Rich, moist, and bursting with bright citrus flavor, these Chocolate & Orange Mini Loaf Cakes have just about everything you could ask for in a chocolate cake: soft, light crumb, plenty of chocolate flavor, and a little something extra to amp up the chocolate while also balancing its bittersweet notes.
It’s no secret that I love chocolate and orange. Just last winter I posted this recipe for Double Chocolate and Orange Cookies. We’re back on a similar path this year except instead of cookies, we have miniature loaf cakes. Dark chocolate makes up the base of this cake–dark Dutch process cocoa powder is mixed with some strong, fresh-brewed coffee to amplify the chocolate flavor, and melted dark chocolate is folded into the batter for extra richness and moistness. Milk chocolate pieces are scattered throughout for an extra pop of sweetness, and orange zest makes an appearance both in the cake and the frosting for an extra citrusy punch.
I’ve been avoiding chocolate cake for a long while now. There’s always a million ways to go wrong. Even in following recipes for cakes by professional, noted pastry chefs, I’ve managed to end up with a dry, flavorless sponge. It’s easy to end up with a dense, dry, somewhat unexciting cake.
And in coming up with this recipe, I realized that I needed to change about 90% of the ingredients that I started with. The original cake was okay, but it was unexciting. (I’d also over-baked it by a couple of minutes trying to figure out the timing on the first batch. Whoops). It wasn’t terrible, especially if enjoyed with the orange buttercream, but it also wasn’t a recipe worth sharing quite yet.
So I went back to try and figure out how we could amp up the moistness and the chocolate flavor. I increased the oil, swapped out the milk for some sour cream (and more of it), more than doubled the chocolate and the cocoa powder, added more coffee, and switched out granulated sugar for light brown sugar. I also added a bit more orange zest to increase the bright, citrusy flavor of the cake itself so that you could get the orange even without the buttercream on top. I think the only components of this cake that remained unchanged were the eggs, salt, and extracts. Everything else got tweaked and it was totally worth it. The cake came out soft and moist and it can actually be enjoyed without the buttercream.
I set out to recreate a cake that I had eaten while in Glasgow. My friend, (Ade of Five Tree Christmas, give her a listen if you haven’t already), and I were on our way to Edinburgh for a day trip. Given that I’m a coffee addict, I stopped in to Gordon Coffee when we got to Glasgow Central in need of a caffeine fix. While there, I couldn’t resist the chocolate and orange mini loaf cakes in the pastry case (courtesy of Sweet Nothings Glasgow, vegan–unlike these), and grabbed one for a quick breakfast on the train (eating out of a paper bag with no napkins and no fork is not the easiest, but I didn’t care). To my surprise, the cake was moist and tender and absolutely delicious. I made note that I’d have to finally give chocolate cake a go so that I could recreate the treat at home.
And now, I’m majorly hooked because these are better than I could have imagined them. Much like Mary Poppins, these are ‘practically perfect in every way.’
| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time | 20-23 minutes |
| Servings |
mini loaf cakes
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- 250 grams self-rising flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp cardamom
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 oranges zest only
- 125 mL vegetable oil
- 175 mL fresh brewed coffee
- 100 grams dutch-process cocoa powder
- 150 grams dark chocolate melted and cooled (60%-72%)
- 250 grams light brown sugar
- 4 eggs large, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp orange extract
- 150 mL sour cream
- 100 grams milk chocolate chips or chopped
- 1/2 cup salted butter softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 orange zest only
- 1/2 orange juice only
- 1/2 tsp orange extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1-2 Tbsp milk
Ingredients
Chocolate Orange Cakes
Orange Buttercream
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- Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Grease/spray a mini loaf pan and set aside.
- Sift the self-rising flour, salt, cardamom, baking powder, and baking soda into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the orange zest. Using the paddle attachment. Mix the dry ingredients on low until blended.
- Add the vegetable oil and mix until the dry ingredients are fully coated.
- In a small bowl or a large measuring cup, whisk/stir together the fresh brewed coffee and the cocoa powder until combined. You should be left with a thick liquid. Add the coffee and cocoa powder mix to the bowl of the mixer along with the melted dark chocolate and beat at a low to medium speed. Add the light brown sugar and beat on medium-high until combined.
- In a liquid measuring cup, whisk together the four eggs, vanilla extract, and orange extract. Add a little of the eggs and a little of the sour cream to the mixing bowl. Beat until combined. Continue to add the eggs and sour cream a little at a time until the batter is completely combined, scraping down the sides as needed. Add in the milk chocolate chips or chopped milk chocolate and mix on low until evenly distributed throughout the batter.
- Fill each cavity of the mini loaf pan about 3/4 of the way full--I usually use 2 large ice cream scoops or a 2 large spoonfuls. Once filled, gently tap the baking pan on the counter to get rid of any air bubbles.
- Bake on the center rack for 20-23 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean or with just a few dry crumbs. Allow to cool in the pan about 3-5 minutes and then gently tip the cakes out of the pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- In the bowl or a stand mixer, or in a large bowl if using a hand mixer, cream the butter on high until smooth and fluffy--about 3-5 minutes. Add 1 cup of powdered sugar and mix on low until the sugar begins to combine with the butter, then turn the mixer up to high. The buttercream might be a bit dry and crumbly at this point. Add in the orange zest and the juice of half an orange and beat on high until fully combined and the frosting begins to come together. Slowly add in the remaining two cups of powdered sugar, one at a time, starting on low and increasing the speed as the powdered sugar begins to mix in to the buttercream. Add in the salt. Beat on high about 3-5 minutes until light and fluffy. If your buttercream is a bit stiff, add in 1-2 Tbsp of milk, one at a time, until you have a smooth and pipeable consistency.
- Pipe the buttercream over the cooled cakes and serve or store in an airtight container.