Last Updated on January 12, 2020 by Chef Mireille
Basic Chocolate Cake & Orange Cream Cheese Frosting is a super moist cake that is perfect to celebrate any occasion – big or small!
Everyone should have an easy classic chocolate cake and vanilla cake recipe. Once you have a basic recipe for either, you can always add other flavorings or textural components like nuts or fruit. Here is a super easy chocolate cake recipe. With no chocolate to melt, this cake can easily be done even by those with the most basic of culinary skills.
While many people would choose to top the cake with chocolate frosting or ganache, I am one of the few women who is not a chocolate fanatic. Chocolate cake covered with more chocolate I find a bit of an overkill. Instead for balance, I went with a fruit flavored cream cheese frosting. Orange is a flavor that compliments chocolate well and this was the perfect marriage of flavors.
Continuing on with this week’s BM theme, this recipe was inspired by this Top 100 Taste of Home recipe.
Eventhough a basic vanilla and chocolate cake is a must in your recipe repertoire, here are some other cake recipes you might like to try.
Cake Recipes
- Lekach – Israeli Honey Cake
- Italian Orange Cake
- Baath – Goa Semolina Coconut Cake
- Caribbean Spice Cake
- Bojo – Gluten Free Cassava Cake
- Applesauce Cake
- Cuca de Banana – Brazilian Banana Crumb Cake
- Cardamom Coffee Cake
IN THE MAKING – MAKING CHOCOLATE CAKE
This cake is very soft and moist and will stay tender for several days.
Basic Chocolate Cake & Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/3 cups milk
- Frosting Ingredients:
- 4 oz. unsalted butter softened
- 4 oz. cream cheese softened
- 2 cups confectioner's sugar
- 1 teaspoon orange extract
- grated zest from 1 orange
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a rectangle 13x9 baking dish with non stick spray.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda and cocoa powder. Using a whisk, mix to combine to aerate the dry ingredients.
- Using an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar. Mix until soft and creamy.
- Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla extract and mix to combine.
- Add half of the flour combination and half of the milk. Mix well.
- Add remaining flour and milk. Mix until thoroughly combined.
- Transfer to prepared baking dish.
- Bake for 40 minutes, until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Leave to cool for 15 minutes in the pan.
- Remove from pan and leave to cool completely.
- To make the frosting, combine cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer. Using paddle attachment, mix until creamy and well blended. Add sugar 1/2 cup at a time, until thoroughly incorporated.
- Add zest and orange extract. Mix until well blended.
- Frost Cake.
Notes
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Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM#61
I have good basic chocolate and vanilla cake recipes, but no harm in trying out more reliable recipes :-). I just loved the sound of orange based frosting, will try it out sometime
The combination of colors is a visual treat. The combination of flavors sounds delicious.
That is a yummy looking chocolate cake and I love your fruit topping.
That slice of cake looks so sinful Mir…what a lovely combination..I love orange in baked dishes..this must have tasted so good.
That cake looks perfect and I love the frosting combination!
Loved the look of the cake and the frosting sounds interesting too.
Even I prefer some other frosting for a chocolate cake than ganache. The slice of cake looks so moist and soft and those orange slices add a nice touch..
Cake looks very moist and tempting.