My eggless orange cake has an abundance of citrus punch from the fresh orange juice and zest. It has a moist and tender crumb without adding butter or eggs. Enjoy it as a tea time cake or double the orange flavor by adding marmalade and frosting for an ultimate Orange Dream Cake! Video included!
If you are following me then you know how much I love fresh fruit cakes. My favorite being this fresh strawberry cake with cream cheese frosting. If you are a mango lover, try this eggless mango cake. Around the holidays, I love to make this healthy fruit cake which is filled with orange flavors, nuts, and dried fruits.
Tea time cake or a delightful dessert
If you are looking for a fragrant cake that stays moist for a couple of days then you have to try this orange cake at home. I love orange flavor sponge cake with my coffee. Most of the time I do not bother frosting it. But if you would like to put a simple and elegant cake for a fruit lover then just add some delicious marmalade and whipped cream frosting between the layers. You can keep it rustic looking by roughly covering the top and the sides of the cake. Add some orange wedges and flowers on the top. Tadaa!!! An amazingly delicious orange cake is ready without much effort.
If you plan to make frosting at home then my Sturdy whipped cream frosting or cream cheese frosting pairs well with this fruit cake. This time I have used a ready store-bought tub of cool whip found in the frozen section of the grocery store to frost this cake. I have added a ready-made jar of marmalade too. The entire recipe is mentioned towards the end inside the recipe card.
Ingredients to make an orange cake at home
This cake is lightly based on my Eggless Vanilla Cake Recipe. Instead of yogurt, I have used a combination of milk and orange juice. I have kept the list simply by using ingredients found at home. My orange cake recipe is made without condensed milk, eggs, or butter. You don’t even require any orange extract. It is naturally flavored with orange zest and juice. It mainly requires flour, cornstarch to make the cake lighter, oil, baking powder, soda, and milk.
No orange extract required
Stocking up on unnecessary ingredients is not me. Many recipes will call for using orange essence. Orange extract is something I may hardly use in any recipes so why buy it? I feel it is unnecessary if you are using orange zest and juice in an adequate amount. If you are skipping the fresh ingredients then you definitely need the extract.
Possible substitutes
- Swap the flour and cornstarch for cake flour.
- You may swap fresh orange juice with a ready-made one. Go through the post on the details.
- You can add nuts to the cake. Make sure to dust them with flour before adding them to the batter.
How to make Vegan Orange Cake?
- Simply use plant-based milk.
- Use vegan frosting, if you desire to decorate the cake.
Important tips to make the best homemade orange cake
- Orange zest is everything. Please use it.
- Always zest the orange before peeling. It is easier to get the zest that way. Use only the orange part and not the white.
- Do not overmix the batter.
- Do not overcook the cake sponge. If the toothpick comes out with few moist crumbs and not batter then it is done.
- For extra orange flavor dress your cake with some marmalade.
- Plan ahead, the flavor deepens and tastes amazing the next day.
What oranges to use to make this cake?
You can use any orange that juices well. Keep the pulp but make sure you discard the seeds. See to it that the oranges are not very tart or it will change the PH balance of the cake batter making the cake flat. I wanted to use the clementines growing in my backyard. But they were too sour, so I have used the juice of a Valencia orange. Navel oranges work well too.
Please use a Microplane
The strong orange flavor in this cake recipe comes from the zest. I highly recommend investing in a Microplane for zesting the orange peel. A regular grater doesn’t work at all. If you don’t have a zester then skip it and use ½ teaspoon orange extract.
Can I use readymade orange juice?
I get it, store-bought juice is easier right, but it has added sugar in it and thicker than the real fresh orange juice. Yes, you can use it. Just dilute 3 tablespoon juice with 1 tablespoon water and reduce the sugar by 1 tablespoon. But honestly, it just takes 5 minutes to squeeze fresh juice for this recipe.
Pan size to use
- I have used two 6″ pans for this recipe for easy cutting and layering.
- One 8″ square or round pan works well too.
- You can turn this cake into cupcakes. Just the bake time will be around 12-16 minutes.
Instructions for properly storing and orange cake
- An unfrosted cake can be stored at room temperature for 2 days.
- This cake stays well in the fridge for 5 days provided it is kept in an airtight container.
- Orange cake freezes very well and comes in handy for impromptu gatherings.
- Frosted cakes have to be refrigerated at all times. Stays well for 4 days in the fridge.
