By Julia Moskin
- Total Time
- 1 hour 45 minutes
- Rating
- 4(648)
- Notes
- Read community notes
This is delicious made with fresh juice, but even with supermarket O.J., it always tastes swell. Do not think about skipping the glaze; it is not a mere finish for the top, but the juicy essence that soaks in to create a moist cake.
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Ingredients
Yield:10 servings
- 1cup/225 grams unsalted butter (2 sticks), at room temperature, plus more for the pan
- 3oranges, preferably organic
- 1tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 3cups/375 grams all-purpose flour
- ½teaspoon baking soda
- ½teaspoon salt
- 2cups/400 grams sugar
- 3eggs, at room temperature
- 1cup/235 milliliters buttermilk
- ½cup/120 milliliters fresh orange juice
- 1tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ⅓cup/66 grams sugar
For the Cake
For the Glaze
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (10 servings)
532 calories; 20 grams fat; 12 grams saturated fat; 1 gram trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 83 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 53 grams sugars; 7 grams protein; 248 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Step
1
Bake the cake: Butter a deep, 9-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment or wax paper. Heat the oven to 325 degrees.
Step
2
Finely grate the zest of the oranges into a bowl. Squeeze 3 tablespoons of juice from the oranges and add it to the zest. (Reserve remaining oranges for making glaze.) Stir in lemon juice and set aside.
Step
3
In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and salt.
Step
4
In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter at medium speed until fluffy and light, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the sugar and beat to combine. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition.
Step
5
At low speed, add a third of the dry ingredients and a third of the buttermilk, mixing until the batter is just combined. Repeat with remaining dry ingredients and buttermilk, adding in batches and mixing until just combined. Add the orange zest mixture and combine.
Step
6
Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake until just firm in the center and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean (a few crumbs are O.K.), about 1 to 1¼ hours. Start testing after 1 hour.
Step
7
Meanwhile, make the glaze: Stir the juices and sugar together until sugar dissolves.
Step
8
When the cake is done, let cool in the pan for 15 minutes (it will still be warm). Turn out onto a wire rack set on a sheet pan with sides (run a knife around the edges if it sticks at first).
Step
9
Peel off the paper and use a baster or brush to spread a few spoonfuls of the glaze over the top. Let soak in before adding more. Continue until all the glaze is absorbed by the cake, including any that drips through onto the sheet pan. (Use your brush to pick it up from the pan and transfer back to the top of the cake.)
Step
10
Let cool at room temperature. Eat immediately or wrap well in plastic and refrigerate. Serve at room temperature or cold, in thin slices.
Ratings
4
out of 5
648
user ratings
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Cooking Notes
Leah Grossman
It would be helpful to know the amount of orange juice needed for the batter as oranges differ widely in juice amounts!
Vevettey
I have heated up the glaze to dissolve the sugars and added 1-2 tbs of Grand Marnier or triple sec keeping in the "orange" theme. It's a great recipe.
Natalie
Halve the recipe and bake in a 4.5 by 8.5 loaf pan at 325 degrees for 70 minutes. Turns out beautifully.
Randy
A question for Julia: Is there a reason the cake is basted & presented bottom-side-up as is shown in the accompanying photograph? Is the bottom more porous and absorbent of the glaze than the top?
nicols fox
This was as easy as advertised--and as delicious. Keeping the sugar/juice mixture for an hour before applying, thickens it nicely. I made it for our library Christmas Party and it was a hit. It was sliced across then down into neat slices. A young man--age 12--said "Did you make the Orange Cake?" When I admitted that I had, he said, "It was very good." There's nothing nicer than a spontaneous compliment from a young person.
rebecca
Very similar to my mother's go to birthday cake. I love it. I often dust the pan with coconut before baking. Add another layer of flavor to the cake.
Becca
Read step 2, only 3 Tablespoons orange juice goes in the batter. The rest of the juice goes into the glaze, where variations in amount of liquid are less critical.
Archie Goodwin
I always use a springform pan so I don’t have to worry about the cake pan being too small for the volume of batter.
Maryjo Garre
Too much batter for a plain 9” pan. Fits perfectly and bakes beautifully in greased Bundt pan.
Julie
Simone, if you have a good hand mixer, use that. It will probably take a little longer to cream the butter, and you will have to be mindful of how well you mix your ingredients, but you'll be happy with your results. Several years ago, my big mixer "died" and in the interim period when I didn't get around to replacing it, my hand mixer did just fine for cakes. Good luck!
