Orange Cake
I’ve made a lot of citrus cakes, and this is the one I come back to when I want something soft, reliable, and actually full of orange flavor. The crumb is light and tender, and the syrup makes sure it stays that way for days. It’s also a very straightforward cake to make. Nothing complicated, just a few small steps that make a big difference in the final texture.
You’re going to love this because…
This recipe came from wanting an orange cake that didn’t taste flat or dry. Rubbing the zest into the sugar and soaking the cake with syrup are the two things that really make it stand out.
- The texture stays soft and tender, even after refrigeration
- The orange flavor is strong without being overpowering
- The syrup keeps the cake moist without making it heavy
- The glaze adds just enough tang to balance everything
- It works in a bundt pan, loaf pans, or a sheet pan
Key ingredients and why I use them
Orange zest + sugar: I always rub the zest into the sugar first. This releases the oils and makes the flavor much more pronounced.
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Sour cream: This helps keep the cake soft and gives it a slight richness without making it dense.
Orange juice: Adds flavor and moisture, but I don’t rely on it alone—that’s where the zest and syrup come in.
Cornstarch: I use a small amount to keep the crumb extra tender.
Orange syrup: This step matters more than it looks. It soaks into the cake and keeps it from drying out.
How to make this orange cake
I know this cake is easy to make, but I want to walk you through it step by step. Full ingredients and instructions can be found at the bottom of this post in the recipe card.
Step 1: Grease the bundt pan
Let’s start by greasing the bundt pan. I am using a 12-cup bundt pan. Grease the pans with butter, specially when using a bundt pan with a lot of details, make sure to get each crevice nicely greased. Then sprinkle flour all over the pan, and shake the pan around to spread the flour evenly. Shake off any excess flour.
Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Step 2: Make the orange sugar
To make the batter, start by making the orange sugar. This step will ensure the cake will be brimming with orange flavor.
Add the orange zest and sugar to a bowl. Use your hands to rub the sugar and the zest together. The sugar crystals will help release the natural oils and flavors of the zest.
Step 3: Make the cake batter
Mix the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together, and set it aside.
In a separate bowl, I beat the butter until creamy, then add the orange sugar and mix until combined.
I add the eggs one at a time, mixing each one in before adding the next. Then I add the sour cream and orange juice and mix on low.
Step 4: Add the dry ingredients
I add half of the dry ingredients, then the milk, then the remaining dry ingredients.
At this point, I usually switch to a spatula and finish mixing just until everything is combined.
Step 5: Bake
Pour the cake into the prepared pan. Use a spatula to spread it evenly on top.
Bake the cake in the pre-heated oven until a toothpick comes out clean. Find the recommendations for different ovens and baking times on the recipe card below.
Step 6: Make the orange syrup
While the cake is baking, I make the syrup.
I bring the water, sugar, and orange peel to a boil, then turn off the heat and let it sit.
You can replace part of the liquid with orange liqueur if you want a slightly deeper flavor.
Step 7: Soak the cake
Once the cake comes out of the oven, I let it rest for about 5 to 10 minutes. Then I prick the top with a fork and pour the syrup over it.
I let the cake absorb the syrup for about 20 minutes, until it’s just warm. Then I invert it onto a serving plate.
Step 8: Make the orange glaze
I beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Then I add the powdered sugar and mix, followed by the orange juice. If I want it thicker, I add more powdered sugar. If I want it thinner, I add a bit more juice.
Step 9: Decorate & enjoy
Once the cake is cool, I pour the glaze over the top and finish with a bit of orange zest.
Storage
I store this cake in the fridge in an airtight container.
Before serving, I let it come back to room temperature so the texture softens again.
Expert tips
These are the small things that make the biggest difference.
- Don’t skip rubbing the zest into the sugar
- Stop mixing once the flour is incorporated
- Bake just until done—overbaking dries it out quickly
- Let the cake absorb the syrup before removing it from the pan
- Use room temperature ingredients for a smoother batter
FAQ
Yes. I actually prefer it the next day once the syrup has fully settled in.
It keeps the cake moist and reinforces the orange flavor.
