By Samantha Seneviratne
- Total Time
- 45 minutes, plus cooling
- Rating
- 4(1,873)
- Notes
- Read community notes
It may strike you as curious, but adding an entire orange to this easy snacking cake, rind and all, imparts a wonderful flavor reminiscent of orange marmalade, pleasantly bitter and sweet. A high-speed blender is the best way to process the orange, but a food processor works too. You want the purée to be as smooth as possible. While the cake bakes, prepare an easy orange glaze. For that step — or any recipe requiring both orange zest and juice — be sure to zest your orange before juicing it, as it’s much more difficult the other way around.
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Ingredients
Yield:16 servings
- 6tablespoons/85 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing the pan
- 1small navel orange (about 250 grams), ends trimmed, cut into large chunks, and seeds removed, if necessary
- ¼cup/60 milliliters whole milk
- 1½cups/192 grams all-purpose flour
- 1teaspoon baking powder
- ¼teaspoon baking soda
- ½teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾cup/151 grams granulated sugar
- 2large eggs, at room temperature
- ¾cup/77 grams confectioners’ sugar
- ½teaspoon freshly grated orange zest, plus 3 to 4 teaspoons freshly squeezed orange juice (from 1 orange)
For the Cake
For the Glaze (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (16 servings)
154 calories; 5 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 25 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 15 grams sugars; 2 grams protein; 113 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare the pan: Butter an 8-inch square baking pan. Line the pan with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides. Butter the parchment.
Step
2
Transfer the orange chunks and milk to a high-speed blender (or food processor) and process until it is the texture of smooth applesauce. (You should have about 1 generous cup.)
Step
3
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Step
4
In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the butter and granulated sugar on medium until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed.
Step
5
Add half the flour mixture and beat just until combined. Beat in the orange mixture, then beat in the remaining flour mixture. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth the top.
Step
6
Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool for 20 minutes. Then, using the parchment, transfer the cake to a rack to cool completely.
Step
7
While the cake cools, prepare the glaze, if using: In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, orange zest and orange juice. (Use a little less juice for a thicker glaze that will sit on top of the cake, or add a little more juice for a thinner glaze that will soak into the cake.)
Step
8
Spread the glaze over the cooled cake, then slice to serve. Store leftovers well-wrapped at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Ratings
4
out of 5
1,873
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Cooking Notes
DL
Did I add triple sec to the glaze? I did.
Melissa
I swapped out the butter for olive oil, mostly because I am lazy and didn't feel like cleaning the mixer after creaming butter. It came out moist and tasty with a tender crumb and allowed us to feel okay about calling it breakfast.
Anne B
This cake is super easy to make and makes the house smell great. The cake itself isn’t too sweet so the glaze is a good addition. I used tangerines because I had some left over from something else and it turned out well. I was skeptical about including the peel but I was pleasantly surprised - not too bitter, nice and tangy!
Meg
A wonderful version of this concept is Molly Wizenberg's olive oil marmalade cake, which shares the method of blending a whole piece of citrus, but has you boil the oranges first: https://orangette.net/2010/02/we-ate-this-cake. I've made it with oranges, grapefruit, and lemons, all delicious. And being olive oil based, it stays moist for days...if it lasts that long
Michelle
I did this recipe twice and I have to admit that I am NOT a baker, but it looked easy enough. First time I used blood oranges. This produced the ugliest cake ever. Blue-green algae colored batter and peto-pink glaze. A truly foul combination that looked even worse the next day. Frankencake. Next try was with tangelo, which made a pretty cake and put tangerine slices on top of the glaze and sprinkled a bit more zest. Much, much better. Both cakes tasted and smelled great.
cbloring
Using brown sugar instead of white add a whole other dimension.
Peter
I finally found my orange cake recipe. My old recipe was picking up Hostess orange cupcakes at the store. A perfect size for snacking. And making this was even easier than driving to the grocery. I even like the confetti like orange zest in the glaze more than the doodles across the top of that cupcake.
Pam
We love this cake. I took someone’s tip and added a little butter to the glaze and made more of a frosting the second time. It’s great both ways. I also added a little cardamom on the cake batter both times. So good!
Lo Baker
Loved this cake, amazing flavor. I only had one egg so substituted with 1/4 cup full fat yogurt and it was perfect. Will be making this again!!
