Chocolate orange drizzle cake is a mixture of two of our favourite cakes. It’s a classic chocolate orange flavour and a super moist and delicious sponge.
When it comes to choosing a cake, the kids always want chocolate. I’d prefer a drizzle cake. I love the tanginess, the really moist sponge, and the gorgeous refreshing flavours.
Obviously, the kids usually win, and we eat a lot of chocolate cake (not complaining!). We are, however, also big fans of chocolate orange. It’s one of my favourite festive flavours, and we must go through tons of Terry’s Chocolate Oranges.
This chocolate orange drizzle cake recipe is a mixture of all of our favourites, and the whole household absolutely loves it.
I did consider a chocolate chip orange drizzle, to really maximise the orange flavour, which I love. But the kids prefer a full-on chocolate orange sponge. They’d have felt cheated by chocolate chips!
Ingredients for Chocolate Orange Drizzle Cake
When I make this chocolate orange drizzle cake recipe I use:
Margarine – or room-temperature butter.
Caster Sugar
Eggs
Self-Raising Flour – If you only have plain, add a teaspoon of baking powder.
Cocoa
Terry’s Chocolate Orange – Other, non-branded orange chocolate is fine too.
Zest of 1 Large Orange – You can skip this, but I like to add a little more orange to the mix.
Can You Use Milk Chocolate?
Yes. If Aldi doesn’t have chocolate oranges when I do my shopping before this recipe, I use either milk or dark chocolate, orange zest and a teaspoon or two of orange extract.
You can also use orange juice, and just use a tablespoon more flour too.
Syrup for Chocolate Orange Drizzle
For the orange syrup, I use fresh orange juice from a large orange (you may need 2, depending on size, juiciness and squeezing efficiency!), and caster sugar, the same as I would for a regular orange drizzle cake.
Can You Use Orange Extract?
You can use orange extract here, but it’s a stronger flavour, so you’ll only need a teaspoon, adding water, bit at a time, to dissolve the sugar.
Icing for Chocolate Orange Drizzle
You don’t need to add icing to your chocolate orange drizzle loaf cake. But I like a little crunchy icing on the top. I use:
Icing sugar
Cocoa
Orange Juice
Just add orange juice a bit at a time, stirring it in until I’ve got a drizzlable mixture you can pour over the cooled cake.
Can You Use Chocolate Icing?
Yes, if you prefer just mix cocoa and icing sugar with a splash of water or milk until you can drizzle it on top, missing the orange completely.
How to Make a Chocolate Orange Drizzle Cake
You can get the full instructions for this recipe in the card at the bottom of this post.
But my top tips are:
- Melt the chocolate carefully, and cool to room temperature before pouring it into the cake batter.
- Leave the cake in the tin, stab all over thoroughly, and pour the syrup over while it’s warm. Then leave int the tin to cool completely.
- Heat the syrup very carefully, stirring until you can no longer feel the sugar, but no longer. If you heat it for too long, it will set really hard and ruin the texture of your cake. You want to just dissolve the sugar, no more.
- Using reusable baking paper makes it easier to remove the cake from the tin.
Storing Chocolate Orange Drizzle Cake
I store my orange and chocolate drizzle cake in a glass cake stand on my kitchen counter, covered with the lid.
You can store it in any lidded tub or covered with cling film or wax wraps. It doesn’t need to be stored in the fridge.
Can You Freeze Chocolate Orange Drizzle Cake?
Yes, this chocolate and orange drizzle cake freezes well. Just leave to cool, wrap tightly and freeze. You can freeze either the full cake or cut it into slices to freeze just some.
You might want to keep the wrapped cake in a sealed tub for extra protection.
How Long Does Orange Chocolate Drizzle Cake Last?
You can freeze this cake for up to two months. If you are keeping it on the side, it will stay moist for 3-4 days.
Other Chocolate Orange Recipes
We love chocolate orange recipes. I’ve got about a billion! My favourites include:
- Chocolate Orange Cake Traybake
- Chocolate Orange Loaf Cake
- Orange Chocolate Cookies
- Terry’s Chocolate Orange Brownies
- No-Bake Chocolate Orange Cheesecake
- Millionaire Shortbread with Orange Chocolate
- Chocolate Orange Cupcakes
More Drizzle Cake Recipes
Drizzle cakes are my absolute favourites! If you love them as much as I do you might want to try:
- Orange Drizzle
- Lemon Drizzle Cake
- Lime Drizzle Cake
- Lemon Drizzle Cupcakes
- Lemon Drizzle Traybake with Cream Cheese
- Pineapple Drizzle Cake
Chocolate Orange Drizzle Cake
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Orange Sponge:
- 175 g Margarine (or room-temperature butter)
- 175 g Caster Sugar
- 3 Medium Eggs
- 150 g Self Raising Flour
- 25 g Cocoa
- 100 g Chocolate Orange
- Zest of 1 Large Orange
For the Syrup:
- 75 g Caster Sugar
- 75 g Orange Juice (This is around 1-2 large oranges)
For the Icing:
- 50 g Icing Sugar
- 10 g Cocoa
- 3 Tablespoons Orange Juice
Instructions
- To make the sponge, first, preheat the oven to 160 Degrees C (fan-assisted) and grease or line a 2lb loaf tin.
- Melt the chocolate orange carefully and leave to cool.
- Whisk the sugar and margarine until smooth.
- Add the eggs and whisk for a few minutes until the mixture is even.
- Add the self-raising flour and cocoa and whisk until smooth.
- Pour in the cooled melted chocolate and add the orange zest.
- Whisk until even and pour into the loaf tin.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes, checking the centre with a skewer to make sure it’s cooked.
- Remove from the oven and leave in the tin.
- Prepare the syrup by placing the sugar and orange juice in a small pan.
- Heat on the hob over a medium heat, stirring constantly until the sugar has dissolved, taking care not to let it boil or catch.
- Remove from the heat.
- Use a skewer to stab the cake liberally all over.
- Pour on the syrup.
- Leave in the tin to cool completely.
- While the cake is cooling, make the icing by placing the cocoa and icing sugar in a bowl.
- Add the orange juice, stirring in a little at a time until you have a pourable mixture.
- Remove the cooled cake from the tin and use a piping bag or spoon to drizzle on the chocolate orange icing.
Notes
- I melt my chocolate in a small pan on the hob, stirring constantly. You can also melt it over a Bain Marie, or in short bursts in the microwave.
- If you don’t have chocolate orange, use milk or dark chocolate and a teaspoon of orange extract.
- If your cake is still uncooked, return it to the oven for 5-10 more minutes checking often.
- Use either caster sugar or granulated sugar for the syrup.
Nutrition
Any nutritional information is given as a general guide only and may not be accurate. The information is provided using an online calculator and is specific to my ingredients. Please make your own calculations if you want precise information.
