Glazed with an irresistible Terry’s Chocolate Orange ganache drip, this Chocolate Orange Bundt Cake is so moist and really easy to make – a great festive showstopper!
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I’m excited to share this recipe today as it’s the first of many Christmas recipes I’m planning on sharing over the next few weeks! This is definitely my favourite time of year for baking; I’ve actually just released my first ever eBook of exclusive Christmas recipes, with a couple of bonuses thrown in too! It’s called the 12 Treats of Christmas and you can read more about it by clicking here! One of the recipes included in this eBook is Chocolate Orange Truffles 😊
This chocolate orange Bundt cake is truly indulgent, with the rich chocolate complemented by fresh orange flavour. The Terry’s Chocolate Orange ganache drip is to die for and I feel it would be really well received by guests for Christmas or Thanksgiving dessert!
This cake is a great last-minute showstopper cake if you need something easy yet impressive to put on your table in a hurry; you won’t need any electric mixers, just a couple of mixing bowls and a whisk.
What is a Bundt Cake?
A Bundt cake is any cake that is baked in a Bundt pan, and a Bundt pan gives it its classic ring shape. Therefore, this makes Bundt cakes great showstoppers, as there are many different Bundt pan designs to make your cake look beautiful.
I decided to use this Bundt pan for this cake. It’s a 20cm pan, but a 20-24cm Bundt pan should work just fine for this recipe!
A Bundt cake can be finished simply with a dusting of icing sugar or in the case of this cake, a delicious Terry’s chocolate orange ganache glaze!
Chocolate Orange Bundt Cake Ingredients
This chocolate orange bundt cake recipe is honestly surprisingly quick and easy to make! Full ingredient amounts can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post, but to summarise:
- Plain flour for the cake’s structure
- Cocoa powder for the deep chocolate flavour
- Baking powder
- Bicarbonate of soda both these raising agents help the Bundt cake to rise
- Salt to enhance the flavours
- Caster sugar for sweetness
- Light brown sugar for sweetness and extra moisture
- Eggs for structure
- Vanilla extract for flavour
- Butter for some buttery flavour
- Sour cream makes the cake super moist!
- Oil for extra moisture
- Hot water to bring out the deep chocolate flavour of the cocoa. I add a teaspoon of instant coffee which I highly recommend doing; I promise you won’t taste the coffee but it deepens the chocolate flavour even more!
- Orange juice for fresh orange flavour
- Orange zest for extra orange flavour, thanks to three whole oranges’ worth of zest!
How to Make a Chocolate Orange Bundt Cake from scratch
The full instructions with step-by-step photos can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this blog post, but in summary:
- Preheat your oven to 180°C/160°C fan
- Carefully prepare your 20-24cm Bundt pan by greasing it thoroughly with butter, then coating it in a layer of cocoa powder. This part is crucial to prevent your Bundt cake from sticking to your pan!
- In a large bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and both sugars. Set aside
- In a medium bowl whisk together the eggs, vanilla extract, melted butter, sour cream, oil, orange juice and orange zest until combined
- Pour the wet ingredients into your bowl of dry ingredients in two stages, whisking to combine fully after each addition
- Finally, add the hot coffee (or just hot water if you’d prefer not to use coffee) into this bowl and whisk carefully to combine fully
- Pour the mixture into your prepared Bundt pan and place in the oven for 40-45 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out with a few moist crumbs but no wet cake mixture
- Leave on a wire rack to cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then carefully remove the cake and place on the wire rack to cool completely
- When the cake is almost cooled, make your ganache by warming double cream in a saucepan over a low heat. Pour the warmed cream into a bowl of finely chopped Terry’s Chocolate Orange pieces, leave for 30 seconds to melt the chocolate slightly then stir to combine
- Place the ganache in the fridge to chill for around 30-40 minutes until thickened. You can leave it on your counter to cool but it will take a little longer. Be careful not to let it thicken too much as you want it to drip down the sides of your Bundt cake
- Pour your ganache over the top of your Bundt cake, allowing it to run down the sides, then decorate with the freshly grated zest of half an orange. Done!
How to prevent your chocolate orange bundt cake from sticking to the pan
I want to stress again how important it is to grease your Bundt pan properly as this will prevent sticking! To feel confident that my cake will release easily from my pan, I first grease it thoroughly with butter (making sure to get in all the little corners and edges of the pan!) and then dust the whole of the inside with cocoa powder.
This can get a little messy, as you need to tilt the pan to the side and tap it to help spread the cocoa powder around the sides. The mess is worth it though, I promise!
