Name: Chocolate Orange Bundt Cake (Vegan)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 45 min
Ingredients: 200 g (1 + ⅔ cup) plain (all-purpose) flour; 2 teaspoons baking powder; 90 g (½ cup) caster or granulated sugar; 50 ml (3 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon) neutral oil; finely grated zest of 1 large orange; 100 ml (⅓ cup + 1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon) orange juice; 100 ml (⅓ cup + 1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon) water; 1 teaspoon orange extract (optional); 170 g (1 + scant ½ cup) plain (all-purpose) flour; 30 g (⅓ cup) cocoa powder; 2 teaspoons baking powder; 90 g (½ cup) caster or granulated sugar; 50 ml (3 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon) neutral oil; ½ teaspoon vinegar; 200 ml (¾ cup + 4 teaspoons) water; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

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Chocolate orange bundt cake - this delicious vegan cake is soft, moist, budget friendly and so easy to make!

Chocolate orange bundt cake on a white plate with plates of cake and a cup of coffee.

This chocolate orange bundt cake is incredibly soft and moist and is made with just a few basic ingredients so is very budget friendly!

It is based on Italian ciambellone all'acqua, which is a dairy-free cake made with water and oil which may or may not contain eggs. The eggless version happens to be accidentally vegan!

It is usually baked in a ring or bundt tin - the name literally translates as 'water donut'; and it can be made in various different flavours.

This marbled chocolate orange version is so simple yet so tasty!

What Do I Need To Make Chocolate Orange Bundt Cake:

Plain flour: Just regular plain (all-purpose) flour is best. I haven't tried making this cake gluten-free. You would probably also be fine to omit the baking powder and use self-raising flour instead.

Baking powder: Needed to make the cake rise. Do not use bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) instead.

Sugar: I use caster sugar but granulated is also fine. Light brown soft sugar or coconut sugar would also work. Do not swap it for liquid sugars (such as maple syrup) or sweeteners.

Oil: Any neutral flavoured oil will work, I use olive or sunflower.

Orange: You will need both orange zest and juice. Juice from a carton is fine if you don't want to juice the oranges yourself.

Cocoa powder: I use dutch processed but natural is fine too.

Vinegar: This helps to make the cake light and fluffy. It is only needed in the chocolate batter as the orange batter already contains an acid in the form of the orange juice. Any kind of vinegar will work, as will lemon juice; I use cider vinegar.

Water: The liquid in this cake is just regular tap water, though you can use milk instead if you want.

I also add some vanilla extract to the chocolate batter, and orange extract to the orange batter. They can be omitted if you don't have them though.

Chocolate orange bundt cake on a white plate with plates of cake and cups of coffee.

How To Make Chocolate Orange Bundt Cake:

(Full measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page)

Sift together the flour and baking powder for the orange batter in one bowl, and the flour, baking powder and cocoa powder for the chocolate batter in another.

Add the sugar, oil, orange zest and juice and water to the orange batter, and the sugar, oil, vinegar and water to the chocolate batter.

Stir each with a balloon whisk until no dry lumps remain.

Alternate spooning the batters into a well greased bundt tin then gently run a knife though to swirl them together slightly.

Bake for 40-45 minutes.

Top Tips:

As with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scale rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!

Don't over-beat the batter as that can make the cake tough.

The cake is ready when it is firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs but no wet batter.

The cake will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 4-5 days.

It can also be frozen, well wrapped to prevent freezer burn.

Take your time greasing the tin, making sure that you get into every nook and cranny.

Vegan cakes tend to be more delicate than non-vegan ones so it is important to let it cool in the tin for 20 minutes before you turn it out to give it a chance to 'set' so that it doesn't break.

Variations:

You can double the mixture of either flavour to make a single flavoured cake, either chocolate or orange.

The orange batter can be changed to vanilla by omitting the orange zest, juice and extract, upping the water to 200ml and adding 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract and ½ teaspoon of vinegar.

In the chocolate batter, the water can be swapped for coffee or you can omit the vinegar and swap half of the water for orange juice.

You can add a couple of handfuls of chocolate chips if you like.

The orange batter can be changed to lemon by swapping the orange zest for the zest of 2 lemons. Omit the orange juice and instead use the juice of 1 lemon, topping it up with water as needed to make the 100ml.

The water can be swapped for unsweetened plant milk.

If you do not have a bundt tin, the cake can be baked in a 23cm square tin, in which case it will likely bake a bit quicker, check it after 25 minutes.

More Vegan Bundt Cakes:

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