Katie C
We love this cake. I've made it 4 times in the past two months. So good for tea and for dessert. I am allergic to milk, and this is really easy to make dairy-fee with almond milk and unsalted Miyoko's cultured butter or Unsalted Earth Balance sticks.
Rosemary
An easy way I learned to remove seeds from an article on making marmalade: Cut the citrus into wedges from stem-to-flower; take a knife and cut off the pith in the center; remove the seeds. (all of the seeds are along the core)If you're making marmalade, you can then easily slice the wedges.
Halina
Added vanilla and cardamom to orange sauce. Eggs were ginormous Used half and half mix of olive oil and butterUsed 1/2&1/2 in lieu of milk Used TJs Cara Cara orangesAdded zest to batter not glaze. Used glass baking dish w parchment Delicious.
Nicole
I haven't made this yet, but a note: Florida oranges have less pith (the bitter white stuff in the peel), so maybe would make a less bitter cake than California oranges.
Adelaide blair
Saw this recipe on Instagram and immediately made it. Delicious! I left off the glaze and it was a perfect snack cake.
Allison
I replaced the glaze with a more substantial frosting by adding a couple of tablespoons of butter to the sugar and juice. Added a richness without much extra effort.
Name Erin
Made this just as written. It was really good, very moist, guests enjoyed it.
mairedodd
what an excellent cake - so flavor-full. i took advantage of honeybell season for this. added some cinnamon and a few passes of nutmeg on the microplane zester in the batter. i happen to love dark chocolate with orange - so i added 2 tbsp of butter to the glaze and 10gm of finely chopped 70% chocolate. if i had a coarser grater, maybe i would have just done a pass over the top with some chocolate shreds/curls. i will be making more this week for gifting (maybe freezing for me?).
jenny
One of the best cakes I've ever made. Used Cara cara oranges, (1 and 1/2 and made a butter cream frosting with just and zest. I am not sorry.
Krabgrl
I had wondered how the pith and juice composition of individual oranges would affect the bake…what happens when you use an orange with a thicker rind or one that is less juicy or isn’t very sweet? In my case, I found the resulting cake to be claggy, especially along the bottom, despite a clean toothpick after the full 40 minute bake. I also felt the flavor to be overwhelming more bitter than sweet. Considering the chemistry of baking, and the variables of oranges, I’ll look for another recipe.
sylvie
Yummmm!!
CMD
This was really good. I didn't use parchment paper -- instead I buttered and floured the pan, which worked well.
Slo Smith
Didn't follow the recipe exactly because had no mixer so very glad for tip from another about using oil instead of butter. This was a SUPER big hit. I doubled it, baked in two pans, came out perfect. Crazy unusual cake.
Sarah
I made this recipe with my stepdaughter and we couldn't find the wands to the mixer, so I did it with my muscles and a wisk, and it turned out great! Next time we make it, we will use the electric mixer, as I'd like to try it with buttercream frosting.
GC
This was delicious. Very easy and tastes nicely of orange - sweet, very pleasant but not too sweet. Made as directed except used 1/2 c. almond flour instead of 1/2 c. regular flour. Easy to make, did not even bother to sift the flours, came out with nice crumb, moist but light. Have not glazed, just eaten plain and is great with cup of black tea. Highly recommend!
Izzy
Easy peasy. Forgot the zest in the glaze which would have added a bit more bite. Made it on a whim because the recipe intrigued me and I had a slew of citrus on hand. This weekend saw a flurry of neighbors and friends dropping by so it was such a welcome addition to have on hand for an impromptu “cuppa tea”! Will add more zest next time, thicken the glaze a bit and maybe use up some of the ginger bits left over from Christmas cooking.
Lamb Husks
Easy and tasty~ Used some almond flour and replaced 1/3 of the butter with EVO, lots more orange zest and juice, too. A keeper!
Sarah
Love the moisture and texture. I’ve also substituted limequats for the orange and olive oil for the butter. Einkhorn flour gives it great nuttiness.
Arlene
I'm sure it was my fault somewhere, but this was not delicious. The cake itself was incredibly dense and, even with the very sweet glaze, too bitter. Not a fan.
D Steiner
Wonderful recipe... I used blood oranges... I'm tempted to double the recipe and make cupcakes next time.
GGD
Cake is wonderful! But, creaming the butter and sugar in my 50+ year old KitchenAid mixer took at least 6-7 minutes using the paddle attachment to get fluffy at medium speed. Did anyone else have this problem? The glaze is fabulously simple.
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