How to remove your cake from the Bundt pan
Allow your cake to cool slightly in the pan on a wire rack for fifteen minutes after removing it from the oven. After this time I take the cake tin off the wire rack, flip the wire rack over and place it on top of the Bundt tin. I then carefully flip the wire rack over, holding the cake tin steady so that the cake tin is now upside down and the wire rack is right-side up!
Then you should just need to carefully tap or wiggle the Bundt pan to release your cake onto the wire rack to finish cooling completely.
How to store a Bundt cake with chocolate glaze
The unglazed Bundt cake is best stored in an airtight container at room temperature until ready to glaze. However, once glazed it’s best kept in the fridge due to the cream content of the chocolate orange ganache. Therefore, I recommend glazing it soon before serving, as cake tends to dry out more quickly when kept in the fridge.
Can I freeze a bundt cake?
Absolutely – I would recommend freezing the Bundt unglazed if possible, because the ganache may not be at its best after freezing. The unglazed Bundt cake should be stored in an airtight container wrapped in a layer of film. It should keep well in the freezer for around 3-4 months.
Tips for making the best bundt cake
- Generously grease your Bundt pan with butter and dust it with cocoa powder to ensure your cake doesn’t stick to the pan once baked!
- Using room temperature eggs and sour cream with allow the ingredients to incorporate more smoothly into the cake batter
- I recommend using an oven thermometer when baking anything, to feel more confident that your cake isn’t over or under-baked. They aren’t expensive and I wouldn’t be without mine!
- Allow your ganache to firm up slightly before pouring it onto your cake. You can leave it to sit at room temperature or place it in the fridge. If placing in the fridge, give it a stir every 10-15 minutes as the outside will cool more quickly than the centre
- I definitely recommend adding a teaspoon of instant coffee to your hot water. This is a great little trick to help bring out the chocolate flavour of the cocoa powder, without making the cake taste of coffee!
In conclusion, this chocolate orange bundt cake is:
- Full of rich chocolate and zingy orange flavour
- Topped with an irresistible Terry’s Chocolate Orange ganache glaze
- Super moist and not overly sweet
- Genuinely quick and easy to make with just two mixing bowls and a whisk
- The perfect showstopper dessert for occasions like Christmas and Thanksgiving!
If you try this recipe I’d love to see! You can show me by tagging me @bakerjoblog or using #bakerjoblog!
other festive recipes to try:
Other chocolate recipes to try:
- Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Nutella Brownies
- Cocoa Dusted Chocolate Truffles
- White Chocolate Blondies
- White Chocolate Coconut Truffles
- Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chewy Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Peanut Butter Brownies
- Raspberry White Chocolate Muffins
- White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
- Chewy Homemade Brownies
- Strawberry White Chocolate Cookies
- Banoffee Brownies
- Chocolate Coconut Cake
Other cake recipes to try:
- Lemon Coconut Layer Cake
- Carrot Loaf Cake
- Lemon Drizzle Loaf Cake
- Hummingbird Muffins
- Lemon Coconut Muffins
- Gingerbread Latte Cake
- Blueberry Nut Muffins
- Carrot Cake Swiss Roll
- Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
- Lemon Raspberry Cream Cake with Meringue Kisses
My Christmas eBook!
An eBook of exclusive Christmas baked and no-bake recipes, with a few extra bonuses included too! Find out more by clicking the image above or clicking here! 😊
Chocolate Orange Bundt Cake
Equipment
- 20-24cm Bundt pan (I used a 20cm pan for this Bundt cake)
- Large mixing bowl
- Medium mixing bowl
- Whisk
- Small saucepan
Ingredients
- 230 g plain flour
- 70 g cocoa powder plus a little extra for coating the Bundt pan
- 1 tsp baking powder level
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda level
- 1/2 tsp salt level
- 170 g caster sugar
- 100 g light brown sugar
- 3 medium eggs room temperature
- 50 g unsalted butter melted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 200 ml sour cream room temperature
- 100 ml sunflower or vegetable oil
- 120 ml hot coffee 120ml water with 1 tsp instant coffee added
- 40 ml fresh orange juice about 1/2 an orange
- Zest of 3 oranges
Chocolate Orange Ganache
- 157 g Terry's Chocolate Orange
- 130 ml double cream
Decoration
- Zest of half an orange
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180°C/160°C fan.
