Chocolate Orange Cake with Dye-Free Black Buttercream
Decadent and citrusy chocolate orange cake layered with rich, dye-free black buttercream. Perfect for birthdays with a sophisticated yet cozy twist.
Equipment
- 1 Mixing bowl Large
Ingredients
Main ingredients
- ½ Cup fresh squeezed orange juice from about 2 large oranges
- ½ Cup whole milk room temperature
- 1 ⅔ Cups granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon orange zest from about ½ large orange
- 2 Cups all purpose flour
- ⅔ Cup unsweetened cocoa powder natural or Dutch-processed
- 2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ Cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 Cup hot coffee or hot water
- 2 Cups unsalted butter room temperature for buttercream
- 1 tablespoon orange zest for buttercream
- 1 Cup unsweetened cocoa powder for buttercream
- 5 ½ Cups powdered sugar
- 5 tablespoon whole milk for buttercream
- 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed orange juice for buttercream
- Pinch salt to taste
- 2 orange slices candied or fresh quartered for garnish
- 1-2 teaspoon fresh orange zest for garnish
Instructions
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC) and prepare the cake pans.
- Whisk together orange juice and milk, letting it curdle briefly.
- Beat sugar and orange zest, then add dry ingredients and mix.
- Add in wet ingredients including oil, eggs, vanilla, and orange-milk mixture, then combine with hot coffee.
- Pour batter into cake pans and bake 32-36 minutes. Cool on racks.
- To make buttercream, beat butter and orange zest, then gradually combine with cocoa, sugar, milk, and orange juice.
- After cake cools, level, stack, and fill with buttercream. Chill for 30+ minutes before final decorating.
- Pipe swirls on top, garnish with orange slices and zest.
Notes
Wrap individual slices for fridge or freezer. Buttercream keeps up to 1 week in sealed container. For parties, pre-slice and cover to preserve softness and flavor.