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Rich, soft chocolate cake with a hint of orange taste, this Vegan Orange Chocolate Cake is one of my favourite desserts. It’s delicious and wholesome, without any added sugar, naturally sweetened with dates and fruits!
It’s the season of orange. I know that when I see tons of fresh orange appear in the grocery stores. And the first thing came to my mind when I saw it last week was making a cake out of them. So here is a Vegan Orange Chocolate Cake that I adore sooooo much!
This vegan orange chocolate cake is adapted from one of my old, secret recipes (in my Chinese e-book 《醇美全植物》). The fresh orange aroma combined with the rich chocolate taste is something exceptional in its own way.
What’s special about this Vegan Orange Chocolate Cake?
- Rich chocolate taste with natural orange flavour
- Vegan, no eggs, no dairy, no animal products
- No added sugar, naturally sweetened with fruits
- Gluten-free, but can be made with regular flour if you want
Ingredients You Need for this Vegan Orange Chocolate Cake
- Pitted dates
- Fresh orange
- Apple cider vinegar
- Apples
- Gluten-free plain flour (or regular plain flour if no need for gluten-free)
- Almond flour
- Cocoa powder (dutch processed)
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Dark chocolate
- Extra-virgin coconut oil
For substitutions, please take a look at “Questions You Might Have” section and the recipe card.
How to Make Vegan Orange Chocolate Cake
Here are simplified instructions to walk you through the process. All details and exact measurement are in the recipe card at the end of this post.
To make the chocolate cake
- Preparation: Grease a 6” or 7” (15 or 18 cm) cake tin** with coconut oil, or line the bottom of the cake tin with baking paper. Preheat the oven to 176 °C (350 °F).
- Blend the wet ingredients: Add pitted dates (without the soaking water), apple cider vinegar, orange juice, and 35 g of the date-soaking water to a small blender. Blend until mostly smooth. Then add apples to blend again until smooth.
- Mix the dry ingredients: In a big bowl, whisk together the flour, almond flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and orange zest.
- Combine wet & dry: Pour the wet mixture to the dry one. And mix to combine. Use a spatula to scrape all sides to make sure everything is evenly mixed.
- Prepare to bake: Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake tin. Use a spatula to smooth it out. Gently drop the cake tin against the counter a few times to remove air bubbles inside.
- Bake: Place the cake tin into the preheated oven to bake at 176 °C (350 °F) for 20 – 25 minutes. Insert a cake tester or a toothpick in the cake centre to check. When it’s done, it should come out clean.
- Cool: Transfer the cake tin onto a wire rack to cool down for at least 30 minutes. Then carefully remove the cake from the cake tin to a plate.
To make the topping
- Use your finger to break the chocolate into small chunks or use a sharp knife to chop. Then place them into a bowl.
- Add the coconut oil to the chopped chocolate. Melt them together by using a double boiler (bain marie) or microwaving for 30 seconds. Stir to combine.
- Pour the melted chocolate evenly on top of the chocolate cake. Grate more orange zest on top if you want. Slice and enjoy!
How to Store Vegan Orange Chocolate Cake
Store the cake in a container in the fridge for 4 – 6 days, or 2 weeks in the freezer.
Tips for Success
- Weigh your ingredients. Yes, even things like orange juice. Baking requires precision, so it’s always better to use a kitchen scale than measuring cups.
- Scrape down every single ingredients when adding together. This might not be clearly noticeable, but it’s important to use every bit of the ingredients when mixing to keep the ratio intact.
- Don’t over mix. Mixing evenly is critical, so is not over doing it. Make sure to mix just until everything is combined. Over mixing might result in tough texture in the end.
Questions You Might Have
Final Words
This orange cake is really delicious with the right amount of sweetness from natural sweet ingredients, which makes it more nutritious and wholesome than common cakes. And that also gives me more reasons to enjoy it after meals if I have it around.
So if you don’t want/can’t have too much added sugar and oil, this vegan orange chocolate cake is one of the perfect desserts for you. Mr. J (my British partner) loves it so much that he devoured a huge chunk in one go. I hope you will enjoy this cake as much as we do!
— Nora
More Vegan Dessert Recipes:
Vegan Orange Chocolate Cake (Gluten-free, Sugar-free)
Ingredients
Chocolate Orange Cake
- 90 g pitted dates, or like this kind of dates, soaked in 60 ml water, (~1/2 cup)
- 85 g orange juice, freshly squeezed (~1 medium orange)
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 80 g apples, chopped (~1 small apple)
- 90 g gluten-free plain flour, or like gluten-free all purpose flour
- 25 g almond flour, (1/4 cup)
- 24 g cocoa powder, Dutch processed* (1/4 cup)
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda, bicarbonate of soda
- 1/8 tsp salt
- Orange zest, from 1 orange
Toppings
- 30 g dark chocolate, 70% cacao content (~1.05 oz)
- 1 tsp extra-virgin coconut oil, or cocoa butter
- Orange zest, from 1 orange
Instructions
To make the chocolate cake
- Preparation: Grease a 6” or 7” (15 or 18 cm) cake tin** with coconut oil, or line the bottom of the cake tin with baking paper. Preheat the oven to 176 °C (350 °F).
- Blend the wet ingredients: Add pitted dates (without the soaking water), apple cider vinegar, orange juice, and 35 ml of the date-soaking water to a small blender. Blend until mostly smooth. Then add apples to blend again until smooth.
- Mix the dry ingredients: In a big bowl, whisk together the flour, almond flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and orange zest.
- Combine wet & dry: Pour the wet mixture to the dry one. And mix to combine. Use a spatula to scrape all sides to make sure everything is evenly mixed.
- Prepare to bake: Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake tin. Use a spatula to smooth it out. Gently drop the cake tin against the counter a few times to remove air bubbles inside.
- Bake: Place the cake tin into the preheated oven to bake at 176 °C (350 °F) for 20~25 minutes. Insert a cake tester or a toothpick in the cake centre to check. When it’s done, it should come out clean.
- Cool: Transfer the cake tin onto a wire rack to cool down for at least 30 minutes. Then carefully remove the cake from the cake tin to a plate.
To make the topping
- Use your finger to break the chocolate into small chunks and place it into a bowl. If it’s hard to break, use a sharp knife to chop.
- Add the coconut oil to the chopped chocolate. Melt them together by using a double boiler (bain marie) or microwaving for 30 seconds. Stir to combine.
- Pour the melted chocolate evenly on top of the chocolate cake. Then grate more orange zest on top if you want. Slice and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- *Cocoa powder: Here I use Dutch processed cocoa powder to give this cake a deeper taste and colour. You can use natural cocoa powder if you prefer its taste.
- **Cake tin: Here I use an 7″/18 cm Spring form Cake Tin with doughnut shape bottom. I cut out some uneven part on top when removing the cake from the pan and then flipped the cake upside down, so the bottom can face up. (See the recipe video)
- Storage: Store the cake in a container in the fridge for 4–6 days, or 2 weeks in the freezer.
- Tools used: I use this cake tin and this blender in this recipe.
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Decadent Vegan Cherry Chocolate Mousse (8 Ingredients)
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Vegan Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars (with a secret ingredient!)
