Chocolate Orange Pound Cake Recipe Development | Down the Baking Rabbit Hole Series
Chocolate Orange Pound Cake is a delicious and easy treat for special occasions or for an “anytime” snack. This recipe is made in a bundt pan to get the beautiful braided appearance and the inside is flavored with grated orange zest and mini chocolate chips for a perfectly balanced bite every time.
I’ve also included a video below that goes through not only how to make the recipe, but also the recipe development steps that went into creating this recipe.
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Watch the Recipe Development Video for Chocolate Orange Pound Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup (150g) cake flour
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1 tsp (4g) baking powder
- ¼ tsp (1.8g) salt
- ½ package (4oz/113g) cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 stick (113g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 large (155g) eggs
- ½ tsp (2.5g) vanilla extract
- 2 tsp (2g) orange zest
- ½ cup (80g) mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
Equipment
- 6 cup braided loaf pan or bundt cake pan
- Baking spray with flour
- Digital scale (or dry measuring cups and measuring spoons)
- Rasp grater
- Stand mixer with paddle attachment (or hand mixer with large bowl)
- Silicone spatula
- Toothpick
- Wire rack
- Serving plate
Preparation Steps
Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C.
Prepare the bundt pan by greasing the inside with a baking spray or butter. Then coat with flour. I like to use a baking spray that has flour in it so I don’t have to worry about the cake releasing. Make sure to cover all corners and detailed areas of the pan so the cake doesn’t stick. Place the prepared pan to the side.
Making the Chocolate Orange Pound Cake
Place butter and cream cheese into the bowl of the stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a large bowl if using a hand mixer). Beat on medium speed until combined. You might need to scrape down the bowl a couple times to ensure the cream cheese is completely mixed in.
Next, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
Cream together the cream cheese mixture with the granulated sugar on medium speed by adding small amounts of sugar at a time until it is fully incorporated.
Add eggs one at a time and fully incorporate before adding the next egg.
Add the flour mixture in 3 additions and mix until just incorporated. Add the vanilla and orange zest and mix to combine.
Fold in the mini chocolate chips with a silicone spatula to evenly incorporate the chocolate without crushing the chips with the mixer.
Baking the Chocolate Orange Pound Cake
Now, pour the chocolate orange pound cake batter into the prepared bundt pan and smooth the top with a spatula or the back of a spoon. You can hit the pan on the counter a couple of times to get rid of any air bubbles before baking. This also helps ensure the thick cake batter gets into all the details of the bundt pan.
Next, put the cake in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes. Test if the cake is done by inserting a toothpick into the thickest part of the cake. If it comes out clean, the cake is baked. It’s likely the cake will have a crack in the top surface. This is normal.
Take the cake out of the oven and let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning it out and letting it cool completely on a wire rack.
Serving the Pound Cake
After the pound cake cools, put the cake on a beautiful serving plate and enjoy! This cake tastes absolutely AMAZING! It’s my favorite pound cake to date. It is the perfect combination of orange and chocolate. Also, because this recipe uses the mini chocolate chips, you get a taste of chocolate and orange in every bite.
Storing the Chocolate Orange Pound Cake
This cake will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days. You can also store it in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Bring the cake to room temperature before serving.
Notes
If your bundt pan is a different size, scale the recipe to get the appropriate recipe amounts and use the following baking times:
- 10 cup bundt pan – bake for 45-47 minutes
- 12 cup bundt pan – bake for 50-55 minutes
- Cupcakes – bake for 15-17 minutes with approximately ¼ cup of cake batter in each standard cupcake depression
Check Out the Other Posts in this Pound Cake Series
- History of Pound Cake
- Making a Pound Cake from 1747
- Comparing Store Bought Pound Cake
- Comparing Pound Cake Ingredients and Substitutions to Get the Best Pound Cake
Want More Pound Cake Inspiration?
Chocolate Orange Pound Cake
Equipment
- 6 cup Bundt cake pan
- Baking spray with flour
- Digital scale (or dry measuring cups and measuring spoons)
- Rasp grater
- Stand mixer with paddle attachment (or hand mixer with large bowl)
- Silicone spatula
- Toothpick
- Wire rack
- Serving plate
Ingredients
- 1 cup (150g) cake flour
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1 tsp (4g) baking powder
- ¼ tsp (1.8g) salt
- ½ package (4oz/113g) cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 stick (113g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 large (155g) eggs
- ½ tsp (2.5g) vanilla extract
- 2 tsp (2g) orange zest
- ½ cup (80g) mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
Preparation Steps
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C.
- Prepare the bundt pan by greasing the inside with a baking spray or butter. Then coat with flour. I like to use a baking spray that has flour in it so I don’t have to worry about the cake releasing. Make sure to cover all corners and detailed areas of the pan so the cake doesn’t stick. Place the prepared pan to the side.
Making the Chocolate Orange Pound Cake
- Place butter and cream cheese into the bowl of the stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a large bowl if using a hand mixer). Beat on medium speed until combined. You might need to scrape down the bowl a couple times to ensure the cream cheese is completely mixed in.
- Next, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
- Cream together the cream cheese mixture with the granulated sugar on medium speed by adding small amounts of sugar at a time until it is fully incorporated.
- Add eggs one at a time and fully incorporate before adding the next egg.
- Add the flour mixture in 3 additions and mix until just incorporated. Add the vanilla and orange zest and mix to combine.
- Fold in the mini chocolate chips with a silicone spatula to evenly incorporate the chocolate without crushing the chips with the mixer.
Baking the Cake
- Now, pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and smooth the top with a spatula or the back of a spoon. You can hit the pan on the counter a couple of times to get rid of any air bubbles before baking. This also helps ensure the thick cake batter gets into all the details of the bundt pan.
- Next, put the cake in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes. Test if the cake is done by inserting a toothpick into the thickest part of the cake. If it comes out clean, the cake is baked. It’s likely the cake will have a crack in the top surface. This is normal.
- Take the cake out of the oven and let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning it out and letting it cool completely on a wire rack.
Serving the Cake
- After the pound cake cools, put the cake on a beautiful serving plate and enjoy! This cake tastes absolutely AMAZING! It’s my favorite pound cake to date and it's the perfect combination of orange and chocolate. Also, because this recipe uses the mini chocolate chips, you get a taste of chocolate and orange in every bite.
Storing the Cake
- This cake will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days. You can also store it in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Bring the cake to room temperature before serving.
