My oldest turned 9 in January (never later than never for a recipe/blog posting – even 1/2 a year later) to celebrate she wanted two sleepovers. One sleepover with 3 close school friends and a second sleepover with 2 besties from preschool. She is my social butterfly and we could have probably done at least 2 more sleepovers with additional friends but this mom could only take two back-to-back weekends! So for birthday sleepovers, you need cake. On one of the sleepovers, she asked for orange chocolate cake. So I had to make it so I could enjoy it too so here it is a gluten-free orange chocolate cake! The second sleepover cake will be in a later blog post so stay tuned!
We went over and over whether to make the cake itself just orange or orange chocolate combined. She decided on just orange cake with a chocolate orange frosting. So this mom went to look at different recipes to find the basics for this cake. It ended up coming out quite well! And tasted even better the second day once the flavors combined. Which can sometimes be the opposite of gluten-free baked goods.
Ingredients for Gluten-Free Orange Chocolate Cake
- 2 3/4 cup GF flour (Bob Red Mill 1 to 1 flour)
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 TBS GF baking powder
- 1 3/4 cup dextrose (sugar or sugar substitute)
- zest of orange
- 1 cup butter at room temperature
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk (I use Fairlife Milk and add 1 tsp vinegar – can do this with milk substitute of choice)
- 1/3 cup fresh orange juice
This recipe I made in two 9 inch cake pans, so I started by buttering and flouring the pans to prevent sticking. Really butter all the bottom and sides and generously coat with GF flour and your cake will never stick and come out beautifully each time!
This cake I made this in my KitchenAid mixer. I tend sometimes forget to take the butter out in advance so I usually put the stick in and zap it in the microwave for ~ 10-12 seconds just to soften. Put butter and sugar in a mixer and beat until combined and fluffy. Next add the orange zest, and eggs and beat until combined. Then add orange juice and part of the flour and stir until combined. Add the rest of the flour and buttermilk and stir until combined. Now separate between two 9-inch cake pans and bake in 350 degrees F heated oven for 30-35 minutes or until cooked through when tested with a cake tester. Let cool in cake tins for 10 minutes and then remove and cool on cooling racks.
Icing Ingredients
- 2 cups butter at room temperature (4 sticks)
- 1 cup cocoa powder
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 TBS orange zest
- 5 TBS fresh orange juice
- 4 cups powdered sugar
Using the KitchenAid mixer again. Beat the 4 sticks of butter together for 2-3 minutes until fluffy. Add cocoa powder and powdered sugar, and stir on low to combine. Then add orange zest, orange juice, and vanilla extract and continue to beat for 3 minutes. If need more liquid add 1 TBS more orange juice or milk at a time until reach desired consistency. I sometimes will scrape sides down and beat for an additional 2 minutes as I like my frosting very fluffy.
Gluten Free Orange Chocolate Cake
Equipment
- 2 9 inch pans
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cup GF flour (Bob Red Mill 1 to 1)
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 TBS GF baking powder
- 1 3/4 cup dextrose (sugar or sugar substitute)
- zest of one orange
- 1 cup butter, at room temperature
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk (Fairlife milk or milk substitute with 1 tsp vinegar)
- 1/3 cup orange juice fresh squeezed
Orange Chocolate Frosting
- 2 cups butter at room temperature
- 1 cup cocoa powder
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 5-8 TBS fresh orange juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare 2 9 inch cake pans by butter and flouring the pans.
- In KitchenAid or with a mixer combine butter and sugar until combined and light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and mix until combined.
- Add orange juice and mix until combined. Add half of the flour and mix until combined. Add buttermilk and the rest of the flour, cornstarch, and baking powder and mix until combined fully.
- Place batter evenly between two prepared 9-inch pans. Even out the batter via spoon or can also drop pans carefully on the counter several times to even batter out.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until lightly browned and a toothpick comes out of the middle clean. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes and then remove from pans to a cooling rack and cool completely before icing.
Chocolate Orange Icing
- Place butter in KitchenAid mixer or bowl of mixer and beat on medium for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy (you may need to scrape the sides down halfway).
- Add cocoa powder and mix to combine. Add powdered sugar and mix on low to combine. Add orange juice and vanilla extract and beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. Scrape sides and beat for additional 2 minutes until light and fluffy. If not the correct consistency add 1 TBS of orange juice or milk at a time to reach desired consistency. Ice cake and decorate.
