Orange Chocolate Cake with Ganache

Looking for a delicious chocolate cake that you don't have to put a ton of effort into? This single layer Orange Chocolate Cake with chocolate ganache frosting is the recipe for you! It's so easy, moist and tastes just like a chocolate covered orange!

Ingredients

• All purpose flour
• Unsweetened cocoa powder: Dutch process cocoa powder works best for this recipe, but natural can be used as well.
• Baking powder
• Baking soda
• Salt
• Granulated sugar
• Heavy whipping cream
• Chocolate chips or a chopped up bar: Use high quality chocolate (like Ghirardelli or Baker's Chocolate) that's at least 60% cocoa.
• Lifeway Organic Plain Whole Milk Kefir
• Egg
• Vegetable oil: Any other neutral oil will work, such as canola oil.
• Orange zest: This calls for the zest of 1 orange but feel free to use more or less depending on your flavor preference.
• Water: Make sure you heat the water so that it's hot before adding it to the batter! This helps enhance the chocolate flavor in the cake.

See recipe card below for quantities.

Substitutions & Variations

This recipe has not been tested with any substitutions. If you do replace any ingredients, please let us know how they turned out in the comments below!

If you'd like to make this recipe into a plain chocolate cake, go ahead and leave out the orange zest!

Feel free to swap out the chocolate ganache for any other frosting you'd like - homemade or store bought. A whipped cream frosting would be a nice light way to top it off, or a Chocolate Orange Buttercream would enhance this flavor combination even more! It's also delicious without any frosting on top!

This batter can be made into Orange Chocolate Cupcakes instead of a cake. Follow the instructions for the cake as is and fill 12-14 cupcake liners ½ - ⅔ full. Bake the cupcakes at 350°F for 14-19 minutes.

Equipment

This recipe uses one 8 inch round cake pan. You'll want to coat the bottom and sides with nonstick spray. Then, cut a round piece of parchment paper and lay it flat on the bottom. This will make the cake much easier to remove from the pan.

You'll need a tool to zest the orange. I recommend using a microplane.

Step by Step Instructions

Making the Orange Chocolate Cake Layer

Step One (Picture 1 above) - In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. This will ensure that all of the dry ingredients are distributed evenly throughout the batter without having to overmix.

Step Two (Picture 2 above) - In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, orange zest, oil, kefir and egg.

Step Three (Picture 3 above) - Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones and then mix them together just until the flour streaks have mostly disappeared.

Step Four (Picture 4 above) - Carefully stir the hot water into the batter and then pour it into the prepared cake pan. Bake at 325°F until a toothpick comes out of the center clean.

Making the Ganache

While the cake is cooling, make the chocolate ganache. Add the chocolate to a bowl and then heat the cream in the microwave or over the stove, stirring every 20 seconds, until it starts to simmer. Pour it over the chocolate and then place a plate on top to trap the heat for 5 minutes. When the time is up, gently stir the mixture in a circular motion until you achieve a silky, slightly thick ganache. Pour it over the cake and spread it around with a knife or spatula.

Expert Baking Tips

Measuring the Dry Ingredients:

Measuring the flour correctly is super important to make sure your cake isn't dry and dense! The best, most accurate way to measure it is to weigh it in grams on a scale (see the metric units in the recipe card below). If you don't have a scale, you can get one for about $20 on Amazon or in department or kitchen stores. The next best way to measure is to scoop the flour into a measuring cup and then level off the top with a straight edge.

Use High Quality Chocolate:

This is very important to make sure the chocolate ganache turns out right! Be sure to use high quality chocolate chips or a bar, such as Ghirardelli or Baker's brand. It should be at least 60% cocoa. If you use low quality chocolate, it may not incorporate well with the warm cream and your ganache might turn out grainy or too liquidy.

Don't Overbake the Cake:

Leaving the cake in the oven for too long will dry it out. When a toothpick comes out of the center clean, remove it from the oven. You can also tell if it's done by listening to the cake - if you can hear it bubbling a lot inside, it's probably not done just yet. The cake will be pretty quiet when it's done baking (this sounds crazy, but it's true! Try it!) It will continue baking a little bit in the hot pan after you take it out of the oven.

Bake at the Correct Temperature:

Some ovens run hotter or cooler than what you set them to. Use an oven thermometer to make sure it's at 325°F when you put the cake in and throughout its bake. If the temperature is higher, the cake may end up with a big dome and cracks on top.

Removing the Cake from the Pan:

Once the cake has cooled in the pan for about 20 minutes, place a plate on top of it and then flip it over so that the top of the cake is on the plate. Gently peel off the parchment paper and carefully flip it onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

Recipe FAQs

Storage

Unfrosted Cake

• Room Temperature: The unfrosted cake can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
• Refrigerator: I don't recommend storing this in the refrigerator because this tends to dry out cakes.
• Freezer: Wrap the cooled cake tightly in plastic wrap and freeze it for up to 1 month. I like to also place the wrapped cake in a gallon storage bag for extra freezer-proofing. Let the cake thaw at room temperature a few hours before you plan to decorate and eat it.

Frosted Cake

• Room Temperature: The frosted cake should only be stored at room temperature for up to 2 days in an airtight container.
• Refrigerator: Although this tends to dry out cakes, refrigerating the ganache is necessary to make it last up to 1 week.
• Freezer: You can freeze leftover frosted cake in an airtight container for up to 1 month. I recommend consuming the thawed cake within a few days and storing it in the refrigerator afterwards.

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