How to freeze an orange cake?
- Freeze unfrosted orange cake by wrapping it several times with saran wrap and then foil.
- You can individually wrap the slices and freeze them the same way.
- I don’t recommend freezing a frosted fresh cream orange cake.
Ways to defrost and enjoy the cake
- You can defrost it overnight by placing the cake in the fridge.
- Or you can let it stand at room temperature for 3-4 hours for the cake to defrost or 30 minutes to defrost the slice.
- Use a microwave defrost mode to bring the cake to room temperature.
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Awesome fresh fruit cakes to try at home
Oats Berries Multigrain Muffins
Homemade Orange Cake Recipe
Eggless Orange Cake (Tea Time Cake)
Ingredients
Mix in one bowl
- ¾ cup organic sugar OR regular sugar of choice
- ¾ cup milk
- ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon Oil flavorless oil of choice
- ¼ cup Fresh Orange Juice
- 1½ Tablespoon Orange Zest
- 1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
Sift in another bowl
- 1 ½ cup All-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoon Cornstarch
- 1 ¼ teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 deg F / 180 deg C.
Prepare the pan for baking.
- Lightly spray oil on the base and sides of a two 6” or one 8” pan. Dust it all over with flour. Line the base with parchment paper.
- Add sugar and all liquid ingredients to a bowl. Whisk well until the sugar is almost dissolved.
- In another bowl, sift all the dry ingredients.
- Now add the liquid to the dry ingredient bowl and slowly start folding the mixture. Whisk it with an electric or a handheld whisk until smooth and lump-free.
- Add the batter to the prepared pans and gently tap the pans on to the surface to get rid of any air bubbles.
- Bake in a pre-heated oven for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes with few moist crumbs or clean. Check with a toothpick at the 30-minute mark. If it comes out with sticky batter bake for additional minutes.
- Once done take them out of the oven and let them rest in the pan for 10 minutes. Now loosen the sides with a knife and invert them on a cooling rack. Peel off the parchment from the top.
- Let the cake cool completely before storing or frosting.
- The orange flavor deepens the next day. I like to cover the cake with plastic wrap and foil until the next day and then proceed with the filling & frosting if desired.
Step by Step video of the recipe -
Notes
Possible substitutes
- Swap the flour and cornstarch for cake flour.
- You may swap fresh orange juice with a ready-made one. Go through the post on the details.
- You can add nuts to the cake. Make sure to dust them with flour before adding them to the batter.
For making it vegan
- Simply use plant-based milk.
- Use vegan frosting, if you desire to decorate the cake.
Important tips to make the best orange cake
- Orange zest is everything. Please use it.
- If sugar granules are big then pulse it in the blender after measuring it.
- Do not over-mix the batter.
- Do not overcook the cake sponge. If the toothpick comes out with few moist crumbs and not batter then it is done.
- For extra orange flavor dress your cake with some marmalade.
- Plan ahead, the flavor deepens and tastes amazing the next day.
Storing Instructions
- The unfrosted cake can be stored at room temperature for 2 days.
- This cake stays well in the fridge for 5 days provided it is kept in an airtight container.
- Orange cake freezes very well and comes in handy for impromptu gatherings.
- Frosted cakes have to be refrigerated at all times. Stays well for 4 days in the fridge.
How to freeze and defrost an orange cake?
- Freeze unfrosted orange cake by wrapping it several times with saran wrap and then foil.
- You can individually wrap the slices and freeze them the same way.
- The frosted fresh cream orange cake cannot be frozen.
- Ways to defrost and enjoy the cake
- You can defrost it overnight by placing the cake in the fridge.
- Or you can let it stand at room temperature for 3-4 hours for the cake to defrost or 30 minutes to defrost the slice.
- Use a microwave defrost mode to bring the cake to room temperature.
Nutrition
Hi Khushboo! Firstly, thank you for this wonderful blog. I have tried many of your recipes & they really turn out amazing.
Now for this orange cake, do you think I can bake the same recipe in one 6*3 inch pan? If yes, how much time should I bake it for? You’ve mentioned that you have used 2 6 inches pan which I am assuming are 6*2. Please help.
Hi Divya, you will not be able to fit the batter in 6*3″ pan, plus if you would it will take way longer to cook making the cake dry. I would suggest using 3/4th the recipe for a 6″ pan having 3″ height. My suggestion is to always split batter in two pans to retain maximum softness.
