The cocoa and orange juice cake is a delicious dessert so soft and fragrant that you will fall in love with it. It’s perfect to start the day well, accompany the kids’ snack, and the coffee break. This delight can also be filled with a delicate milk or vanilla cream, becoming a spectacular cake for special occasions. Additionally, we can make muffins, cupcakes, or pound cake. The cocoa and orange juice cake gets even better as the days go by. I discovered this wonderful recipe a long time ago on the blog “Cosi cucino io.” I personalized the original recipe to suit our tastes and the sizes of my pans.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 10-12 slices
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter, and Spring
Ingredients
- 7 oz butter (soft)
- 6.5 oz sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 packet baking powder
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- to taste orange zest
- 1 packet vanillin
- 1 pinch fine salt
Tools
- Baking Pan 10-11 inches
Preparation
To achieve an excellent result with our cocoa and orange juice cake, use ingredients at room temperature.
1) Take out the milk, eggs, and butter from the fridge and let them soften at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
2) Grate the orange zest and squeeze its juice.
3) Using electric beaters, beat the butter and sugar together until creamy.
4) Add the 3 whole eggs and incorporate them into the butter and sugar mixture with the beaters.
5) Preheat the oven to 350/355°F.
6) Sift together the flour, cocoa, and baking powder and add them to the creamy mixture. Also add the vanillin, salt, milk, grated zest, and orange juice.
7) Mix just long enough to get a smooth and homogeneous batter. Do not overwork cake batters, as this may heat them and activate the gluten, ruining the final result. As soon as the ingredients are perfectly combined, stop the beaters.
8) Line the cake pan with parchment paper (a circular pan of 10 or 11 inches maximum) and pour in the batter. Level it with the back of a spoon and bake the cake in the middle rack for about 30/35 minutes.
To check if the cake is ready, insert a skewer stick which should come out perfectly dry and clean. Immediately remove the cocoa and orange juice cake from the oven. Once cold, you can slice the cocoa and orange juice cake or split it in half to fill it (in this case, I recommend letting it rest for at least a day), glaze it, or simply dust it with powdered sugar.
