Chocolate Orange Drip Cake

Chocolate orange cake with chocolate orange buttercream, an orange coloured white chocolate drip and Terry's Chocolate Orange pieces

Course Dessert

Cuisine British

Keyword Cake

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 35

Decorating time 45

Total Time 2 20

Servings +

Calories 1073kcal

Author thebakingexplorer

Ingredients

For the chocolate sponge

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
½ tsp Baking powder

For the orange sponge

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

For the buttercream

550 g Butter softened, unsalted
960 g Icing sugar
140 g Cocoa powder
3 ½ tsp Orange extract
2-3 tbsp Milk

For the chocolate drip

140 g White chocolate
60 g Double cream
Red food colouring
Yellow food colouring

For decoration

16 pieces of Terry's Chocolate Orange

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Pre-heat your oven to 160C Fan/350F/Gas Mark 4, and grease and line three 8" cake tins (that are at least 2" deep)
You can make both sponges at the same time if you have three tins, if you only have two tins, make one of them first then make the other afterwards. Do not make both and leave the batter on the side as it will affect the final results

For the chocolate sponge

Mix the baking spread and caster sugar together for around 3 minutes until fluffy, ideally using an electric mixer
Add the eggs, orange extract and milk, and whisk until fully incorporated
Add the self raising flour, cocoa powder and baking powder and whisk or fold in gently, only until you can't see any flour anymore
Divide the mixture between the two tins, use scales for accuracy
Bake them for 35 minutes, check they are done by inserting a skewer or cocktail stick in the middle and if it comes out clean the cake is done, then remove from the tins and leave them to cool on a cooling rack

For the orange sponge

Mix the baking spread and caster sugar together for around 3 minutes until fluffy, ideally using an electric mixer
Add the eggs and orange extract, and whisk until fully incorporated
Add the self raising flour and orange food colouring and whisk or fold in gently, only until you can't see any flour anymore
Pour the mixture into the tin
Bake them for 35 minutes, check it is done by inserting a thin skewer or cocktail stick in the middle and if it comes out clean the cake is done, then remove from the tin and leave to cool on a cooling rack
To make the buttercream mix the butter, cocoa powder and icing sugar together. You may need to add the icing sugar and cocoa powder in stages, depending on how large your mixer bowl is. Once it starts to come together add the orange extract and milk and mix until smooth. For best results use an electric mixer with the paddle attachment. If the buttercream is too stiff, you can add a little more milk
To stack and decorate the cake, level off each sponge with a cake leveller or knife if necessary, so they are all an even height. Place the bottom chocolate sponge on a decorating turn table with a cake board underneath and spread a layer of buttercream over the top
Add the orange coloured sponge on top and again spread buttercream a layer of over it
Add the final chocolate sponge on top of that, then cover the whole cake with a base layer of buttercream (a crumb coat). Put it in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up
Coat the cake with a second and thicker layer of buttercream and smooth it out as best you can. Then put it back in the fridge for 30 minutes to 1 hour to set
To make the white chocolate ganache drip, put the white chocolate and double cream into a bowl and microwave for 20 seconds, then stir. Continue microwaving in 10 second blasts, stirring between each blast, until melted and smooth
Add the red and yellow food colouring until a bright orange shade is achieved
Put the chocolate drip mixture into a piping bag and snip a small section off the end, or put into a squeezy bottle
Pipe blobs of ganache around the edge of the cake, allowing the chocolate to drip down the sides in varying amounts
Once the drips are complete you can cover the whole top of the cake with the ganache if you like. Pipe the remaining ganache all over the top of the cake and use a palette knife to smooth it out. Put the cake in the fridge for 30 minutes for the ganache to set
Put the remaining buttercream into a piping bag with your chosen nozzle and pipe swirls all around the edge of the cake
Decorate with the Terry's Chocolate Orange pieces if using
Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in a cool place for 2-3 days

Video

Notes

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.

Nutrition