Hi Khushboo
This recipe looks great. Recently I started making cakes and cannot wait to try this out. But since oranges are not available at this time of the year, could you please let me know if I can use the juices available in the market like Minute Maid or Paper Boat Orange juice? If yes, what changes do I need to make? Thanks in advance.
Hello Sahiti, store-bought juices have sugar included so you will have to adjust accordingly. Cut 1/4 cup sugar in the recipe and go ahead.
If I want to make this a orange chocolate cake how much cocoa powder should I use and does the amount of all purpose flour decrease?
If you want to make an orange chocolate cake then refer to my chocolate cake recipe, not this one as a lot will have to be altered in this recipe. Just add 1 tablespoon orange zest, 1/2 teaspoon orange extract to the chocolate cake recipe. You will have to swap 1/4th cup buttermilk with orange juice.
Hi Khushboo, this is such an easy peasy and delicious recipe. Have already made it twice. Not overly sweet and it’s delicate in texture.
Hi Kushboo,
I was wondering what are the flowers that you used on top of the cake to decorate it, and did you do any special preparation for them?
Hello Urvi, these are pansies. Edible flowers for dessert garnish. You can use artificial ones too.
Hi Khushboo,
Thank you for your quick reply, it was very helpful
Hi Khushboo, I tried this recipe for Mother’s Day and everyone absolutely loved it, it was very flavourful. I just have one problem the middle part of the cake is always not baked equally as the other parts. Not only for this cake but all of my cakes. I’ll always have to bake it twice or thrice at times. Because of that the sides usually gets a little hard. I don’t have an oven thermometer. Also, I always place my cakes directly on the glass plate in the oven, I don’t use the stand, is that okay?
Hello Aksh, I am happy that you enjoyed this recipe. If you like baking then investing in an oven thermometer is a good idea to avoid your efforts being wasted. TO help you better I would like to know – What kind of oven do you have? Do you bake in a glass pan?
Thank you Khushboo for the reply, will reduce the sugar as suggested 😊 Could you please let me know what is quantity of raisins and choco chips that I could add which won’t mess up the recipe and the cake consistency ?
1/4 cup to 1/3rd cup each raisin and chocolate chips should be fine.
Made this cake for New Years Eve, turned out so good and refreshing. Its not overly sweet and a good change from regular choc and vanilla cakes. Ingredients were readily available in my pantry, orange zest gives it a nice deep citrusy flavor. I topped it with your whipped cream and cream cheese frosting and it takes the cake to another level.
Hi Khushboo, I love your cake recipes & I always try them. I want to try this orange cake with eggs. Can you please tell me while using egg what changes should be done?
Hello Manasi, I have never used eggs so cannot guide you here. It turns great as is 🙂
Hi Khushboo
I’m really looking forward for trying this recipe but there are few Doubts,
1) you have shown vinegar n salt in video but there’s no vinegar n salt mentioned in the ingredients so what should be the quantity for both?
2) this days my cakes has cracked top n and properly cooked from all the side but inside all raw.. can you tell me why is it happening?
Hello Sneha, salt is mentioned in the ingredients. Please refer to the recipe card towards the end. ANd see notes about vinegar. Did you change your oven? it might be running hot. Use an oven thermometer to calibrate the temperature.
Yes.. I changed my oven.. 1st oven mentioned 180 degrees this one doesn’t.. so.. thanks a lot 😊
Hi Khushboo thanks for this recipe. I so badly want to try it. Could you please help with my queries
1) do I need to change the measurements if i am using UK cups. It says 1cup=250ml
2) i want to make a small cake and have 4 inch cake pan does thr size of tin makes any difference in terms of baking time and ingredients?
Can i use exactly half of of measurements to make a small cake?
Thanks you
1. You will just have to play around with the liquid, use 2 tablespoons less and see if it works or needs more.
2. Yes 4″ pan is too small for this recipe. It won’t fit the batter plus even if you use two 4″ pans, it will take longer to cook. Please do the toothpick test.
3. Yes, you can use half or even double this recipe.
Hey Khushboo ! If I wish to add some dark chocolate chips and raisins in this cake, then by how much quantity should I reduce the sugar ? Would any other changes be needed ?
Hello Ayush, reduce the sugar by 1/4th cup.