- Generously grease your Bundt pan with butter, being sure to go into all the edges of your pan. Coat the inside of the pan with a layer of cocoa powder, holding the pan to the side and patting it to ensure all of the pan is coated. Once sufficiently coated, you can tip out any excess cocoa powder. This step is very important to prevent your cake from sticking to your pan once baked.
- To a large mixing bowl add the plain flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt, caster sugar and light brown sugar. Whisk to combine and set aside.
- To a medium mixing bowl add the eggs, melted butter, vanilla extract, sour cream, oil, orange juice and orange zest. Whisk to combine (it might look split but this is ok; it will come togther once the dry ingredients are added).
- Pour the wet ingredients into the large bowl of dry ingredients in two stages, whisking to full combine after each stage. The mixture will be quite thick.
- Add a teaspoon of instant coffee to 120ml of hot water. This is to enhance the chocolate flavour and won't make the cake taste like coffee. However, if you'd rather not use coffee, you can just use hot water.
- Pour the hot coffee/water into the mixing bowl and whisk carefully until fully combined.
- Pour the cake batter into your prepared Bundt pan. It will be easily pourable so will find its own level.
- Bake on the middle shelf of your preheated oven for around 40-45 minutes. If using a large pan, start checking the cake a little earlier as it may bake in less time. Check the cake is baked by inserting a cake skewer or cocktail stick into the tallest part of the cake; it should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs. If it comes out with wet mixture on it, place the pan back in the oven for a few more minutes before checking again.
- Place the Bundt pan on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, turn the cake out of the pan and place on the wire rack to cool completely. To do this I take the cake pan off the wire rack, flip the wire rack over and place it on top of the Bundt pan. I then carefully flip the wire rack over, holding the cake pan steady so that the pan is now upside down and the wire rack is right-side up! Then simply pat the pan and wiggle it a little until the cake releases onto the wire rack.
Chocolate Orange Ganache Glaze
- When the cake is almost completely cooled, make the ganache.
- Finely chop the whole Terry's Chocolate Orange and place into a small bowl.
- Place the double cream in a small saucepan and warm on a low heat until you start to see tiny bubbles forming at the edge of your pan. Do not let it boil, just simmer.
- Pour the warmed cream into the bowl of finely chopped Terry's Chocolate Orange and leave for around 30 seconds for it to start melting the chocolate. Stir the mixture together until fully combined and smooth with no bits of chocolate remaining.
- Leave the ganache to set and firm up slightly; you can either leave it on your counter or to speed things up a bit you can place it in the fridge for around 30-40 minutes. If placing in the fridge, I recommend stirring it every 10-15 minutes to make sure it's cooling evenly as the centre will take longer to cool.
- Place your Bundt cake onto your chosen serving plate or cake stand, and then slowly pour the ganache on top, allowing it to drip down the sides and middle of the cake.
- Unglazed cake can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container. Once glazed it is best kept in the fridge due to the cream content of the ganache. Best eaten within 4 days.
Notes
My Christmas eBook!
An eBook of exclusive Christmas baked and no-bake recipes, with a few extra bonuses included too! Find out more by clicking the image above or clicking here! 😊
Made to take to work for the Christmas jacobs join. My colleagues absolutely loved it commented on moist it was. I’ve decided to make it as an alternative to a Christmas pudding as no one likes it and was wondering about using a white terrys chocolate orange for the ganache as I spotted it at the supermarket giving it the look of a Christmas pud.
Author
Love this comment! I’ve not tried it with white Terry’s chocolate orange but that sounds like an amazing combination to me!
Hi, been wanting to try Chocolate & Orange Cake Combination. Do you think adding chopped Terry”s orange chocolate to the batter wiil be a good idea? Was wondering whether it would moisten the cake too much & be hard to remove from the pan.Have you tried it?
Author
Hi Oopa,
I haven’t tried this personally but I just wonder whether the chocolate chips might sink to the bottom of the pan, as the cake mixture isn’t very thick and more liquid! Let me know how it goes if you try it though 🙂
I’m not a lover of cake. Well, I wasn’t, until I tried this!
Author
So happy about this 😁
I got a bundt tin for xmas and tried your recipe put today for my son’s 10th birthday as he loves chocolate orange. It came out absolutely delicious, was a hit and will definitely be made again! Thank you!
Author
Hi Jess,
I’m so so happy you enjoyed it! Thank you so much for your feedback and happy birthday to your son 😊 x
Hello
I loved your recipe. But can you tell me the substitute for eggs.
Thanks
Author
Hi Binnie. Unfortunately, I’ve not tested this recipe with any egg substitutes so I can’t promise this substitution would work.