This orange juice cake is bursting with citrus flavor! It’s a one-bowl made-from-scratch bundt cake that goes so well with a cup of hot tea or coffee and it’s so easy to make. Takes just 15 minutes to prepare the batter, and then it’s baked in the oven in less than an hour.
I love the citrus season. As I try to eat as seasonal as possible, the citrus season feels like a celebration! And as you can imagine, citrus fruits are the only fruits that we currently eat. I love Pomelo, cumquat, clementine, grapefruit, and orange!
Today’s recipe is a very simple and easy cake flavored with fresh, sweet, and tangy orange juice.
The texture of this cake is just incredible! It’s quite dense but soft at the same time, and it’s not meant to be super moist and fluffy. It’s just so perfect with a cup of hot tea (or coffee if you prefer).
It’s great for lunch boxes, and to feed the hungry kids that come home after school and ask about dessert after a meal.
This cake is a favorite in our house. In fact, my Mom and sister-in-law are obsessed with it! Ever since I posted this recipe on the blog, they have been making it all the time. They probably made it over 10 times last year, I’m not kidding!
If you love baking with orange, try my Orange Muffins too, they’re delicious!
The Ingredients
You only need 8 simple ingredients to make this orange juice cake. I also love the fact that butter is needed here, I use oil instead. So here’s what you’ll need:
Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
How to Make Orange Juice Cake
This cake is easy to make and you only need one bowl. That means less cleanup afterward.
- Mix Wet Ingredients: In a medium bowl, mix sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla with a whisk.
- Dry Ingredients: Add sifted flour, baking powder, and salt to the bowl. Now is also a good time to add orange zest. Tip for Zesting: To get the orange zest, lightly scrape only the orange surface. Avoid the white part; it’s bitter.
- Add Orange Juice: Pour in fresh orange juice and mix just until everything comes together. Don’t mix too much or your cake will be dense.
- Prepare the Pan: Old Pans: If you have an older cake pan, grease it with some vegetable oil and dust it with flour. New Pans: If your pan is non-stick, you can skip the flour. Just brush it lightly with vegetable oil.
- Pour and Bake: Pour the batter into the pan. Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 50 minutes.
- Check Doneness: At the 40-50 minute mark, poke the center with a toothpick. If it comes out clean, your cake is done. If not, bake a little longer.
Tip!
Remember, that you should not under any circumstances open the oven door to check on the cake before the first 30 minutes pass as this won’t allow your cake to rise correctly.
The cake will beautifully crack and will have a vibrant color once baked.
Success Tips
- Always use fresh orange juice if possible. Whilst you could use store-bought bottled juice, I found that fresh orange juice tastes much best.
- If you’re not so keen on oranges, you can substitute with any other kind of citrus instead. Grapefruit, lemon, and clementines work well.
- This cake is not too sweet, so before you think of reducing the amount of sugar please try my recipe first and then adjust to your preference the next time you bake it.
- The cake turns out quite dense, this is how it’s meant to be. If you prefer lighter cakes, then reduce the amount of the flour by ¼ a cup.
- Store the cake at room temperature covered in an air-tight cake container, or cover it with cling film if you don’t have a container that fits. If you leave the cake out without covering it, it will dry out.
- If you like spiced cakes, you could add spices like ground nutmeg and cloves.
Recommended Tools
- You will need a whisk or you can use a mixer. I always use my stand mixer to make cakes (it’s currently on a big sale!).
- Always use measuring spoons and measuring cups when baking or even cooking food. This will ensure that you get the recipe right!
- You will also need a citrus zester, this is the only citrus zester that I will ever use. You may have not come across it before, but it’s really worth checking out. It makes sure that you only get the nice orange bits when zesting an orange instead of getting the white bits that are bitter.
More Easy Cake Recipes To Try
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Orange Juice Cake
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (340 g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (325 ml) vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 cups (360 g) all purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (120 ml) orange juice
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C), and grease and flour a bundt pan and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk sugar with vegetable oil and eggs. Mix in the vanilla extract.
- Add flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the orange zest and whisk the batter until everything is just combined.
- Add orange juice and give the batter a quick mix. Do not over mix the batter.
- Pour batter into a prepared cake pan, and bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Notes:
- Always use fresh orange juice if possible. Whilst you could use store-bought bottled juice, I found that fresh orange juice tastes much best.
- If you’re not so keen on oranges, you can substitute with any other kind of citrus instead. Grapefruit, lemon, and clementines work well.
- This cake is not too sweet, so before you think of reducing the amount of the sugar please try my recipe first and then adjust to your preference the next time you bake it.
- The cake turns out quite dense, this is how it’s meant to be. If you prefer lighter cakes, then reduce the amount of the flour by ¼ cup.
- Store the cake at room temperature covered in an air-tight cake container, or cover it with cling film if you don’t have a container that fits. If you leave the cake out without covering it, it will dry out.
- If you like spiced cakes, you could add spices like ground nutmeg and cloves.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Little Sunny Kitchen
This recipe first appeared on Little Sunny Kitchen on March 9th, 2019 but was updated with new images and more info on January 1st, 2020.
David says
Can i suggest you list the ingredients at the top
Of the page followed by a brief intro and the recipe itself? When looking at this recipe on the mobile phone I have to scroll through a pile of useless stuff before I get to the ingredients list. Such a waste of time and I often quit the page and look for another, better layed out page.
Diana says
Hi David, I’m sorry you feel like the blog post explaining the ingredients, instructions and sharing my tips is useless. On my website I share tested recipes that work, and the ads that you have to scroll down through help support the work that goes into creating these recipes. I understand that scrolling might not be ideal for everyone, which is why some people prefer cookbooks. Thank you for your feedback.