This is indeed the Best Orange Cake Recipe in the world. This Moist Orange Cake is a simple Butter cake with a subtle orange flavor and aroma. It has the goodness of the Orange juice along with the zest that takes it to the next level. I also like to call it an Orange Zest Cake or a simple Orange Buttermilk Cake
About This Moist Orange Cake Recipe
Easy, quick and flavorful orange pound cake made using orange juice and orange zest
The cake has a crumbly texture with a buttery taste and is full of citrus flavors
Topped with an orange glaze which takes this simple orange buttermilk cake to the next level
Orange cake recipe using whole oranges
I very often have guests coming over for chai and this is my go-to recipe off late. Everyone likes butter pound cakes as they are simple, buttery and light with no much drama. This Orange Cake is a simple buttery cake with citrus flavors. The orange zest added to the cake takes it to the next level.
I’ve come across a lot of orange cake recipes and what I notice is that most of the recipes contain orange essence and no real fruit. I swear by this delicious take on an orange cake. The real fruit is what yields a good aromatic cake in this case
I love oranges and here are my other two favorite recipes made using this fresh fruit
Buttery Moist Orange Cake with Whole Oranges
Orange Zest & Orange Juice
I like to use big juicy oranges for this one. No tetra pack juices. Malta Oranges are the best. They have a good balance of sweet & tangy citrus flavors and are always loaded with pulp.
How To Zest An Orange? Orange Zest – Tips
What is Orange Zest – Orange zest is the outer skin or orange peel of the orange fruit. It is where all the aromatic oils and flavor exist.
Difference between orange zest and orange peel?
Orange zest is the outer orange skin of the fruit that is grated using a grater. The orange peel is the full skin of the orange which even consists of the white part. It can be peeled using a peeler or knife.
How to zest an orange
Place the oranges in the freezer for 5-10 mins to chill. This makes sure their firm. Using a grater or a zester, grate the outside orange outer cover of the fruit making sure you do not reach the white part of the skin. The white part is bitter and will make the cake bitter as well. So be careful and be sure to only scrape the orange color off the fruit
Orange Juice
While squeezing the oranges make sure to use the pulp as well. Do not waste it. It adds flavor to the cake. So instead of using a juicer, just cut the orange and squeeze it. Pulp & juice, we need both
Easy Orange Cake With Orange Glaze – Let’s Talk Ingredients
Oranges
For this Cake, I like using the big size oranges which are orange in color. In India, their popularly known as Malta Oranges. We also get the local oranges which have a greenish skin on the outside. The skin of the orange is what gives us the zest for this cake which adds more flavor thus we like the skin to be orange in color and not green like the local produce
Orange Zest
The outer peel of the orange is the orange zest. Using a grater, grate the outer orange color peel, making sure you do not grate the inner white portion. The inner white portion is bitter due to which we do not need it
Butter
I like using locally produced room temperature salted butter. If you like using unsalted butter, go ahead. Make sure to add a pinch of salt when you do so
Buttermilk
Buttermilk and Indian Chaas are not the same when it comes to baking. We normally presume that like buttermilk is a combination of curd and water mixed together with some spices. However, buttermilk used for baking is different. It is a combination of vinegar and warm milk, which eventually thickens the milk in minutes
Buttermilk Recipe: ½ cup warm milk + 1 teaspoon white vinegar. Mix well and set aside for 5 to 7 mins. Use as required for baking cakes, cupcakes, etc
Moist Orange Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Fresh orange juice 3 tablespoons
¼ teaspoon baking soda
175 grams all-purpose flour
200 grams castor sugar
115 grams salted butter, room temperature
2 eggs
½ cup buttermilk
Zest of 3 big oranges
Few drops of orange food color (optional)
For the Orange Glaze:
50 ml fresh orange juice
25 grams castor sugar
Method
In a bowl, combine the flour and baking soda together, mix well and set aside
In another bowl, combine the butter, orange zest and sugar together. Beat well until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and orange juice beat well
Add the orange color (optional) and buttermilk. Mix well. You may notice a slight curdling at this time, do not panic
Fold in the flour mixture and it will get to normal.
To make this cake in a 7-inch bundt pan, grease the bundt pan thoroughly with unsalted butter and dust with flour. Pour the batter in the bundt pan and bake this cake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees C for an hour or until an inserted skewer comes out clean
While the cake is in the oven, prepare the glaze. Combine 50 ml of fresh orange juice with 25 grams of castor sugar. Mix well and set aside
Once the cake is baked, brush the glaze onto it and serve
Printable Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoon fresh orange juice
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 175 grams all-purpose flour
- 200 grams castor sugar
- 115 grams salted butter, room temperature
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup buttermilk
- Zest of 3 big oranges
- Few drops of orange food color (optional)
For the Orange Glaze:
- 50 ml fresh orange juice
- 25 grams castor sugar
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine the flour and baking soda together, mix well and set aside
- In another bowl, combine the butter, orange zest and sugar together. Beat well until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and orange juice beat well
- Add the orange color (optional) and buttermilk. Mix well. You may notice a slight curdling at this time, do not panic
- Fold in the flour mixture and it will get to normal
- To make this cake in a 7-inch bundt pan, grease the bundt pan thoroughly with unsalted butter and dust with flour. Pour the batter in the bundt pan and bake this cake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees C for an hour or until an inserted skewer comes out clean
- While the cake is in the oven, prepare the glaze. Combine 50 ml of fresh orange juice with 25 grams of castor sugar. Mix well and set aside
- Once the cake is baked, brush the glaze onto it and serve
Recipe Video
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Nutrition Information
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
Penda says
This recipe sounds amazing already! Can we make this into cupcakes?
Alisha Rodrigues says
Yes, you can. But fill less batter in the cupcake liners, as these rise alot
Nisha says
This recipe worked too well.. the cake turned out super moist. Thank you. Anyway, if I would like to double up the portion of the whole recipe, how long should I bake it?
Alisha Rodrigues says
Hi Nisha .. Glad this recipe worked for you If you double the recipe up. It should take around 10 to 15 mins more
Sabrina says
Hi Alisha,
Approximately how many tablespoons of orange zest ?
Alisha Rodrigues says
1 tablespoon. Make sure it’s only the orange color part of the orange and not the inner whitish portion
Evon says
Can i use fresh milk or yogurt to replace the buttermilk?
Alisha Rodrigues says
The homemade buttermilk contains vinegar which combines with the baking soda to give the cake a lovely texture. However, you can use milk or curd, it will work too. But buttermilk will always be my 1st preference
Samantha says
This cake is too perfect! I normally have serious trouble baking, but this cake came out so beautiful and moist, as promised. Thank you for using metric measurements and thanks for sharing!
Alisha Rodrigues says
So glad to hear this Samantha. Glad it worked for you