Chocolate Orange Drip Cake

Name: Chocolate Orange Drip Cake
Prep time: 60 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 140 min
Ingredients: 350 g Butter or baking spread (softened, unsalted (I used Stork)); 350 g Caster sugar; 6 Eggs (large); 2 tsp Orange extract; 2 tbsp Milk; 300 g Self raising flour; 50 g Cocoa powder; 1/2 tsp Baking powder; 175 g Butter or baking spread (softened, unsalted (I used Stork)); 175 g Caster sugar; 3 Eggs (large); 1 tsp Orange extract; 175 g Self raising flour; Orange food colouring; 550 g Butter (softened, unsalted); 960 g Icing sugar; 140 g Cocoa powder; 3 1/2 tsp Orange extract; 2-3 tbsp Milk; 140 g White chocolate; 60 g Double cream; Red food colouring; Yellow food colouring; 16 pieces of Terry's Chocolate Orange

01/05/2020 by thebakingexplorer 39 Comments

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Chocolate orange is without a doubt one of the most popular flavours, and it's the flavour I have the most recipes for on my blog! This Chocolate Orange Drip Cake is an absolute beauty of a cake to add to my chocolate orange recipe collection. I'm so happy with how it turned out, seriously every time I look at it, it makes me smile! It's an orange sponge - both in colour and flavour - sandwiched between two chocolate orange sponges, covered in chocolate orange buttercream and decorated with a bright orange white chocolate drip, more buttercream and chocolate orange pieces. It would make such a stunning showstopper for a birthday or celebration!

Ingredient Tips & Equipment Information

Make sure all your ingredients (particularly the eggs and butter) are at room temperature before you start baking.
I prefer to use a baking spread like Stork for the cake, and unsalted butter for the buttercream as I find they provide the best results.
For the best results, use good quality professional food colourings. My favourite brands are Pro Gel and Sugarflair. You can buy these easily online. Other well known brands are Colour Mill and Americolor.
For best flavour, use a good quality orange extract - not an essence. If you can't get it, you could use the zest of 3 oranges in the batter for the sponge. Orange juice isn't the best choice for the buttercream because the flavour of it is not strong enough.
For all the tips and tricks on how to make a drip cake, including a how to video, check out my Ultimate Drip Cake How To Guide!
Although I provide cup measurements, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients out using digital kitchen scales*. It is the most accurate way to measure ingredients and will ensure the best results. Digital scales are very low cost and can be purchased for around £12 ($16.50) .
For teaspoon (tsp) and tablespoon (tbsp) measurements, please use measuring spoons* and not the type of spoons you eat with. Again this will ensure accuracy and provide the best results.

For the full recipe with measurements, head to the recipe card at the end of this post.

How to make Chocolate Orange Drip Cake

If you have enough cake tins, you can make both the chocolate and the orange sponges at the same time, in separate bowls mix the butter and caster sugar together until fluffy.

Then add the eggs, milk and orange extract and mix well. For the chocolate batter, whisk in self raising flour, baking powder and cocoa powder. For the orange batter, whisk in self raising flour and orange food colouring.

Divide the mixture into the tins and bake for 35 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Then leave them to cool fully. Once the cakes are cool, level them off with a knife. To make the buttercream, mix together butter, icing sugar, cocoa powder, milk and orange extract until smooth.

For the full recipe with measurements, head to the recipe card at the end of this post.

Stack up the sponges, smoothing the buttercream between each layer. Give the cake a crumb coat, then chill it for 30 minutes, then give it a final buttercream layer.

Next make a white chocolate ganache and colour it bright orange with food colouring, then drip it around the cake. Decorate with buttercream and Terry's Chocolate Orange pieces.

For the full recipe with measurements, head to the recipe card at the end of this post.

What is the best food colouring to use?

To get bright shades that remains strong after the cake is baked, you need to use professional grade gel food colouring. You can buy these easily from many online shops, including Amazon. I used the brand Pro Gel for this recipe, other good brands include Sugarflair, Colour Mill and Americolor. For the white chocolate ganache, I tried using orange food colouring but it kept going red (because white chocolate is actually yellowish!) so instead I used a mix of red and yellow food colouring, and it created the perfect bright orange shade!

How do you get the perfect chocolate drip?

It’s really important to have a good base for the chocolate drip, so the cake needs a ‘crumb coat’ base layer of buttercream, then a thicker top layer of buttercream. Try and get it as smooth as you can so the chocolate drip has a nice even surface to drip down. Each layer of buttercream needs to firm up in the fridge and be chilled when you apply the chocolate drip. Be frugal with the drip amounts at first and see how far it drips, then you can reduce or increase the amount of chocolate you release from the piping bag or squeeze bottle as you move around the cake. For all the information, including a tutorial video and step by step instructions with photos, check out my Ultimate Drip Cake How To Guide!

How long does the cake last for and can you freeze it?

The cake will keep in an airtight container for 3 days in a cool place. You can freeze the sponges. Once the sponges are fully cool, wrap them well with cling film or put them in an airtight container with some baking paper between them. You can also freeze the buttercream on it’s own in a tub. If you want to decorate and then freeze the cake without damaging the decoration, freeze it either in an airtight container or let it freeze solid on a cake board or plate, then wrap in cling film. Remove the cling film when you take it out to defrost it, if you don’t it could damage the buttercream as it defrosts and softens. You can also freeze slices of the cake, again well wrapped in cling film or in airtight containers.

Can you make the cake with plain/all purpose flour?

Self raising flour, which is very commonly used in the UK where I am based, already contains a raising agent and a little salt too. Therefore if you want to swap it for plain or all purpose flour, you will need to add some baking powder and also a little salt if you like. Some people like to add salt to cake recipes and some don't, so I'll leave that up to you as it won't affect the bake. The general advice is to add 2 teaspoons baking powder (a measuring teaspoon, not the kind you stir your coffee with) per every 200g plain or all purpose flour. Please note, I have not tested this recipe using plain or all purpose flour.

Will chilling the cake in the fridge dry it out?

No, the first chill to set the crumb coat is only for 30 minutes. Then the second chill, which again is only 30 minutes, the cake is covered in a thick layer of buttercream which seals the sponge inside. I've never experienced dry cakes from using this method. The most common cause of dry cakes is actually over baking your cakes.

Can this recipe be made gluten or dairy free?

Yes! For gluten free you can replace the self raising flour with a gluten free self raising flour blend. If you only have a gluten free plain flour blend, you will need to add additional baking powder. The general advice is to add 2 tsp baking powder per 200g flour, so for this recipe you'd need to add 5 ¼ teaspoons baking powder. You may also like to add 2 tsp xantham gum for better texture. For a dairy free version, use a dairy free baking spread and dairy free milk for the cake and buttercream. Please check the labels of everything you use if you are serving this cake to someone with an allergy or intolerance.

Can this cake be made in different size cake tins?

Yes! If you would like to make this cake in different size tins, please check my Conversion Guide to find out how to adjust the cake recipe.

More tips for making the Chocolate Orange Drip Cake:

I decorated the cake with a mixture of milk and dark Terry's Chocolate Orange pieces. You can use one or both, or any other orange chocolate you prefer!
If you only have two 8" tins, then make the batter for the chocolate sponge and bake it, then make the batter for the orange sponge and bake that. Do not make a batter and leave it on the side until you can bake it as it will affect the final sponge.

Troubleshooting

If you have any questions about this recipe, or if something went wrong and you need help, please use the comment form below and I will get back to you. You can also get in touch with me on my Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. I'd love to hear from you!

Recommended equipment & ingredients*

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