Easy and Healthy Chocolate Orange Cake
Learn how to make a healthy chocolate orange fudge cake that doesn't taste healthy! A rich and moist dark chocolate orange sponge cake with thick layers of creamy, decadent healthy chocolate frosting – this cake is to die for.
Equipment
- 2 x 7-inch cake tins see notes for alternative
Ingredients
- 180 g Plain Wholemeal Flour (1 ½ cup)
- 45 g Cocoa Powder (½ cup)
- 1 ½ tsp Baking Soda
- ½ tsp Salt
- 180 ml Orange Juice (¾ cup) or 1 tsp orange extract and ½ cup of milk
- 280 g Thick Yogurt (1 ¼ cup)
- 240 g Liquid Sweetener (¾ cup)
- 75 g Olive Oil (¼ cup)
For the frosting
- 60 g Apricot Jam or Orange Marmalade (¼ cup)
- 120 g Cream Cheese (½ cup)
- 120 g Thick Yogurt (½ cup)
- 60 g Liquid Sweetener (3 tbsp)
- 35 g Cocoa Powder (⅓ cup)
- 1 tbsp Orange Zest (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180°C / 350°F / 160°C fan and grease your two cake tins or line them with parchment paper.
- Sift together wholemeal flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and whisk to combine.
- In a separate bowl, add orange juice, yogurt, liquid sweetener and oil. Whisk until smooth.
- Create a well in the middle of your dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Whisk or fold until just combined.
- Evenly divide the cake batter between your cake tins.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes then leave to cool in the tin on a wire rack.
- Once cooled, spread a layer of jam onto one sponge then add the second sponge on top.
For the frosting
- Add the cream cheese, yogurt, liquid sweetener and cocoa powder to a bowl and whisk until smooth.
- Spread on top of your cake. You can add some orange zest or grated chocolate on top to decorate.
- Refrigerate for at least half an hour before slicing.
Video
Notes
* see blog contents for more tips, storage instructions and ingredient substitutions
- Please use a kitchen scale to weigh the ingredients, using cup measurements is very unprecise and can lead to a dry cake.
- Make sure to use room temperature ingredients.
- The trick to getting a fudgy chocolate cake is to slightly underbake it. You want to remove the cake from the oven just before it's finished baking as it continues baking in the tin after it's removed from the oven. The middle of the cake will be slightly flatter than the rest of the cake and almost indented. A fully-baked cake will be rounded at the top, we don't want that.
- Use a cake tin with a loose bottom or a spring-form tin, this makes removing it from the tin so much easier. To remove the cake from a loose bottom tin, place it onto a jar (see the video) use a spatula or knife to loosen the cake from the edges, and then lower the sides of the cake tin leaving the cake on the jar. Flip the cake upside down onto your hand and then remove the flat part of the cake tin.
- Before baking your cakes, bang the tins onto your counter to get rid of any air bubbles.
- Make sure the cake is completely cooled before decorating!
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
Easy and Healthy Chocolate Orange Cake
Serving Size
1 slice
Amount per Serving
Calories
301
% Daily Value*
Fat
14.3
g
22
%
Carbohydrates
41.8
g
14
%
Protein
7.9
g
16
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Did you make this?Leave a rating & leave some feedback in the comments section below! You can also tag me on Instagram @Nourishing.Niki and use the #NourishingNiki