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(2,623)
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 monosaturated 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
2,623 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.

Michelle

I did this recipe twice and I have to admit that I am NOT a baker, but it looked easy enough. First time I used blood oranges. This produced the ugliest cake ever. Blue-green algae colored batter and peto-pink glaze. A truly foul combination that looked even worse the next day. Frankencake. Next try was with tangelo, which made a pretty cake and put tangerine slices on top of the glaze and sprinkled a bit more zest. Much, much better. Both cakes tasted and smelled great.

Nyx

For my vegan-ish, dairy free partner I made this with about 50ml rice milk and 15 ml vegan yogurt in lieu of whole milk. Much to my surprise, he oddly did not enjoy this cake due to the very slight bitterness that came through in the end (this from a man who drinks wine and black coffees??) Nonetheless, I give it 5 stars because I myself quite enjoyed the cake! Worth noting, I am oddly very sensitive to bitterness—I do not like wine or any kind of coffee. The slight bitterness didn’t seem actually bitter to me, it reminded me more of eating a classic American buttermilk biscuit. Another reason to justify 5 stars is that I offered this cake to no less than 9 coworkers who all thoroughly enjoyed it! Only one person said the cake was TOO SWEET with the icing, he preferred it without. So while there are points of disagreement about this lovely cake, overall everyone was shocked and pleased by the intensity of orange flavor. Will be making this one again for sure! Note: probably best served chilled. I thought I made my icing thick enough not to soak into the cake, but after sitting at room temperature for a few hours it definitely soaked in. (Still delicious though!)

JSA

I especially like your instructions to butter the 8x8 pan first. Then put parchment on the pan. Then butter the parchment. I think I should add another layer of butter.

Hailey

What a delightful cake! I used 1.5 Cara Cara oranges and baked it in an 8” round tin for 30 minutes and it came out beautifully. So shocked at how simple the cake was yet how tasty! Can’t wait to make this again.

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