Moist chocolate cake swirling between gloriously spiced pumpkin cake, and finally bringing both of these together – tangy cream cheese frosting bursting with fresh orange flavor.
1.5tbspVinegarYou can use white vinegar or Apple cider vinegar
3Eggs
3/4cup /150 gmsCaster sugar
1/2cup / 120 mlCoconut oil
1cup / 250 gmsPumpkin puree
1tspVanilla extract
2tspOrange zest
1/2cup /100 gmsDark chocolate 55%, melted
1tbspCocoa powderOptional
Orange Cream Cheese frosting
1/2cup / 115 gmsCream cheesesoftened
1/3cup / 60 gmsIcing sugar
1tbspOrange zest
Garnish
Orange zest and Chopped walnuts
Instructions
Preheat oven to 180 C. Grease and flour an 8" baking pan. I used a bundt pan.
In a small bowl, mix together milk and vinegar. Keep aside for 5 minutes until it curdles.
Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice together in a large bowl.
In another large bowl or your mixer, beat the eggs and sugar very well. Slowly drizzle in the oil, milk-vinegar mixture, and vanilla extract. Stir in the pumpkin puree.
Fold in the sifted dry ingredients. Stir in the orange zest.Divide the batter in half. Add the melted chocolate and cocoa powder to half of the mixture.
Add the two batters to the prepared pan, alternating between pumpkin and chocolate. Swirl through the batter using a skewer or knife. Be careful not to overmix.
Bake in the preheated oven for 40 - 45 minutes at 180 C or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 - 20 minutes before turning it out on a cooling rack.
In the meantime, prepare the frosting: Whisk together the cream cheese and icing sugar until smooth. Taste and adjust for sweetness. Fold in the orange zest.
Spread the orange cream cheese frosting over the completely cooled cake. Sprinkle some orange zest and chopped walnuts on top and enjoy!
Notes
- I made my own pumpkin pie spice by simply combining 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ginger powder and 1/4 tsp nutmeg.- Pumpkin puree is also super easy to make at home. Peel and dice 500 gms of pumpkin. This would yield 250 gms of puree. Steam in a saucepan with a tightly covered lid, for about 20 minutes. I just mashed the steamed pumpkin with a fork for this recipe. You could of course, use a blender to get a smooth puree.