Who says you cannot have chocolate cake if you are gluten-free? So here’s a really easy recipe for a Gluten-Free Chocolate Orange Fudge Cake for you to try! Two moist layers of chocolate sponge filled with a chocolate and orange-flavoured buttercream! Perfect with a cup of tea!
This recipe is inspired by a recipe I saw on Becky Excell’s blog, but I added my own chocolate-orange twist and my own buttercream recipe below.
What will you need to make this cake gluten-free?
Making gluten-free cakes isn’t difficult – as long as you have the right ingredients 😊! Gluten-free flour is a given, and you may need to check that your baking powder is gluten-free, too. But there is one secret ingredient that you will need to make sure your cake stays together and doesn’t fall apart. And that ingredient is xantham gum. You can buy xantham gum at most supermarkets here in the UK and you only need a ¼ tsp of it per 200g flour for cakes.
All the wet ingredients for the cake are naturally gluten-free and the buttermilk makes the cake lovely and moist. The hot coffee can be replaced with just-boiled hot water if you don’t want to add coffee. However, it enhances the chocolate flavour of the cake and you cannot taste the coffee at all in the cake at the end.
For the buttercream no fancy ingredients are needed. Butter and icing sugar are creamed together, before whisking in some melted chocolate. I used a mix of Terry’s Chocolate Orange chocolate and dark chocolate, but you can use just dark chocolate if you want. If you don’t like the chocolate-orange combo in general, just omit the orange zest and flavouring in this recipe 😉.
More Gluten-Free Recipes
I am starting to make try and bake more gluten-free things recently, so make sure to check out some of the recipes below if you are looking for more inspiration!
- Gluten-free Tropical Fruit Summer Tart
- How to make Gluten-free Shortcrust Pastry
- Gluten-free Lemon and Coconut Slices
- Lemony Lemon Pavlova
My favourite Chocolatey Bakes
I absolutely LOVE chocolate. I suppose most people do. Chocolate is one of my favourite baking ingredients and I have so many amazing chocolate-featuring recipes on my blog I don’t even know where to start! But if you are looking for some inspiration (and some of these could definitely be made gluten-free simply by using gluten-free flour and some xantham gum) you should start with the list below!
- The ULTIMATE Chocolate Brownies with Pecan Nuts
- Chocolate Marble Bundt Cake
- Terry’s Chocolate Orange Cookies
- GBBO Signature Chocolate Cake (Bake Off Box #1)
- Peanut Butter & Chocolate Cake
- Homemade Chocolate Digestive Biscuits
- Hazelnut & Chocolate Babka (Bake Off Box #4)
- Very Best Chocolate Fudge Cake
- Easter Chocolate Cupcakes
Gluten-Free Chocolate Orange Cake
Recipe
Ingredients
FOR THE CAKE:
- 220g gluten-free plain flour
- 1 tsp gluten-free baking powder
- 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- ¼ tsp xantham gum
- 65g cocoa powder
- 330g caster sugar
- Zest of 1 orange
- 2 large eggs
- 120mL vegetable oil
- 240ml hot coffee or water
FOR THE CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM:
- 90g Terry’s chocolate orange milk chocolate bar (or substitute with milk or dark chocolate), broken into pieces
- 90g dark chocolate (for baking), broken into pieces
- 200g butter
- 200g icing sugar, sifted
- Zest of 1 orange
- 1 tsp orange extract (or orange juice)
TO FINISH:
- 3 tbsp apricot jam, warmed
- Assorted chocolate sprinkles (optional)
Method
- Lightly grease two 20cm sandwich tins and line the base with baking paper. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan.
- Weigh out the flour, baking powder, baking soda, xantham gum, cocoa powder and caster sugar in a bowl and mix until combined.
- In a second bowl, add the eggs, vegetable oil and orange zest and whisk on a high speed for a few minutes until light and fluffy. Carefully fold in the dry ingredients followed by the hot coffee or water until everything is combined (the batter is quite runny).
- Evenly divide the mixture between the two prepared tins, then bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes until the cakes feel springy to the touch and a skewer inserted comes out clean.
- In the meantime, carefully melt the chocolate for the buttercream in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan with gently simmering water until smooth. Then set aside to cool.
- Remove the cakes from the oven and place the cakes onto a wire rack to cool. Leave them in the tins until completely cooled, before turning them out and removing the baking paper from below.
- To make the buttercream, beat the butter in a bowl for 5-10 minutes until paler in colour and very light and airy. Then briefly beat in the orange zest and extract/juice.
- Next, add the icing sugar one to two tablespoons at a time and mix until the buttercream is completely smooth. Finally, mix in the cooled melted chocolate until it is fully combined.
- To assemble the cake, gently warm the apricot jam in the microwave or a small saucepan until smooth and easily spreadable. Use a sharp knife to level the top of the cakes if necessary, then place one of the cakes onto a cake board or serving platter.
- Brush about half of the warmed apricot jam over the cake, then spoon around 1/3 of the chocolate buttercream on top and spread out in an even layer. Place the second cake on top, bottom-side facing up to create a flat top, and brush the top and sides of the cake with the remaining apricot jam. Use the remaining buttercream to cover the top and sides of the cake, using a palette knife to create a smooth finish.
- Finally, you can decorate the cake with some optional chocolate sprinkles to finish. Place the cake in the fridge for at least 30-60 minutes to allow the buttercream to harden a little before serving.
