Blood Orange Chocolate Cake with Dark Chocolate Balsamic Ganache

Chocolate and blood orange is one of those pairings that feels a little fancy and a lot inevitable — deep, dark cocoa lifted by bright, bittersweet citrus. This is a fudgy single-layer cake made with olive oil instead of butter (so it stays moist for days), crowned with softly whipped cream and a glossy dark chocolate ganache.

Ingredient Spotlight. Our Blood Orange Fused Olive Oil folds citrus right into the crumb — no zesting the batter — while our Dark Chocolate Dark Balsamic Vinegar gets stirred into the ganache for a tangy-sweet depth that ordinary chocolate can't reach.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour · 2 cups sugar · ¾ cup cocoa powder
• 2 tsp baking soda · ¼ tsp fine sea salt
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten · 1 tsp vanilla
• ⅔ cup Blood Orange Fused Olive Oil
• 2 cups boiling water
• Ganache: 1 cup heavy cream · 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips · 1 Tbsp Dark Chocolate Dark Balsamic Vinegar
• Topping: 1 cup heavy cream, whipped · ⅛ cup confectioners' sugar · zest of 1 orange · flaky sea salt

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350°F; grease a 9-inch springform pan. Whisk the dry ingredients.
2. Add the eggs, vanilla, and Blood Orange oil; mix just to combine. With the mixer running, stream in the boiling water until smooth (the batter is thin — that's right).
3. Pour into the pan and bake 25–30 minutes, until the center springs back. Cool completely.
4. Ganache: warm the cream (don't boil), stir in the chocolate until melted, then the Dark Chocolate balsamic. Cool until spoonable.
5. Whip the cream with the confectioners' sugar. Frost the cooled cake, drizzle with ganache, and finish with orange zest and a pinch of flaky salt.

Chef's Notes

• Thin batter makes a moist cake — resist adding flour.
• A scatter of toasted hazelnuts is lovely against the ganache.

Make It Yours

• Swap our Lemon Fused Olive Oil for a chocolate-lemon version.

Allergens: contains gluten, eggs, and dairy.

Blood orange and dark chocolate is a shop-favorite pairing — come taste them side by side.