Print Recipe Jump to Recipe

Let’s bring in the new year with a refreshing orange cake! Most folks tend top think of oranges in the summer time, but these fruits are ready to pick in the later months of the year and right now is a great time to find a variety of them in the grocery store. The beauty of combining different colors to make a pattern or an ombré affect will certainly make this a sweet treat for your eyes just as much as it will for your mouth. I used navel oranges and pink Cara Cara oranges. Blood oranges would be a beautiful addition; however, you’ll need to candy them separately from the others to avoid having the colors all bleed together. Pun intended. 

This cake comes together in three easy steps and is stored in the fridge. First, candy the orange slices. Next, make the cake. Finally, create a glaze and pour it over the top. Yep, it’s that simple.

Step one: candy the oranges

Choose your fruit. You’ll need 3-4 oranges sliced fairly thin.

2/3 cup granulated sugar 

1 cup water

4 Tablespoons orange juice

Slice the oranges aprx. 3 mm wide. Combine sugar, water and orange juice in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Drop the orange slices in and allow them to cook in the boiling syrup for 12 minutes. Slide them off the heat and leave them in the syrup. 

Step two: The cake

Preheat the oven to 350

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

¾ cup canola oil

¼ cup plain yogurt

¼ cup heavy whipping cream

1 tsp vanilla

2 Tblsp orange juice

1 Tblsp orange zest

1 and ¼ cup all purpose flour (I used Arrow, organic and unbleached)

1 tsp baking powder (aluminum free)

Grease the bottom and sides of an 8 inch cake pan, then line it with parchment paper on the bottom and sides. Create a cake band by wetting a few paper towels and folding them into some aluminum foil the width of your cake pan. Wrap the pan with the band. This keeps the cake from forming a dome so that it will lay flat in the plate when flipped upside down and out of the pan. You don’t have to band the pan, that is totally optional. 

In a mixing bowl, whisk eggs and sugar together until smooth. Add in the oil, yogurt, heavy whipping cream, vanilla, orange juice, and zest. Whisk until well blended (2 minutes maybe).

Then, add the flour and baking powder. Blend on a medium low speed until well combined.

Place oranges slices into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. It’s perfectly fine to have two layers of oranges if you need to. Pour the cake batter over the top of the orange slices.

Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when tested. When done, allow the cake to cool for at least 30 minutes before inverting into a plate or serving dish of your choice. Remove parchment paper. 

Step three: The syrup

While the cake is baking, place the saucepan of orange syrup back on the stove eye. Add in 2/3 cup sugar and 2/3 cup orange juice. Simmer for 5-7 minutes and then remove from heat.

When the cake has been plated, use half of this warm syrup to pour all over the cake and pour the rest into a cute dish for serving. Someone will want extra, I assure you it will not go to waste. Store any left over orange syrup in the fridge and feel free to pour it in or on anything you like. Try not to drink the syrup straight or you could create a monster of an addiction. Yes, it is that good. 

This cake is amazing served warm or cold. It goes wonderfully with a cup of coffee at breakfast, brunch, or as a desert to cleanse your pallet after a meal. 

Print Recipe