powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder
Then, whisk in sugar and salt.
1 cup sugar, ¼ teaspoon salt
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in oil, vanilla extract, orange juice, plant-based milk and orange zest.
½ cup oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 cup orange juice, 3 tablespoons orange zest, ¼ cup plant-based milk
Whisk the cake batter together until just mixed (no noticeable large clumps of dry flour).
Pour batter into the greased cake tin. Tap the pan on your counter a couple times to get the batter flattened, then put the cake into the oven for 33-35 minutes.
A toothpick inserted into the center of the cake should come out clean when the cake is done.
Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before carefully running a knife around the edge of the cake pan to loosen the cake from the edges. Carefully turn the cake out onto a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before frosting it.

Frosting

After placing the cake into your oven, start preparing frosting. It needs to set in your fridge before using.
Begin by melting vegan butter or margarine in a medium sized bowl then sift in icing sugar and cocoa powder.
¾ cup icing sugar, ¼ cup vegan butter, 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
Next, stir in orange zest (extra from making the cake or use a 4th orange), orange juice and vanilla extract. Stir until the mixture looks smooth.
½ tablespoon orange zest, 1 tablespoon orange juice, ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or transfer to a container with an airtight lid. Allow frosting to chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or until the cake is completely cool (frosting will harden as the butter chills).
Spread frosting across chilled cake.
The frosted cake can sit in an airtight container on the counter up to 4 days; after this point, store in the fridge or freeze extra slices.

Notes

Accuracy of nutrition information cannot be guaranteed (certain ingredients may not have all nutrients listed in the database); amounts may vary (and will vary depending on brands of ingredients used); all nutrition fact values rounded to the nearest whole number.

Nutrition