Start your holiday season with this soft, moist & homely orange cake that is easy to make and a delight for your taste buds to enjoy, but of course in moderation! Indulge in such sinful delicacy while maintaining a balance to enjoy your life to the fullest!
I’m sharing a cake recipe after ages! After restricting my sugar intake, I had limited my home baking too.
But since the holiday season is just round the corner, I could not turn down my better half’s earnest request for a home baked cake!
And hence comes to existence this delightful and vibrant orange cake which I have to share with you all!
This sweet & tangy orange cake also serves as a reminder for all the weight-watchers like me that you do not need to entirely stop enjoying all the sinful delicacies of life if you are in your weighloss journey!
All you need is balancing the right proportion with the right amount of activity! And when you crave a dessert, choose the home-baked one over store-bought!
What is orange cake?
This orange cake is a twin brother of my lemon pound cake which I had shared long back. This is essentially a super moist & buttery pound cake flavored with fresh orange using both orange juice and orange zest.
If you are planning to bake a dessert at home for your holiday party, this orange cake is a great option! I will tell you why.
Firstly, you get the freshest seasonal orange now which will result in the best tasting orange cake you can possibly have.
Secondly, this cake doesn’t involve a lot of hard work which means less time in the kitchen and it is an undisputed crowd-pleaser!
You can cut up this pound cake into small single-serve pieces and arrange on a platter for easy serving at your house party.
You can also bake this homemade luxury as a holiday gift for your friends & family; trust me no one loves anything more than home baked goodies as a present!
All in all this orange cake is a total win-win cake for this holiday season!
Ingredients for Orange Cake
Cake flour: You won’t need to buy a bag of fancy cake flour; you can make it on your own! To do so, measure out 1 cup of all-purpose flour i.e. maida into a bowl. Then, scoop out 2 tablespoons of the flour and replace with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch (a.k.a. corn flour) and you have your own cake flour. You can easily double up the recipe. Source: Hummingbird
So for ¾ cup of cake flour required in this recipe, measure out ¾ cup or 170 gms flour and then scoop out 1 & ½ tbsp of flour and replace with 1 & ½ tablespoons of cornstarch.
Orange: Here comes the star ingredient of your orange cake which is nothing but fresh, juicy and vibrant orange! Pick the freshest possible produce from your local market as you will need both zest and the juice of orange to impart the best citrusy flavor to your orange cake.
Unsalted butter: Butter is the heart of every moist and delicious cake! So you need to use a very good quality butter if you want to make a professional quality orange cake at home.
I always recommend using unsalted butter which is also labeled as cooking butter because different brands have different amount of salt added making it difficult to control. My preferred brand for unsalted butter is Milky Mist or President.
Second important point to note while making a perfect orange cake or any buttery pound cake for that matter is to use the butter at room temperature i.e. your butter must be soft but not melted.
I keep the butter out of the refrigerator at least an hour before I start making the cake batter. I also cut the hard butter in small cubes before mixing them; that way it is much easier to break them down and mix with sugar.
Granulated white sugar: The sweet element of your orange cake will come from granulated white sugar. I recommend grinding the sugar in a dry grinder for a few seconds before using it in your cake.
Whole egg: You need fresh eggs at room temperature. Use a couple of large & fresh eggs for a soft and delicate cake texture.
Salt: A pinch of salt brings out the flavors of sweetness of sugar and tartness of oranges, so do not skip it.
Baking powder: The essential raising agent for your cake.
How to make orange cake?
Step 0: Preheat your oven to 170 C/ 340 F and place the wire rack at the middle level.
Step 1: Take the softened butter in a large mixing bowl. Break the cubes using a spatula.
Step 2: Add the granulated white sugar to the softened butter and start mixing the two first using a spatula.
Step 3: Once the sugar is somewhat incorporated into the butter, use your electric hand mixer to blend the butter & sugar together. Keep blending them for a good 5 to 6 minutes until the butter turns fluffy & pale in color.
Step 4: Now add the eggs, one at a time, blending after each addition.
Step 5: Wash the orange thoroughly. Then grate the zest out of the outer peel using a zester. Make sure to not grate the whites of the peel as it may make your orange cake taste bitter.
Step 6: After the zesting is done, cut the orange in half and squeeze the orange juice from both the halves using a citrus juicer, manual or electric.
