Whole-Orange Snack Cake

By Samantha Seneviratne

Published March 23, 2021

  • Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Laurie Ellen Pellicano.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
45 minutes, plus cooling
Rating
4(2,654)
Comments
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It may strike you as curious, but adding an entire orange to this easy snacking cake, rind and all, imparts a wonderful flavor reminiscent of orange marmalade, pleasantly bitter and sweet. A high-speed blender is the best way to process the orange, but a food processor works too. You want the purée to be as smooth as possible. While the cake bakes, prepare an easy orange glaze. For that step — or any recipe requiring both orange zest and juice — be sure to zest your orange before juicing it, as it’s much more difficult the other way around.

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Ingredients

Yield:16 servings

FOR THE CAKE

  • 6 tablespoons/85 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing the pan

  • 1 small navel orange (about 250 grams), ends trimmed, cut into large chunks, and seeds removed, if necessary

  • ¼ cup/60 milliliters whole milk

  • 1 ½ cups/192 grams all-purpose flour

  • 1 teaspoon baking powder

  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda

  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt

  • ¾ cup/151 grams granulated sugar

  • 2 large eggs, at room temperature

FOR THE GLAZE (OPTIONAL)

  • ¾ cup/77 grams confectioners’ sugar

  • ½ teaspoon freshly grated orange zest, plus 3 to 4 teaspoons freshly squeezed orange juice (from 1 orange)

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (16 servings)

26 grams carbs; 35 milligrams cholesterol; 156 calories; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 5 grams fat; 1 gram fiber; 113 milligrams sodium; 2 grams protein; 16 grams sugar

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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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare the pan: Butter an 8-inch square baking pan. Line the pan with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides. Butter the parchment.

  2. Step 2

    Transfer the orange chunks and milk to a high-speed blender (or food processor) and process until it is the texture of smooth applesauce. (You should have about 1 generous cup.)

  3. Step 3

    In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

  4. Step 4

    In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the butter and granulated sugar on medium until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed.

  5. Step 5

    Add half the flour mixture and beat just until combined. Beat in the orange mixture, then beat in the remaining flour mixture. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth the top.

  6. Step 6

    Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool for 20 minutes. Then, using the parchment, transfer the cake to a rack to cool completely.

  7. Step 7

    While the cake cools, prepare the glaze, if using: In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, orange zest and orange juice. (Use a little less juice for a thicker glaze that will sit on top of the cake, or add a little more juice for a thinner glaze that will soak into the cake.)

  8. Step 8

    Spread the glaze over the cooled cake, then slice to serve. Store leftovers well-wrapped at room temperature for up to 3 days.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
2,654 user ratings
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Comments

DL

Did I add triple sec to the glaze? I did.

Melissa

I swapped out the butter for olive oil, mostly because I am lazy and didn't feel like cleaning the mixer after creaming butter. It came out moist and tasty with a tender crumb and allowed us to feel okay about calling it breakfast.

Ariela M

You know when you're an inexperienced cook, and a recipe tells you to do a whole bunch of steps and use your cuisinart and two bowls and beaters and prance around your kitchen and you're like, "Will do! The NYT told me to use all these bowls so it must be important!" and then when you get older you find yourself going "....OR....I can just dump EVERYTHING into the cuisinart after the orange and it will come out JUST AS DELICIOUS with far less cleanup?" Yeah, that's this cake. Yummy, though!

CT

I used one large navel orange plus some ground cardamom, and the flavour was wonderful! The cake was quite dense and on the verge of dry, though still delicious. I will have to see what I can do to remedy the dryness next time I make this. There will definitely be a next time!

CT

@Luket My attempt also came out very dense and seemed a little on the dry side, though we loved the flavour and think it's a delicious cake. Do you think the denseness is due to overbeating?

Luket

Made this per the recipe. It was delicious and perfectly serve-able, but just slightly dense for my liking. I’d be interested to hear if this has been anyone else’s experience. Might have been my baking, although I was careful to not over-mix. Also interested in tips for other great whole-orange cake recipes, perhaps with olive oil?

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