This super moist orange cake is rich, tender, and full of fresh citrus flavor. Made with whole oranges and simple pantry ingredients, it’s easy to prepare in a food processor and delicious plain or topped with orange buttercream.
1 ¼ cups granulated sugar ((use an extra ¼ cup/50g if oranges aren't too sweet))
3 large eggs
2 cups all purpose flour Note 2
2 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt (skip if using salted butter)
1 cup icing sugar (also called confectioners or powdered sugar)
2 tablespoon butter, softened
1 orange (use half an orange for fresh orange juice and zest) (other half for decoration )
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Categories
Dessert
Cuisine
American
Steps
HEAT OVEN TO 350F/177C. Spray 9 inch (23cm) springform pan with oil. Note 1 for other pan options.
PREPARE ORANGES: Using a sharp knife, place orange on cutting board and slice off the thin top orange layer all around the orange. Try to get as little of the white pith layer as possible (leaving on some is fine - no need to obsess!). Then slice off the white pith layer and discard. Repeat with second orange. Cut oranges into quarters. Shortcut: If your oranges only have a very thin layer of pith, you can use the whole orange.
CREAM BUTTER, SUGAR, EGGS: Place butter, sugar and eggs in food processor bowl. Process for 2 minutes at high speed until fluffy and creamy. Scrape down sides of bowl once or twice. Scoop mixture into medium-large bowl.
GRIND ORANGES: Place oranges and orange peels in food processor. No need to clean out processor first. Process until finely blended, about 1 minute. Scrape orange mixture into bowl with butter mixture.
FINISH BATTER: Add flour mixture of flour and baking powder. Gently fold into wet mixture just until incorporated. Do NOT over mix or the cake will be dense. Pour batter into prepared pan. Tap pan on counter to level the batter evenly.
BAKE: for 45-50 minutes or until cake no longer jiggles when shaken and when cake tester or toothpick is inserted in center and comes out clean. Two 8" round pans will take less time, about 25-35 minutes. Timing depends on size of oranges (amount of liquid in cake) and your oven (all ovens are different and not perfectly accurate on temperatures). Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before removing on pan. Cool completely on cooling rack before frosting.
MAKE FROSTING/GLAZE (OPTIONAL): While cake is baking, whisk icing/confectioner sugar, 1/2 of orange juice and orange zest with a fork in a small bowl. Add more orange juice until you get the consistency you like. Note 3 for traditional orange buttercream frosting.
DECORATE: Sprinkle orange cake with powdered icing sugar (through a sieve) if not using frosting. If using frosting/glaze, spread it on top of cake letting it slip down the sides if desired. Decorate cake with orange zest strips, orange slices, drained mandarin oranges, a little bit of zest or crushed nuts if you like.
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 342 kcal
Carbohydrates: 50 g
Protein: 4 g
Fat: 15 g
Saturated Fat: 4 g
Trans Fat: 1 g
Cholesterol: 46 mg
Sodium: 238 mg
Sugar: 33 g
Reviews
Sophia on 2026-06-28 (5 stars): Yo, this was amazing. I saw I had a TON of oranges in the fridge and was wondering what I could use them for except eating them raw. (Theres like hundreds of ways holy!) And I came upon your recipe!
I did not have all purpose flour OR baking powder so I did half&half of bread flour and pancake mix. I had a 9.5 24 inch circular glass pan so I did 325 for about an hour, to make sure it didn't burn the outside before the inside could be cooked since y'know glass.
Even with the substitutions it tastes great, I will be making more glaze next time so it can cover more of the cake!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
Tim on 2026-06-24 (5 stars): Made this for my wife using local oranges (in Spain). I used your tip of boiling the oranges instead of cutting out the pith. Excellent recipe. Thank you.
yvette on 2026-05-05 (5 stars): Making this for my daughter! Just today, she was looking at some orange cakes at a bakery and saying, "Mom, I am craving orange cake! "
Have you tried to make this as cupcakes? If so, did you change anything?
Claire Griffen on 2026-04-27 (5 stars): This was an easy delicious cake, Shortcut route, so easy. Well received just a bit of powdered sugar on top
Iris on 2026-04-16 (5 stars): Perfect recipe.
I must admit that I reduced the sugar to about 190 grams and - because I'm too lazy to make a topping - just threw some dark chocolate chunks on top before throwing everything in the oven (2 8-inch springform pans). Or, rather, the Ninja Combi. I used your temperature setting and halved the time since the steam phase makes up for the rest and the result was absolutely delicious. My first cake in about 10 years, and my very first in the Combi. Will try the regular baking option later.
Thanks for this wonderful recipe and the great tips and suggestions!
