Decadent Chocolate Orange Layer Cake

This cake is both simple and decadent! The photos in this blog post were taken with just the cake and the ganache, no filling. As I was half way through making this, I realized I did not have enough coconut milk to make the filling and the ganache. YES, I KNOW! Amateur hour over here, not having all the ingredients I need but I digress. Feel free to skip the filling and ganache in this post and use my brownie ganache recipe or my instant pot icing recipe, both work very well with this cake and are a bit more whole foods friendly!

Ingredients:

2 cup oat flour

½ cup plus 2 tbsp cacao powder (or cocoa), sifted to get rid of the clumps

4 tbsp ground flax seed

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp nutmeg

pinch of cloves

2 tsp dandy blend or instant coffee (optional)

2 cups coconut sugar

½ cup melted coconut oil or nut butter of choice, I used almond butter

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 cup plant milk of choice, unsweetened (preferably room temperature)

½ cup orange juice, about 1 med-large orange juiced

1 tsp orange zest, about half of a med-large orange

1 tbsp vanilla extract

Filling

1 ½ cup canned coconut cream

1 ¼ cup dark chocolate or chocolate chips

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 tsp orange zest

Ganache

16-ounce dark chocolate chopped, or chocolate chips

1 can of full fat coconut cream or milk

½ tsp vanilla

½ tsp dandy blend or instant coffee (optional)

Pinch of salt

Procedure:

For the Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease (or line with parchment paper) 2 round cake pans and set aside.

In a large bowl whisk the oat flour, sifted cacao powder, ground flax, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves, set aside.

I sift just the cacao powder but you could also sift the flour, cacao, baking soda and powder, and the spices into the large bowl. I will assure there are no lumps whatsoever in you finished product.

In a measuring cup or glass, stir together the plant milk and the vinegar. Let it sit for about 5 minutes to thicken. This works best when you have room temperature or slightly warm milk. However, if you are in a rush and use cold milk that is also alright. As you blend the wet ingredients they will get slightly warm which will help them incorporate into the finished batter for a more uniform cake.

The higher fat content you have in your plant milk the thicker it will get once the vinegar coagulates it. Here I used homemade cashew milk, the ratio of cashews to water was 1:5 so its only moderately thickened by the vinegar.

To a blender, add the coconut sugar, milk and vinegar mixture, dandy blend (if using), nut butter or coconut oil, orange juice, orange zest, and vanilla. Blend until fully incorporated and uniform, this should take about one minute. The mixture may also become slightly warm, that’s a good thing.

Since I add orange zest to this cake, I prefer to juice the orange for the juice portion of this recipe. You can also add store bought OJ if you find it more convenient.

Pour the wet mix into the dry mix and whisk to fully combine, making sure you dissolve all the little flour pockets. Using a rubber spatula, transfer the batter to prepared baking pans and bake in preheated oven on the middle rack for 25-30 minutes, depending on your oven. My last batch took about 26 minutes. The cakes should feel firm to the touch and spring back when you press them in the center.

If you do not have round cake pans feel free to use whatever pans you like. This recipe also works very well in a 9 by 16 rectangular pan, it has enough space to let the batter spread out, not overflow, and most importantly, bake evenly!

Remove the cakes from the oven and let them sit in their pans for 5-7 minutes. Remove cake from pans and allow to cool fully on wire racks. The cake should cool completely before icing it.

For the Filling: It is best to make the filling ahead of time, as it sets it thickens up nicely. Melt chocolate and coconut oil together over low heat stirring often, you can also melt it in the microwave. In a bowl, whisk coconut cream until fluffy. Gently whisk in the melted chocolate mixture, whisk until fully incorporated. Cover and leave in the fridge to set.

For the Ganache: Place chopped chocolate in a medium bowl, set aside. Heat coconut milk over med low heat until steam begins to rise from the surface, do not boil. Remove from heat and pour over chocolate, allow to sit for 5 minutes without stirring. Whisk gently for about 2 minutes until ganache is thick and glossy, add in remaining ingredients and whisk to incorporate.

To Assemble: Divide filling between the middle and top of the cake, spreading it all over to cover the cake. Pour ganache over the whole cake, starting in the middle and working your way out towards the ends, allowing it to drip down the sides of the cake. Any extra filling and ganache can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container. Serve cake right away or allow ganache to set before cutting.