It’s citrus season in the Deep South. All along the highways of southern Louisiana and Mississippi, vendors are setting up stands selling local satsumas and oranges. I noticed them when D, E, and I were driving back from New Orleans at Thanksgiving, but I didn’t need to stop because we were already en route to my parents’ house, where we’re fortunate enough to get to pick our fill of fruit off their trees.
If this all seems familiar to you, it’s because we did the same thing last Thanksgiving and I took photos of it. Invariably we take more fruit than we can actually use, so I’m constantly on the lookout for good citrus recipes.
And I found a great one, in an article all about citrus in a local magazine. The recipe that caught my eye was a decadent-looking dessert containing one of my favorite flavor combinations, chocolate and orange. I love creamy dark chocolate spiked with tangy bits of orange, though it’s far from a fat-free food. But as I looked at the cake recipe, I thought, “I can do this–and make it fat-free and vegan!”
So I took the basic idea for the cake–to add orange juice and peel to a chocolate cake–and used it with my standard chocolate cake recipe, the one I pull out for birthdays and celebrations. In order to keep the cake low-fat, I needed to substitute something for the 3/4 cup of oil that the recipe calls for. Lately I’ve had excellent results using soy yogurt instead of oil, so that’s what I did.
The verdict? Best fat-free cake ever! While it’s not as light as a normal cake, the denseness contributes to the dark chocolate feel. It sparkles throughout with the taste of orange, and because it’s not a super-sweet cake, the icings provide just the right accent without being cloying. I served it to my daughter and her friend without mentioning the lack of fat (or the inclusion of whole wheat flour) and they both loved it. I wouldn’t hesitate to serve this cake to guests.
See those orange pieces in the first cake photo? I put them there just for decoration, but my daughter insisted on squeezing some over her cake. I didn’t try it, but she says it tastes great that way. She and her friend ate a whole orange along with their cake. Now that’s one way to get children to eat fruit!
Chocolate-Orange Cake
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (I used white whole wheat)
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup cocoa
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3/4 cup soy yogurt or other non-dairy yogurt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
- 2 tablespoons grated orange peel
Chocolate Icing:
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon cocoa
- 2 teaspoons orange juice
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (or 1/8 tsp. if double strength)
- extra orange juice as needed
Orange Icing:
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon orange juice
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (or 1/8 tsp. if double strength)
- extra orange juice as needed
Instructions
- Spray a Bundt cake pan with non-stick spray and dust it lightly with unsweetened cocoa. Preheat oven to 350F.
- Combine the flours, sugar, baking soda, salt, cocoa, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Add the yogurt, vanilla, balsamic vinegar, water, and orange juice. Beat by hand or with a mixer on low speed just until well-combined, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in the grated orange peel, and pour into the prepared pan.
- Bake for about 30-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then invert it onto a serving platter and cool completely.
- When the cake is cool, make the icings. For each icing, mix the ingredients in separate small bowls. One half teaspoon at a time, stir in enough extra orange juice to make a drizzling consistency.
- Drizzle the chocolate icing over the cake, wait a few minutes for it to set, and then drizzle the orange icing.
Notes
Nutritional info is approximate.
Janet
December 3, 2017 at 5:16 pmCould it be made in a 13x 9 pan
Jolyn
December 3, 2017 at 7:41 pmI just LOVE your post and recipes!!! You make me want to try harder. My 18 yr old vegan granddaughter said she didn’t want anything for Christmas except me to make food for her. She loves my vegan banana bread. SO…this cake is going with it to Olympia, WA for my college gal.
Take care and keep up the terrific love you have for this.
Jolyn
Jacqueline Bethea
December 3, 2017 at 8:31 pmhas anyone tried making this with splenda or date sugar? thanks
Shirlza
April 24, 2021 at 7:25 pmHi, I replaced the sugar with date paste, replaced the yogurt with avocado, and baked for 50 minutes and it turned out more like a fudgy moist chocolate cake and was divine 🙂
LJ
December 22, 2021 at 6:57 amGreat suggestions, I might try this one after all! Thanks.
debbie
December 24, 2019 at 8:55 pmCAME OUT PERFECT! love this recipe, thank you!
Nesi
July 30, 2020 at 5:05 pmWhat if I don’t have yogurt can I just use tofu?
Susan Voisin
December 5, 2020 at 1:54 pmBlended silken tofu might work.
Lee
April 12, 2021 at 11:02 pmWhat is the purpose of the balsamic?
Susan Voisin
April 13, 2021 at 1:06 amIt enhances the chocolate flavor and also helps with leavening.
SSR
April 24, 2021 at 9:06 pmI am excited to make this cake for my husband’s birthday this week. I wanted to ask if Balsamic vinegar can be replaced by Apple Cider Vinegar.
Thank you!
Susan Voisin
April 24, 2021 at 10:04 pmYes, that’ll work fine. Hope he has a happy birthday!
Kristen
July 24, 2021 at 3:56 pmI can’t believe I haven’t reviewed this cake yet! I’ve been making it for ten years (yes, ten) and it’s my favorite cake. I’ve brought it to work potlucks, dinner parties, family dinners, and sometimes alllllllll for myself. 😉 I normally never choose a chocolate-orange combination for anything, but this cake is phenomenal. I don’t see plain soy yogurt too often, so I usually use plain almond or cashew yogurt instead. Otherwise I always follow the recipe as written and am never disappointed. This recipe alone is reason enough to buy and store a Bundt pan.
Rosa Beagle
October 6, 2021 at 10:15 amThis is so wonderful! My mother can’t eat much fat, so this has been perfect for her. It tastes like it has fat and eggs in it! Thank you so much for all the amazing recipes.
Melanie
December 5, 2021 at 3:20 pmWe eat WFPB and so don’t use unbleached AP Flour. Could I substitute whole wheat pastry flour for the unbleached flour ? Would really love to try this recipe!
Scott
April 18, 2022 at 2:28 pmI made this yesterday for Easter, and it was AMAZING! I’m not even much of a fan of chocolate cake, and I had two (large) pieces—and I’ll admit I’m having a slice for brunch this morning. It’s so rich and indulgent, I had to repeatedly tell my health-conscious daughter that it was fat-free and relatively healthy. We’ll definitely be making this again (and again). Thanks, Susan!