Orange Rosemary Chocolate Cake – Justine Doiron

This Orange Rosemary Chocolate Cake is photographed already sliced into, because 1) I think that’s the most beautiful way to photograph a cake and 2) it is nearly impossible to not want to dive into this rosemary cake immediately upon eating it. It is that good. It has hints of orange throughout, a deep chocolate flavor, and the best part is it is topped with a rosemary citrus sugar. Which to date is my finest invention for a chocolate cake. And don’t try to tell me it’s a brownie…we can get into those semantics later

Read on for how to make it!

Ingredients you will need for this Orange Rosemary Chocolate Cake

This cake has a longer list of ingredients, but they are all baking pantry staples. Here’s what I recommend you have on-hand!

• 2 bars semi-sweet chocolate, 226 grams / 8 ounces, divided
• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, 170 grams / 6 ounces
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 165 grams / 5.8 ounces
• 1/4 cup dutch-processed cocoa powder, 28 grams / 1 ounce
• 1 large orange for zest and juice
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 cup loosely packed almond flour, 120 grams / 4.2 ounces
• 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup fresh rosemary leaves
• 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar

How to prepare this cake

There are a few steps to this cake, but they are what make it so rich and delicious.

First, you have to create the baking environment. Position a rack to the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F.

Then you need to melt the chocolate, sugar and butter portion of the batter. In a heat-proof bowl, combine 113 grams of semi-sweet chocolate, 170 grams of unsalted butter, 165 grams of granulated sugar and 28 grams of dutch-processed cocoa powder.

I like to use the double-boiler method to do this: Place this bowl in a medium pot with a few inches of water in it. Bring the pot to a simmer and use the double boiler method to melt all of the ingredients together. Stir often, and if it looks a bit grainy, don’t worry.

Then prepare the other wet ingredients in the batter. Start with the orange: zest as much orange zest as you can and set aside. Add two tablespoons of fresh orange juice to a large bowl. Add the egg, egg yolk, 2 tablespoons of heavy cream and 1 teaspoon of orange zest and whisk together to combine.

To combine the two, you first need to temper the eggs. This is to prevent the eggs from cooking when they hit the heat of the chocolate! When the chocolate mixture is full melted, pour a few tablespoons into the egg mixture to help temper the eggs. Whisk that together, add a few more tablespoons, whisk together again, then pour the egg mixture into the chocolate mixture. Stir to combine.

We’re nearly there – add the dry ingredients! Add 120 grams of almond flour, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda and stir into a batter.

Now the crucial part to getting a crackly top is adding more chocolate. So chop up the remaining 113 grams of semi-sweet chocolate and add it to the batter. Don’t ask me the science, but this is crucial for a crisp-crackly top!

Now prepare the baking tin. Pour the batter into a parchment-lined 9-inch tart pan.

Make the rosemary orange sugar. Using either a blender or a spice grinder, pulse 1/4 cup of rosemary leaves into a fine, aromatic powder. This should leave you with about 2 tablespoons of finely ground rosemary.
Add the remaining orange zest, ground rosemary and 2 tablespoons of turbinado sugar to a small bowl. Use your fingers to press the sugar, rosemary and citrus together. It should become a bit more wet and smell amazing.

Sprinkle this sugar on top of the cake.

Bake the cake at 350°F for 25-27 minutes, or until the top appears dry.

Let the cake cool for 20-30 minutes before slicing! Serve with ice cream, salt and olive oil on top (optional, but so so good).

Looking for similar recipes?

Here are a few holiday favorites!

Snickerdoodle Puppy Chow

I love puppy chow of all kinds, but I really love this festive snickerdoodle version! It captures everything I love in snickerdoodles – the cinnamon, sugar, and classic cream-of-tartar tang. Don’t skip the cream of tartar, otherwise it will lose its signature snickerdoodle taste!

Check out this recipe

Yuzu Ginger “Lumps of Coal”

Wow, I do love these cookies. They are unique but still approachable, and use black lime as the coloring to make them look like coal. Black lime is essentially brined and dried lime crushed into powder, so think of it as a slightly salty essence of lime. It turns out to be the perfect topping for a sweet and citrusy yuzu cookie.

Check out this recipe

Tiramisu Cookies

These cookies taste so similar to tiramisu that it always surprises me. You’ll get notes from the espresso, the rum, the creamy mascarpone and the rich dark chocolate. It might look like a normal cookie, but it will leave you thinking tiramisu was what you had for dessert!

Check out this recipe

And that’s it for this Orange Rosemary Chocolate Cake!

If you make it, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.

And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you <3

Orange Rosemary Chocolate Cake

This cake is a rich, decadent, crusty-topped chocolate cake that is sprinkled with an orange rosemary sugar, my finest invention to date. What you are left with is a cake that tastes festive, but is supremely simple to make. The best part is it stays moist for days, although I’m sure it will be gone long before then.

Ingredients

• 2 bars semi-sweet chocolate 226 grams / 8 ounces, divided
• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter 170 grams / 6 ounces
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar 165 grams / 5.8 ounces
• 1/4 cup dutch-processed cocoa powder 28 grams / 1 ounce
• 1 large orange for zest and juice
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 cup loosely packed almond flour 120 grams / 4.2 ounces
• 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup fresh rosemary leaves
• 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar

For serving

• Vanilla ice cream
• Flaky salt
• Good olive oil

Instructions

• Position a rack to the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F.

• In a heat-proof bowl, combine 113 grams of semi-sweet chocolate, 170 grams of unsalted butter, 165 grams of granulated sugar and 28 grams of dutch-processed cocoa powder.

• Place this bowl in a medium pot with a few inches of water in it. Bring the pot to a simmer and use the double boiler method to melt all of the ingredients together. Stir often, and if it looks a bit grainy, don’t worry.

• While that is melting, zest as much orange zest as you can and set aside. Add two tablespoons of fresh orange juice to a large bowl. Add the egg, egg yolk, 2 tablespoons of heavy cream and 1 teaspoon of orange zest and whisk together to combine.

• When the chocolate mixture is full melted, pour a few tablespoons into the egg mixture to help temper the eggs so they don’t curdle. Whisk that together, add a few more tablespoons, whisk together again, then pour the egg mixture into the chocolate mixture. Stir to combine.

• Add 120 grams of almond flour, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda and stir into a batter.

• Chop up the remaining 113 grams of semi-sweet chocolate and add it to the batter. This is crucial for a crisp-crackly top!

• Pour the batter into a parchment-lined 9-inch tart pan.

• Using either a blender or a spice grinder, pulse 1/4 cup of rosemary leaves into a fine, aromatic powder. This should leave you with about 2 tablespoons of finely ground rosemary.

• Add the remaining orange zest, ground rosemary and 2 tablespoons of turbinado sugar to a small bowl. Use your fingers to press the sugar, rosemary and citrus together. It should become a bit more wet and smell amazing.

• Sprinkle this sugar on top of the cake.

• Bake the cake at 350°F for 25-27 minutes, or until the top appears dry.

• Let the cake cool for 20-30 minutes before slicing! Serve with ice cream, salt and olive oil on top (optional, but so so good).