Name: Chocolate Orange Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Ingredients: 1 Box Devil's Food Cake Mix; 2 Eggs; 3/4 Cup Milk; 1/2 Cup Butter ((melted)); 2 tbsp Orange Extract; 1/2 Cup Butter ((softened)); 8 Oz Cream Cheese ((softened)); 5 Cups Powdered Sugar; 1/2 tsp Orange Extract; 1 1/2 Cups Cocoa ((sifted)); 1/3 Cup Milk as needed for consistency

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Sometimes, easy can be delicious! This Chocolate Orange Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting is a wonderful combination of flavors!

Orange Chocolate Cake Slice with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

My husband loves the combination of chocolate and orange. It’s not a combo that I’d ever really given any thought to until I listened to him rave about it. At his urging I tried a taste of dark chocolate and orange candy a few years ago. It was surprisingly not bad. I didn’t fall in love with it, but I was no longer skeptical that these two flavors do go pretty well together.

For his birthday, I decided to make an orange chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting. If you don’t like to use boxed cake mixes, then this isn’t for you. I’m not at all against using a mix. Certain cakes are not nearly the same from a mix as from scratch, but others can be great. So, for this cake, I used a Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix and it was great.

slice of chocolate orange cake on white plate

I was worried that adding orange zest and orange juice called for in most recipes for orange chocolate cakes might interfere with the consistency of the boxed mix batter, so I decided to simply use orange extract. After mixing the batter, I added 1 tablespoon of extract to the mix and blended it well. The cake came out just right.

Ingredients for Chocolate Orange Cake

Dark Chocolate Cake Mix
Eggs
Butter
Milk
Orange Extract

While using a boxed mix for the cake is something I’ll frequently do, I very much prefer to make my own frosting. To me, canned frosting cannot match the taste of made from scratch cream cheese frosting.

When combined with the cake, the frosting gave the perfect amount of orange flavor. My husband was very happy with it and that was the goal!

I like to use a generous amount of frosting on cakes. Who doesn’t?

If you haven’t tried this flavor combo, I encourage to do so. The orange is not overpowering and the rich chocolate flavors come through.

Chocolate Orange Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

A delicious blend of chocolate and orange flavors in a moist cake with frosting.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword Chocolate Orange Cake

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Cool 28 minutes

Servings 20 servings

Author Beverly

Ingredients

1 Box Devil's Food Cake Mix
2 Eggs
3/4 Cup Milk
1/2 Cup Butter (melted)
2 tbsp Orange Extract

Frosting

1/2 Cup Butter (softened)
8 Oz Cream Cheese (softened)
5 Cups Powdered Sugar
1/2 tsp Orange Extract
1 1/2 Cups Cocoa (sifted)
1/3 Cup Milk as needed for consistency

Instructions

Pre heat over to 350
Prepare two 9" cake pans with non-stick spray.
Combine cake mix, eggs, milk, melted butter in mixing bowl. melted chocolate, and vanilla extract in large mixing bowl.
Beat on low for 30 seconds.
Add cocoa and extract. Increase speed to medium and continue beating for 2 minutes.
Spoon batter evenly into the two cake pans.
Bake for 25 minutes. Check for doneness with a toothpick. If toothpick doesn't come out cleanly, continue baking for 3 minutes. Check again.
Allow cake to cool for 5-10 minutes in pans.
Remove cake from pans onto a wire rack. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

For Cream Cheese Frosting

Cream butter and cream cheese with electric mixer.
Sift cocoa powder and add to mixture. Beat until it's incorporated.
Alternately add powdered sugar and milk until desired consistency is reached, beating between each addition. Add orange extract and mix to blend.
Generously frost the bottom layer of cake. Place second layer on top and frost with remaining frosting.

My husband has been asking for this again since his birthday. That’s always my way of knowing for sure if a new recipe is a hit!

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