Raw Chocolate Orange Cake
This super easy vegan raw chocolate orange cake will brighten up your day. Not only is it delicious, but you can make it ahead of time and enjoy it with fellow chocolate lovers!
This cake was inspired by the Orange & Gubinge Dark Chocolate from Loving Earth, which sadly is no longer in production. My love for all things jaffa also inspired it.
I like using real orange extract and actual oranges in this recipe as they are much nicer than artificial flavours and colours to get the right flavour. If you’re already going to the effort of making a nutrient-dense, healthy raw cake, why spoil it with fake stuff?
Sweeteners I use
For sweetening my desserts, I tend to use a range of natural sweeteners. Mainly maple syrup, Medjool dates, and coconut sugar. Every now and then I will use birch xylitol if I want to make something candida-diet friendly like these brownies. They are seriously amazing!
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The only time I use raw sugar is for fermenting my kombucha or I’ll make an exception if the colour of the coconut sugar affects the final look of the dish. This decision, in the end, is up to you. That’s why I used raw sugar in my kremÅ¡nita recipe (vanilla custard and cream cake).
With raw desserts, I find that maple syrup and Medjool dates work the best. Maple syrup has 40% fructose, and dates have 30% fructose compared to table sugar that is 50% fructose. A little lower, but just be careful not to overdo it.
Why make a raw chocolate orange cake?
If you’re a raw foodie, then you know all about this and a recipe like this raw chocolate cake is right up your alley.
However, if you’re the majority of people that predominantly eat cooked and baked foods, then this may be a novelty for you. Which begs the question, why would you choose to eat a raw cake over a baked one?
Raw cakes normally are denser in calories, so a little slither goes a long way. As the base of the cake is typically nuts, coconut milk/cream/oil, it will be higher in fat also. But this is the good kind. They’re also typically gluten-free, refined sugar-free, dairy-free, egg-free, and healthier.
Raw desserts also have more fiber and keep the enzymes of all the ingredients intact.
The beautiful thing about raw cakes is that you can leave them in the freezer for quite a while. So you can eat it in moderation. If you need to feed a larger group, raw cakes are a great way to do so! Why not try something a little different?
Fun fact. My husband Michael and I served a few raw cakes and one large wedding cake that was baked at our wedding reception and the raw cakes went first! We had heaps of the baked cake leftover afterward. Go figure!
Now onto the recipe, enjoy this decadent raw vegan chocolate cake that has beautiful citrus orange notes through it.
This cake is:
- Easy to make
- Decadent
- Nutrient dense
- Dairy-free
- Gluten-free
- Perfect to make ahead of time
- Perfect for larger groups
- Vegan
- Raw
Other desserts you’ll love:
- Baked Vegan Blueberry Cheesecake
- No-Bake Vegan Passionfruit Cheesecake
- Peanut Butter Caramel & Chocolate Tart
- No-Bake Vegan Chocolate Mousse Cake
- Naked Sacher Torte (Vegan & GF)
If you try this recipe, let me know! I would love for you to leave a comment and rating below. If you want to go that extra mile, tag us on Instagram, or share your photo of the recipe on Pinterest.Â
PrintRaw Chocolate Orange Cake
- Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 15 slices
Description
Nutrient dense, this raw chocolate cake is decadent with beautiful citrus orange notes through it.Â
Ingredients
Base
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 ½ cups / 225g raw almonds
- 2 tablespoons cacao powder
- 6 Medjool dates, pitted
Filling
- 2 cups / 280g raw cashews (soaked for at least 3 hrs, then drained)
- 8 Medjool dates, pitted
- 300g / 10.58 ounces silken tofu
- ½ cup / 110g coconut oil, melted (measured while solid)
- Juice and zest of 2 oranges
- 3 drops sweet orange oil
- ½ cup / 50g cacao powder
- 1 cup / 240g light coconut cream (or full-fat coconut milk)
Topping
- ¼ cup / 55g coconut oil, melted (measured while solid)
- 2 tbsp coconut sugar
- ¼ cup / 25g cacao powder
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- For the base, place all the ingredients in a food processor with an ‘S’ blade attachment and blend until you can pinch the mixture and it sticks together. This should take about 2 minutes.
- Press down this mixture in a 21cm or 8.5″ springform cake tin lined with unbleached baking paper. Set aside.
- For the filling, add all the ingredients in the food processor or blender and blend for around 3-5 minutes until you reach a creamy smooth consistency. You may need to scrape the sides down in between blends.
- Pour this mixture on top of the base and place in the freezer for about 1.5-2 hours or until the filling has firmed up.
- Make the topping. While the cake is setting, in a small saucepan, add the coconut oil and the coconut sugar on very low heat. Dissolve the sugar by stirring consistently.
- Add in the cacao powder and the salt, continually stirring. Make sure you don’t have the heat up too high. For it to stay raw, it can’t go higher than 40–49C (104–120F).
- Put the topping in a piping bag (or just use a spoon) and make swivels on top of the cake in all different directions.
- Put it in the fridge to set. This should take about 20 minutes for the topping to harden.
- Serve cold, slicing with a hot knife so that it doesn’t stick to the knife.
Notes
If you’d like to make this into a slice, just use a square or rectangular dish instead of a cake tin! It’s that easy 🙂
- Diet: Vegan
This, like your baklava recipe, is to die for !!! Even my two year old loved it !
Oh that’s awesome! 🙂 Thanks for the feedback x
Hi Michael.
This looks like a wonderfully delicious and decadent dessert. Many thanks for sharing!
Anne
Thanks Anne! It’s definitely one of our favourites 🙂