Yes. This works in loaf pans, round pans, or a 9×13.
Most likely from overmixing after adding the flour.
This Orange Cake is perfect for breakfast, brunch, to serve for dessert, or afternoon tea time. You will find yourself making it again and again.
You can also make this Orange Cake into mini bundt cakes, using a mini bundt pan. I was able to obtain about 12 mini bundt cakes with my specific pan. The number of mini bundt cakes you obtain will depend on the size of your pan.
If you liked this, you might also enjoy
If you like citrus-based cakes, you might also enjoy my Lemon Bundt Cake, Lemon Blueberry Loaf, or Orange Chocolate Marble Cake. They follow a similar structure but with slightly different textures and flavor balances.
Tag me!
If you make this, let me know how it turns out or tag me on Instagram. I always like seeing your versions of these recipes.
Orange Cake
Ingredients
Orange Cake
- 2 cups granulated sugar 400 grams
- 4 tbsp orange zest from about 2 oranges
- 2 2/3 cup all-purpose flour 335 grams
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup unsalted butter 226 grams plus more for greasing the pan
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 cup sour cream 120 grams
- 1/4 cup orange juice 60 ml
- 1/2 cup milk 120 ml
Orange Syrup
- 1/2 cup orange juice 120 ml
- 1/2 cup sugar 100 grams
- Peel of one orange
Orange Glaze
- 1/3 cup cream cheese 75 grams
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter 14 grams
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 3 tbsp orange juice
- 2 tbsp orange zest to decorate
Instructions
Orange Bundt Cake
- Pre-heat the oven to 350ºF. If using convection oven set it to 325ºF.
- Grease a 12-cup bundt cake pan with butter. You will need about 1-2 tbsp to grease the pan, make sure the butter is softened when you do this. Once the butter is evenly coating the pan, sprinkle flour all over, and shake the pan against your hands, to make sure the flour is evenly being incorporated and distributed all over the pan. If using a bundt pan with details, make sure to get the nooks and crannies well covered, or the cake might stick in those areas that aren’t nicely greased and floured.
- Make the orange sugar. Zest the oranges and mix them with the sugar, rubbing between your fingers. The sugar crystals will help the orange peel release the natural oils that have so much flavor and aroma. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes. You can use a stand mixer or a hand held mixer.
- Add the orange sugar and beat again on medium-high speed until the mixture is fluffy, and the butter is lightened in color, which should take about 2 minutes.
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well until incorporated before adding the next egg.
- Add the sour cream and orange juice and mix on low to combine.
- Now add half of the flour mixture to the bowl.
- Mix on low to combine.
- Once the dry ingredients are just incorporated, add the milk at once.
- Mix on low to combine.
- Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix until incorporated.
- You can finish mixing with a spatula to prevent the batter from being over mixed, which can result in a dry cake.
- Pour the batter in the prepared bundt pan.
- Make sure to spread it out with a spatula so it’s nice and evenly distributed.
- Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 55 to 65 minutes. Baking time will vary depending on your oven. Convection ovens might bake faster.
- If the cake is browning too much but the inside isn’t cooked yet, cover with aluminum foil to help prevent the outsides of burning.
- The cake is done baking when it doesn’t feel jiggly when you touch the top. And also a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean.
Orange syrup
- While the cake bakes, make the orange syrup, and have it ready for when the cake is done baking.
- Place the sugar, orange juice, and orange peel in a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil.
- Turn the heat off as soon as the sugar dissolves completely.
- Set it aside.
- When you remove the cake from the oven, let it rest for about 5 minutes. Prickle holes on top of the cake with a fork.
- Remove the orange peel from the syrup, then pour the orange syrup all over the cake.
- Let the cake cool down for another 15 minutes in the pan, and let the syrup be absorbed by the cake.
- Then flip the cake over onto a cooling wire rack, or a plate.
- Let it cool down completely before slicing, and serving.
Orange Glaze
- To make the Orange Glaze beat the cream cheese and butter with a mixer for 30 seconds.
- Add the powdered sugar and beat for another 30 seconds.
- Then add the orange juice and mix to combine.
