Wacky Chocolate-Orange Cake with Orange Frosting

Wacky Chocolate-Orange Cake with Orange Frosting

  • Prep Time: 20 mins
  • Total Time: 1 hrs
  • Serves: 9,Yield: 1cake

    • About This Recipe

    “When I first saw this recipe (on the label of a white vinegar bottle – where else?), I thought “Vinegar in a dessert? This must be a joke!) So I made the recipe, just for the heck of it, and found it surprizingly yummy!”

    Ingredients

    THE CAKE

  • 1 1/2 cupsflour
  • 1cupsugar
  • 3tablespoonscocoa
  • 1teaspoonbaking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoonsalt
  • 5tablespoons olive oil or 5tablespoonscanola oil
  • 1teaspoonwhite vinegar( I kid thee not – please do not omit or substitute)
  • 1teaspoonvanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoonorange extract
  • 1cuporange juice

    • THE FROSTING

  • 1 1/2 teaspoonsunflavored gelatin
  • 3tablespoonscold water
  • 3tablespoonsorange juice
  • 1 1/2 cupsheavy whipping cream
  • 3/8 cupconfectioners’ sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoonvanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoonorange extract

    • Directions

  • —- THE CAKE —-.
  • Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit.
  • Sift together flour, sugar, baking soda and salt into an 8″ x 8″ baking pan.
  • Make 3 holes in the dry ingredients.
  • Place oil in the first hole, vinegar in the second hole, and vanilla in the third hole (again, I kid thee not- trust me on this one!).
  • Pour orange juice over everything and mix well.
  • Spread batter evenly in the pan and bake in dish that the batter was mixed in.
  • Bake 30 minutes or until center is firm.
  • Allow to cool.
  • Refrigerate leftovers (if any).
  • —- THE FROSTING —-.
  • Combine gelatin, orange juice, and cold water in small saucepan.
  • Let stand until thick.
  • Place over low heat, stirring constantly, just until gelatin dissolves.
  • Remove from heat and cool, but do not allow to set.
  • Whip cream, sugar and vanilla until slightly thickened.
  • While beating slowly, gradually add gelatin to whipped cream mixture.
  • Whip at high speed until stiff.
  • Spread thickly on the cake.

    • Reviews

  • “Loved the cake, but I believe you made a mistake when you said to add water, I just added the orange juice and found it sufficient.Also I made a butter cream frosting instead and added orange juice and orange extract to it. Thank you for enhancing my days…made it twice already!!!!”

  • “I followed this recipe to the T…and it turned out wonderful!! Visually as well.Will be posting a picture of the end product.I hope it entices you to try it too. :)”

  • “Forsuch an easy and quick cake this is very good. I think the orange juice is what makes it so much better than the original wacky cake (never liked it).Frosting is excellent, easy to make and light and can certainly be used on other cakes. Highly recommend this frosting if, like us, you do not like a heavy sugary topping.”

  • “Very nice cake.I had to toss the frosting though.Everything was going fine until suddenly the cream was starting to separate into a cottage cheese type of substance rather than continue to stiffen.I believe I followed the instructions as written (I’m kind of OCD in the kitchen… and only in the kitchen), but perhaps I’m wrong.It was my first time making a frosting with gelatin.I ended up just whipping up 3 parts heavy cream with 1 part powdered sugar and added vanilla and orange extracts to taste.Spread it on the cake and dusted the whole thing with cocoa powder, confectioners sugar, and a little orange zest.Quite enjoyable.Vinegar, who knew?”

  • “Very yummy! I left off the icing, being too lazy, and used wholemeal flour to make the cake a bit healthier. This was really easy and the best part for me is that it didn’t require any beating – which is always annoying when you want to make a cake quickly. Thanks for the new cake recipe!”

  • “Well, I made this for my DH to take to work and he came home with an empty cake pan, saying that people were asking for the recipe!It was a definite hit!Just so easy and such a crowd pleaser.I added some fresh orange zest and some freshly grated chocolate on the top of the frosting, which made it look even prettier.Thanks for posting!”

  • “I loved the cake it was fairly easy to make with little clean up, you can’t beat that. I didn’t enjoy the frosting but I think it was just me because everyone else loved it.”

  • “I have been using this recipe for years and it it a favorite for sure!My recipe for Recipe #218589 goes very well with this cake.It is sweet, but not overly sweet, and it is a great frosting for designs.After my cake is frosted, I often take the tip of a rounded knife and press down on the frosting and then pull away and it makes picks all over the top of the cake.Very pretty, especially with chopped nuts, sprinkles, Jimmys, or anything else you might want to add on top.”

  • “I made this with some orange zest and shavings from a hershey bar on the top~ It’s so easy to make and I don’t have to worry about cleaning up afterwards :)Thanks for sharing~!”

  • “Yum yum yum! I’ve made this twice in 24 hours — once with the orange juice and once without. I also halved the recipe, used half whole-wheat flour, and added twice the suggested amounts of sugar and cocoa (:o). I also swirled in a cheesecake topping the second time around. Versitile and delicicous –this is really good stuff.”

  • “This is a great variation of the wacky cake I’ve made for years.The frostng is tasty and delicate.I sprinkled some shaved chocolate over the top and didn’t change anything else.I miss you Miller.”

  • “This is a very good fluffy moist cake.I made it with peach five alive, which basically tastes like orange juice anyway.I also decreased the sugar to a little less than 3/4 cup and decreased the oil to 1/8 cup + 1/8 cup water.This still left me with a delicious cake.Thanks for the recipe!”

  • “I made this cake with a vegetarian and type 2 diabetic in mind, substituting soft whole wheat flour for the white flour and 3/4 cup fructose for the sugar. I also increased the cocoa to 4 tablespoons. Because of the gelatin in the frosting, I substituted a simple orange/chocolate ganache which worked well. I made it by grating about 1 teaspoon of orange zest into 1/2 cup of whipping cream, heated it till steaming, and poured over 6 ounces of finely chopped semi sweet chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has melted, and mixture thickens. Pour over the cooled cake. Including the orange flavour makes a more interesting variation than the original Wacky cake.”

  • “Delicious.I’ve been making wacky cake for years, but I have never used orange juice for the liquid.It gives the cake a nice subtle orange flavor.Instead of frosting the cake, I always sprinkle chocolate chips over the top before baking.”

  • “Yummy cake.I was happy with it without the icing (my photo).Good also for my lactose intolerant friend!”

  • “The cake was very good, but the frosting was fantastic. I’m probably very biased because I love the original Wacky Cake, which I make regularly. I will most likely use the frosting on other cakes.”

  • “I make the original version of this cake on a regular basis. But this is a twist I know will be great- orange & chocolate yum! Something different & ever so fast.”

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