Simone Brightstein
"In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment". My heart always sinks when I see this: I don't have this piece of equipment and, as a hesitant baker, am not sure how to proceed. Any suggestions?
Annie
This batter appealed more, so I did only steps 2 & 3 of https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1014488-upside-down-blood-orange-cake first in a springform pan to turn this one into an upside-down orange cake -- worked great, and even more beautiful and festive. Cooked the glaze down a bit first, then stirred in some marsala off heat. Once it was turned out, with the caramelized blood oranges on top, poked holes all over with a toothpick for the glaze. So delicious.
Carolina
Good cake, but sugar must be reduced by half at least. I made it with 1.5 cups of sugar, and it was still cloyingly sweet. I recommend increasing orange zest and lemon juice content as well.
Morna
I used 4 Valencia (juice) oranges. I added 3 Tbsp of Grand Marnier to the extra glaze—more complex flavor (per another’s suggestion). After cutting cake slices, I brushed left-over glaze on the slices. Ripe, sliced strawberries (unsweetened) REALLY REALLY REALLY MAKES THE CAKE! I used a 9” springform pan which sort of “mushroomed” the top slightly but I easily trimmed that off. The slices were 2” tall. 1” serving slices were plenty big enough. Enjoy! It’s a wonderful dessert!!
Gayle
Only 3 T goes into the batter, along with the zest from all 3 oranges. Remaining juice (up to 1/2 cup) is used for the glaze.
cassiadk
I have made this twice, once for my grand-daughters birthday.The first time I dived the batter into a ramekin and a nine inch cake pan, and increased the glaze by 1/2, this cake was great it had a moist intense orange flavor. The second time I made as directed but used a 10 inch spring form.the cake was still good but we prefer the thinner juicer cake, made with cara cara and blood oranges both wonderful. Next time closer to the 1st method
Namekc
Sounds delicious but my daughter requested something lemony for her birthday. Can I use Meyer lemon instead?
Linda Townshend
In the first instruction, they tell you to butter a deep 9” pan. They actually sell 9” pans that are about 3” deep. If you can’t or don’t want to buy one, a 9” springform pan is perfect. I love this cake, it’s almost a pound cake, and am considering skipping the glaze since it only sinks down about 1/2” and the cake tastes quite nice without it. Serving it with sliced strawberries would be a wonderful enhancement—I often add orange juice to my strawberries as the flavors complement each other.
Nain
I split the batter across two loaf pans and it turns out beautifully! A hit at book club, housewarming parties, and everywhere else I take this.
Amirissa
Very tasty cake. The only deviation is that I combined the zest with the sugar and worked that in to release the oils: the citrus liquid I added with the eggs. Served with rhubarb ice cream and guests were delighted.
Natalie
Decreased the sugar in they batter by a bit, added some lemon zest to the orange zest in the batter, added extra lemon juice to the batter, and added zest to the glaze as well.
very minor modifications
Followed the other comments, doubled everything. Added a whole jalapeño to the cilantro stem/scallion mix. Sautéed a shallot for 1 min before the chicken/garlic. Didn’t have rum! Coconut rice next time.
Arlene
If I want to make this ahead and freeze it, should I wait to add the glaze after I thaw it?
Joey Golaw
For cake:6.5g ground cardamom
Joey Golaw
For glaze:60g sugar45g Cointreau
aing
Made this in a 9”x13” pan and it was done to perfection in about 65 minutes. Absolutely delicious and do not skip the glaze! Followed another reader’s suggestion to make the glaze and let it sit for an hour before using- great idea, it does thicken nicely.
B MacKay
This was just about the Best Cake Ever. A wonderful antidote to the Winter Blues in northern New England!
Jen D.
Delicious, and surprisingly light texture. The family loved it. I made it in a 10 cup Nordicware “Crown” Bundt pan (sprayed really well with Bak-klene) and it worked beautifully. The extra nooks and crannies were great for absorbing the glaze. It’s a keeper.
klv
A helpful ingredient would be to add the orange zest to the list to avoid trying to zest an orange already cut in half and squeezed.
Hermine
I made this in a 9 inch Springform pan and it rose perfectly. It was done in 65 minutes. I glazed the bottom with about 1/4 of the glaze, gently turned over onto a cake plate and brushed the top. I thinly sliced the leftover orange half and decorated the top. Family and friends enjoyed at outside tea party! Will make this again.
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