Step 7: In another mixing bowl, add the cake flour through a sieve so that the flour is sifted while you are adding it to the bowl.
Step 8: Add salt, baking powder and orange zest to the cake flour. Using a wire whisk, mix them evenly so that all the ingredients are uniformly distributed.
Step 9: Now add the flour mixture to the butter-sugar mixture and using the electric hand mixer, mix the dry ingredients with the butter until they are incorporated nicely without any bits of dry flour left behind.
Step 10: Finally pour in the orange juice to the cake batter and give a final mix using the hand mixer. Your cake batter is ready.
Step 11 (Optional): If you want to give your cake a special touch, you can add a touch of orange food color but it is completely optional. Blend one final time if you are using the food color to allow the color to mix evenly.
Step 12: Grease a 8x5x3 inch loaf pan with butter generously on all sides. You can also place a parchment paper at the bottom of the pan after buttering it for easy removal of the orange cake.
Step 13: Pour the prepared batter of the orange cake into the loaf pan. Smoothen the top using a spatula or spoon.
Step 14: Bake the orange cake in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. The top of the cake might crack which is a common phenomena for any pound cake, so do not worry!
Step 15: Let the cake cool down for 10 to 15 minutes before removing it from the pan.
Step 16: After the pan is cool enough to touch, use a knife or offset spatula to loosen the sides of the cake to ensure it is not sticking on any sides.
Step 17: Tip the orange cake out of the loaf pan and place on a wire rack to cool completely.
Step 18: Once completely cooled, cut the orange cake into slices and serve it with a light dusting of powdered sugar or fresh fruits. Enjoy!
More delicious holiday recipes from Flavor Quotient
- Lemon Pound Cake with Lemon Glaze
- Thigh Spiced Roasted Spatchcocked Chicken
- Holiday Special Whole Roast Chicken
- Orange zest - 1 tsp
- Orange juice - 70 ml / ¼ cup
- Unsalted butter - 170 gms / ¾ cup, at room temperature & softened
- Granulated white sugar - 170 gms / ¾ cup
- Whole egg - 3, at room temperature
- Salt - ¼ tsp
- Cake flour - 150 gms / 1 & ¼ cup
- Baking powder - 1 tsp
- Organic orange food color - ½ tsp (completely optional)
- Preheat your oven to 170 C/ 340 F and place the wire rack at the middle level.
- Take the softened butter in a large mixing bowl. Break the cubes using a spatula.
- Add the granulated white sugar to the softened butter and start mixing the two first using a spatula.
- Once the sugar is somewhat incorporated into the butter, use your electric hand mixer to blend the butter & sugar together. Keep blending them for a good 5 to 6 minutes until the butter turns fluffy & pale in color.
- Now add the eggs, one at a time, blending after each addition.
- Wash the orange thoroughly. Then grate the zest out of the outer peel using a zester. Make sure to not grate the whites of the peel as it may make your orange cake taste bitter.
- After the zesting is done, cut the orange in half and squeeze the orange juice from both the halves using a citrus juicer, manual or electric.
- In another mixing bowl, add the cake flour through a sieve so that the flour is sifted while you are adding it to the bowl.
- Add salt, baking powder and orange zest to the cake flour. Using a wire whisk, mix them evenly so that all the ingredients are uniformly distributed.
- Now add the flour mixture to the butter-sugar mixture and using the electric hand mixer, mix the dry ingredients with the butter until they are incorporated nicely without any bits of dry flour left behind.
- Finally pour in the orange juice to the cake batter and give a final mix using the hand mixer. Your cake batter is ready.
- If you are using food color, then add it to the batter at this point and blend one final time to allow the color to mix evenly.
- Grease a 8x5x3 inch loaf pan with butter generously on all sides. You can also place a parchment paper at the bottom of the pan after buttering it for easy removal of the orange cake.
- Pour the prepared batter of the orange cake into the loaf pan. Smoothen the top using a spatula or spoon.
- Bake the orange cake in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. The top of the cake might crack which is a common phenomena for any pound cake, so do not worry!
- Let the cake cool down for 10 to 15 minutes before removing it from the pan.
- After the pan is cool enough to touch, use a knife or offset spatula to loosen the sides of the cake to ensure it is not sticking on any sides.
- Tip the orange cake out of the loaf pan and place on a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once completely cooled, cut the orange cake into slices and serve it with a light dusting of powdered sugar or fresh fruits. Enjoy!
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