This delicious orange cake is easy to prepare, requires simple ingredients and does not need special machines, it is made by hand with two bowls and a whisk. In addition, it is very aromatic and fluffy, perfect for snacking and sharing.
Details to consider
This recipe is so easy, that there are only a few things to consider.
First, the ingredients must be at room temperature. This is so that they are easier to incorporate without excessive beating and so that there are no weird reactions in the oven due to sudden changes in temperature.
The eggs are medium in size and whenever I say that I mean eggs that weigh approximately 50g (1,8 oz) without the shell.
The orange juice is natural so that it offers the best possible flavor to the cake. The orange zest also intensifies that flavor due to the aroma it provides. I have combined milk and orange juice in this recipe, but if you wanted to use only the juice you can perfectly do it and thus prepare a cake without lactose. In that case of course you need to use 250ml (1 cup) of juice instead of half a cup of each ingredient (juice and milk). I have used whole milk, but you can use skim milk if you prefer or even half and half.
As for the oil, I have used sunflower oil, but you can use any cooking oil that you like, that can be cooked (that is, that it accepts high temperatures) and that has a neutral flavor. For example, you could use canola or corn oil and even a mild olive oil. Using oil in this cake helps to achieve a very tender and very juicy crumb. However, if you want to use another type of fat, you can use melted butter or margarine as well. Note that if the fat contains salt, you should omit the salt from the recipe.
Vanilla is an ingredient that cannot be missing in most sponge cakes and this orange cake is no exception. In Germany, which is where I live, it is very common to find and use vanilla sugar in pastries and desserts. Since I have easy access to this ingredient, I use it occasionally, but if you can’t find it, you can easily use liquid vanilla extract instead, the same amount.
Due to the way of mixing the ingredients of this recipe, it is recommended that you use a wheat flour that has a low amount of protein. I have used an all-purpose flour with 10% protein. If you have access to pastry flour, you can use that without a problem. If your all purpose flour contains more than 10% protein, you should take care not to over-beat the batter so as not to generate too much gluten, as this would leave the cake with a dense and rubbery crumb. I never use self rising flour, that is flour which contains already the rising agent, because I prefer to control the amount of it that I add. This time I used a combination of baking powder (known in some places as chemical yeast) and baking soda.
For this orange cake I have used 120g of sugar. The result is a cake that is not overly sweet but rather has a milder flavor. If you like it with more sugar, you can increase the amount to 150g or maximum 200g. More than that is at personal risk because the amount of sugar also affects moisture and texture and in combination with the oil you could get a very delicate sponge that could break easily. In the same way, you can also reduce the amount of sugar in the recipe and even omit sugar completely, always keeping in mind that this will affect texture and obviously flavor. It can be sweetened with other ingredients such as honey, maple syrup, or even natural sweeteners like stevia. If you decide to sweeten with stevia, keep in mind to use less amount, since this sweetener is used in a different way than natural sugar. Basically, in terms of sweetness, this orange sponge cake recipe allows you to experiment a bit.
As for baking, for some time I have been baking my biscuits at a relatively low temperature: 160°C or 320°F. From the results obtained, I consider that baking at this temperature helps the cakes or sponges rise more evenly and there is less of a mound in the center or less breakage on the surface. However, as I always mention, each oven is a unique world. What works for me may not work for other people, so it’s a matter of testing and adapting. The baking time is indicative and also depends on the material and the shape of the mold chosen for the cake. In my case I have baked the cake in a cast aluminum bundt cake mold. Both the material and the shape of the mold allow a more uniform distribution of heat that helps to bake well in the indicated time of one hour.
A pan made of another material and in a different shape, for example a round pan without a chimney, may need a different amount of time to bake the cake properly. That is why you always must be vigilant the first time you make a new recipe.
Once the orange cake is ready, let it rest in the pan for 10 minutes before unmolding it onto a wire rack. This resting time allows it to adapt a little to the temperature outside the oven so to speak and is less likely to collapse or break when unmolding. In any case, because it has a very juicy and delicate crumb, there is no need to be in a hurry when unmolding. It must be done carefully so that our entire cake can then rest until it cools completely at room temperature.
And now the recipe step by step
https://youtu.be/nyTbPFFcoEg
Orange cake - made with oil and without a mixer
Ingredients
- 245 g All-purpose flour (1 ¾ Cup)
- ½ Tsp. Salt
- ¼ Tsp. Baking soda
- 2 Tsp. Baking powder
- 2 Medium eggs (Room temp.)
- 1 Medium egg yold (Room temp.)
- 125 ml Natural orange juice (½ Cup)
- Orange zest
- 125 ml Milk (½ Cup)
- 125 g Sugar (⅔ Cup)
- 125 ml Sunflower oil (½ Cup)
- 1 Tsp. Vanilla sugar or vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160°C / 320°F.
- Prepare a 25cm bundt cake pan with butter or non-stick cooking spray.
- In a bowl sift the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Mix and set aside.
- In another bowl add the eggs, yolk, vanilla, orange juice, milk, oil, orange zest and sugar. Mix well.
- Transfer the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix until everything is moistened and there are no lumps(do not over mix.)
- Transfer to prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for about 1 hour. (See notes 3)
- Once baked, let rest on a wire rack for10 minutes.
- Unmold onto rack and let cool completely to room temperature.
- Once cold it can be sprinkled with icing sugar before serving.
Notes
- You can use only orange juice if you prefer, in this case you need a total of 250ml of juice (1 Cup)
- It can be canola or corn oil instead of sunflower oil, or any neutral cooking oil.
- The baking time is always indicative, it depends on each oven and the material and shape of the mold used.
And we will have ready a very delicious and easy to make orange cake. It can be baked in ordinary round cake pans and stacked and filled without a problem. To preserve it, I recommend keeping it in an airtight container. At room temperature it keeps well for a couple of days. Refrigerated it can last up to a week and frozen it can be kept up to 3 months.
I hope you liked the recipe.
If you make this delicious orange cake recipe, I’d love to hear about it and see your photos. You can send them to me via Instagram or Facebook to @poramoralhorno.
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Thank you very much for reading this far and see you in the next recipe.
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