Here’s why you need this Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Orange Cake in your life. It’s:
- rich and decadent
- moist and fluffy
- fruity and citrusy!
The base for this recipe is my Chocolate Sponge Layer Cake – it’s easy to make, requires just one bowl and simple ingredients, and is versatile too. It also happens to be moist and fluffy, and undetectably vegan, gluten-free + refined sugar free!
The other part of this cake is the Sweet Potato Chocolate Buttercream – it’s luxuriously creamy, has a gorgeous velvety texture and tastes so decadent you won’t believe it’s secretly healthy. It may sound a little strange to use sweet potatoes to make frosting, but I promise you won’t be able to taste them at all – in fact, it’s fun to get people to try to guess what it’s made of!
This buttercream, paired with the chocolate sponge, makes for a seriously decadent chocolate cake that’s bound to impress even the hardcore chocolate lovers. But what really takes this cake to the next level is the zingy orange flavour.
The orange flavour comes from marmalade (or orange spread), and makes it taste wonderfully sweet, tangy and fragrant, and adds a deliciously fruity flavour. This, combined with the chocolate, makes the cake taste like a Jaffa Cake or a Terry’s Chocolate Orange! It also tastes pretty festive, so it’s great for the upcoming months, though you can enjoy it all year round, of course.
If you’d like to keep this cake refined sugar free, make sure to look out for a naturally sweetened marmalade.
Hope you’ll love this Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Orange Cake! For more citrus desserts, check out my:
- Lemon Blueberry Cake
- Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
- Orange Cake
- Lemon Drizzle Cake
- White Chocolate Lemon Cake
If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.
Helpful tools to make this Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Orange Cake:
For the cake:
glass mixing bowl
measuring jug
18 cm / 7 inch sandwich baking tin
baking paper
cooling rack
For the buttercream:
food processor
blender
hand-held stick blender
Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Orange Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 60 g (1/4 cup) coconut oil (or sub olive or vegetable oil)
- 230 ml (1 cup) unsweetened almond milk (or any other plant-based milk)
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
- 1 teaspoon orange extract or zest of 1 orange
- 8 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- 150 g (1 1/4 cup) ground almonds* (almond meal)
- 150 g (1 1/4 cup) gluten-free flour blend (or sub plain flour if not gluten-free)
- 2 heaped teaspoons baking power (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
- 1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
For the buttercream:
- 2 medium-sized sweet potatoes (about 400g/14oz in total)
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup to taste (or sub any other sweetener)
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
To frost and decorate:
- 4 tablespoons marmalade/orange spread (refined sugar free if necessary)
- Fresh orange slices
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit)
- Place the coconut oil in a large bowl and melt over a saucepan of boiling water or in the microwave (skip this step if using any other oil)
- Once melted, add the milk to the same bowl along with the vinegar, orange extract, maple syrup, vanilla, salt and ground almonds
- Sift in the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and cocoa powder
- Mix well, adding a tiny splash more milk if it’s looking too dry
- Divide mixture between two greased baking tins lined with baking paper (I used two 7inch/18cm baking tins)
- Bake in oven for around 15 minutes until risen slightly and an inserted skewer comes out clean
- Once out the oven, transfer cakes from baking tins onto a wired rack to leave them to cool completely before applying the frosting
For the buttercream:
- Cook sweet potatoes by boiling, steaming or roasting them until very soft and tender
- Discard any skins, and add to a food processor or blender (or hand-held blender) along with all other ingredients
- Whizz until completely smooth
- Taste and adjust ingredients as necessary – add more maple syrup for sweetness, more salt for saltiness, more cocoa powder for chocolate flavour etc
- Leave to cool before using to frost the cake
To frost and decorate the cake:
- Place one half of the cake onto a plate and spread the marmalade on top
- Then spread just less than half of the buttercream onto it
- Place the other half of the cake on top of that
- Use rest of the buttercream to spread on top and around sides of cake
- Decorate with fresh orange slices, or whatever else you fancy!
- Best when fresh, but keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days
Notes
almond flourDisclosure: This posts contains affiliate links to Amazon. If you click through and purchase any of the products, a small percentage will come to me, with no extra cost to you! This income will go towards the running of this blog – thank you.
Cherry
Right up my alley, chocolatey and indulgent, yum!
Rhian Williams
Aw thank you so much Cherry!
Janet Paula
I made this cake without the buttercream and without decorating. Can it be left out of the fridge or do you still have to keep it in the refrigerator? Thank you.
Rhian Williams
It can be left out I think, but would recommend keeping in the fridge if it’s hot where you live!
Anonymous
I love the frosting!
Rhian Williams
Thank you!
Lila Ukabhai
Hi Can I use a gluten-free self raising flour and exclude the BP and Bicarb?
Rhian Williams
Yes that should be ok!
EDVALDO BARROSO COSTA
I will try. But just seeing the photos already shows that it’s divine “COM ÁGUA NA BOCA”
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much!
Schez
Hi Rhian, this is just what my daughter ordered for her party! I need it to cater for 40 people. I have a sheet tray 23cm x 33cm. Would you be able to advise on quantities and baking time? Thank you!
Rhian Williams
For 40 people, I would multiply the quantities by 5. For baking time it will depend on how thick the cake becomes once you’ve put it in your sheet tray. You might need to do it in two batches. I would just bake until an inserted skewer comes out clean, maybe bake for 15 minutes and then check every 5 minutes after that. Hope that helps. Would love to hear how you get on!
Rudolph Wadell
This is a lovely food recipe, thank you for sharing it with us. Have a fantastic day!
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much!
Chris Stanley
This is a fantastic food recipe, thank you for the brilliant write up.
Rhian Williams
Thank you!
Elodie
Thank you, I made it today and it was a big hit with my whole family, including with my husband who doesn’t like dessert! The sweet potatoes frosting is a genius idea and so smooth, no one guessed the secret ingredient except my daughter who pealed the sweet potatoes for me 🙂 I made my own marmelade using oranges and honey to go with it, and it was a good addition to this cake. I always love the combination orange/ chocolate and finding a gluten free vegan recipe with ingredients that are not impossible to find was such a treat! Thank you!!!
Rhian Williams
Hi, thank you so much for your kind words! I’m so glad you liked the cake and the frosting. Your homemade marmalade sounds amazing! Thanks again!
Christine
Rhian, Your cake looks amazing, I have recently moved to a gluten-free diet. I have been exploring to see different kinds of cake I can still eat.
I will be making this.
Thank You.
Rhian Williams
Amazing, thank you so much! Hope you’ll love it!
Patty Bremer
I love your site design and your beautiful images. I am a foodie and enjoy cooking and baking on weekends when time allows me to bake.
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much!
Sue
Hi Rhian can you freeze this chocolate and orange cake successfully?
Rhian Williams
Hi! Yes it should work, but I haven’t tested it out so can’t 100% guarantee the results. Would love to hear how you get on if you do try freezing this though. Thank you!
Jan
We need it to be nut-free, what would you suggest instead of the almond meal?
Rhian Williams
Ground sunflower seeds, or use a fifth of the amount coconut flour. Hope that helps!