Everyday Orange Cake

We’ve got another one to add to the family! I flirted with the idea of an orange cake after making my lemon cake some two years ago but wanted to wait until that one had its moment. Then last year there was the banana cake and later on the cinnamon coffee cake. This year I have no real designs on any new everyday cakes so you’re getting orange! And it’s right in time for all those juicy in season navels. 

Recipe Origins 

This recipe is based on my everyday lemon cake with some differences, besides the obvious swapping of citruses: I have more orange juice in here (to accommodate the ph and make the flavor stronger) and a little bit more flour, to absorb that extra liquid. The mother recipe for all of my ‘everyday’ cakes is this everyday butter cake. 

Recipe Ingredients 

Butter: unsalted butter, cold is fine (we’re melting it). 

Oranges: navel or cara cara. I haven’t tried this with blood oranges but you’d need a few more, the cake may also turn a tad green. 

Sugar: fine granulated sugar for the batter. If you have organic granulated sugar (the granules are usually bigger) it’s better for the topping for more of a crisp, but fine is ok for the topping too. 

Eggs: whole large eggs – they MUST be at room temperature or the batter will split when you add them. 

Cake flour: made from a finer softer wheat than all purpose this will give you a more tender cake. You can make the cake with a mixture of all purpose and cornstarch (swapping two tablespoons of starch for flour), though it won’t be as tender. 

Sour cream: full fat sour cream. In a pinch if you need to substitute, use a full fat greek yogurt or labneh. 

Vanilla: pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste. 

Salt: use fine sea salt. If using table salt, halve the amount. 

Baking powder: to leaven the cake. Don’t confuse this with baking soda! 

How to Make Everyday Orange Cake 

Bring the eggs to room temperature by placing them in a bowl of warm water. This is very important so the batter doesn’t split! 

Preheat the oven and prepare a square pan: use a light colored pan so that the cake doesn’t get too dark. Line it with parchment paper to protect the cake from overbrowning, use some grease to get the paper to stick to the pan. 

Zest the oranges over the sugar, then rub it in: this releases the oils and flavor. 

Melt the butter then add it, the vanilla and salt to the bowl – whisk it well. 

One by one, add the eggs: whisk VERY well between each addition. 

When all the eggs are in you should have a smooth mix, it will be shiny. 

-> If the eggs are cold the batter will split at this point. You can gently warm the bowl, place it over a pan of steaming water, to try to melt the bits of butter and then whisk well. 

Sift in the cake flour and add the baking powder, once it’s halfway mixed add the sour cream. 

Mix until the batter is smooth. 

Pour it into the prepared pan and smooth it into one even layer. 

Sprinkle granulated sugar on top, I like organic sugar here because the bigger granules give the topping more crunch. 

Bake the cake until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean – depending on the pan size the bake time will vary: check it at 30 minutes and continue baking as needed. 

Let cool in pan then serve! 

Variations on Toppings & Add-Ins

Add-ins: mini chocolate chips (about ½ cup); white would be good, or if you are into chocolate/orange you might like semi-sweet. Poppyseeds would be good too (a few tablespoons) or some nuts (about ½ cup). 

Toppings: My favorite way to make this cake is with the sugar topping which gives it a sparkly, crisp finish that crumbles as soon as it’s touched. If you’d like to do a glaze you can combine 130g or 1 cup powdered sugar with a few tablespoons of orange juice, milk or heavy cream. Don’t forget the pinch of salt and dash of vanilla. 

You could also do a frosting; cream cheese would be great or a vanilla bean. Whipped cream, use my stabilized whipped cream recipe, would be great too. 

Everyday Orange Cake Recipe 

Everyday Orange Cake

Super soft moist orange cake made from an easy butter cake base. This cake has a bright, strong citrus flavor and a lovely fluffy texture.

Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Cook Time: 40 minutes mins

Yields: 1 8x8 inch cake

5 from 4 votes

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Ingredients

• 200g or 1 cup fine granulated sugar
• Zest from two large oranges
• 226g or or 1 cup unsalted butter melted
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
• 3 large eggs at room temperature
• 300g or or 2 ¼ cups cake flour sifted if lumpy
• 2 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
• 110g or scant ½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• 120g or ½ cup full fat sour cream
• 2-3 tablespoons granulated sugar for the topping

Method

• Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line an 8x8 square or 9x9 square light colored metal baking pan with parchment paper (if you grease it first, the parchment sticks to the pan better).
• Place the sugar (200g or 1 cup) in a large bowl and zest the (2) oranges over it. Rub the zest into the sugar with your fingers, this will release the oils and flavor from the zest, until the sugar feels wet.
• Melt the melted butter (226g or 1 cup) then pour it into the bowl and add the vanilla (2 teaspoons) and salt (¾ teaspoon). Whisk the mixture very well, for about 90 seconds.
• One by one add the room temperature eggs (3), whisking for at least 30 seconds after each egg is added. When all the eggs are in you should have a thick, shiny, nicely emulsified mixture.
• Sift in the cake flour (300g or 2 ¼ cup) and add the baking powder (2 ¼ teaspoons), start to whisk the mixture and once it’s halfway mixed, add the sour cream (120g or ½ cup) and orange juice (110g or scant ½ cup). Whisk until you have a smooth, even batter.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth it into an even layer. Sprinkle a generous amount of granulated sugar on top (2-3 tablespoons).
• Bake the cake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 40 minutes for a 8x8 pan, slightly less for a 9x9 pan.
• Let the cake cool briefly in the pan then use the parchment as a sling to lift it out.
• Store leftovers in an airtight container, they’ll keep at room temperature for about 3 days but the cake is best eaten within the first 48 hours.

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