- Adjust the consistency of the glaze by adding more juice to thin it out, or adding more powdered sugar to make it thicker.
- You can add the orange zest directly to the glaze, or sprinkle on top of the cake once it’s done being glazed.
- I left mine out, so once the glaze was ready, I drizzled it over the cake. Then, the orange zest gets sprinkled on top of the cake.
Storage
- Store the cake in the fridge for up to 4 days, in an airtight container. Let it sit on the counter for 20 to 30 minutes before serving, it should be served at room temperature.
Can I put less sugar? I find 400 gr sugar somehow too much for European taste. Thanks!
You can try with less sugar, yes. It can affect the fluffiness of the cake, it can make it a bit more dense, not as moist. I’d go for 15-20% less to be safe, if you try to reduce it more than that it can affect it more significantly.
Hi,
Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe.
Made this for my daughter’s 17th birthday yesterday, as she did not want any sugar overloaded, butter cream-filled decadent cakes.
This cake was so flavoursome, with soft crumb and just the right amount of sweetness even after pouring the syrup and and I had many many requests for the recipe from her friends and mine 🙂
I didn’t have a bundt pan, so used two 9 inch round pans. 350 F and 30 mnts, Perfect brown top, the knife came out clean . Because many others said that the syrup made the cake stuck to the pan, I removed the cake after 5-6 mnts to the serving plate before pouring the syrup (i didn’t pour the entire quantity of syrup either ) and later, the glaze. Will be making this again for sure, this is definitely going to be a family favourite , Thank you again
This cake is absolutely delicious. One of the best I’ve ever tasted. Followed the recipe exactly and added some Cointreau into the syrup. I did have a little trouble getting it out of the tin. Next time I will take it out before adding the syrup, as I think that made it stick to the tin.
Hi! This sounds wonderful. What would be the temp and bake time if I were to halve the recipe and use a loaf pan? Only baking for 2! Thanks so much!
To halve the recipe and bake it in a loaf pan, follow these adjustments:
Temperature: Keep it at 350ºF (175ºC) for a conventional oven or 325ºF (163ºC) for a convection oven.
Bake time: 40 to 50 minutes. Start checking at 35 minutes by inserting a toothpick in the center. If it comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, it’s done.
Pan choice: Use a 8.5″x4.5″ loaf pan or a 9″x5″ loaf pan for the best results. A smaller loaf pan may require a slightly longer bake time.
Since loaf cakes take longer to bake through the center, if the top starts browning too quickly, tent it loosely with aluminum foil. Let it cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes before removing.
Enjoy your orange cake! 🍊🍰 Let me know if you need further adjustments!
Iv made this cakes a million times over, beautiful cake.! Just want to check if there’s any substitute for egg in the recipe? Need to bake it for a few friends who don’t eat egg..!!!! If yes, in what quantity?
Hi there, I’m super happy you like the cake. So, I havent tried without eggs, so Im not sure.
If I were to try, these are some of the options:
Since eggs provide structure, moisture, and leavening, I recommend using 1/4 cup (60g) unsweetened applesauce per egg, so you would need 1 cup (240g) applesauce to replace all four eggs.
Another option is 1/4 cup (60g) plain Greek yogurt or sour cream per egg, which would also total 1 cup (240g) for four eggs. (maybe a combo half apple sauce and half yogurt)
You can try using 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed mixed with 2.5 tablespoons water per egg, meaning 4 tablespoons flaxseed + 10 tablespoons water for all four eggs, allowing it to sit for 5 minutes to form a gel before adding it to the batter.
Keep in mind that removing eggs may slightly change the texture, possibly making the cake denser.
I have not tried this particular cake yet but my friends have an egg allergy so I started using Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer. It’s been great in everything I’d used it in so far! Plan on making this cake because it sounds delicious!
The cake turned out great! I have dairy and corn allergies so made some substitutions. I used potato starch instead of cornstarch and used violife brand butter and cream cheese, almond milk, and plain non-dairy yogurt for sour cream. No one even noticed! Lots of compliments on the cake.
That’s so wonderful to hear! Thank you!