Easy and Moist Orange Cake Recipe

Made with just a handful of simple ingredients, including fresh oranges and Greek yogurt, this is a super easy Orange Cake recipe, that produces an incredibly moist cake with a lovely tender crumb.

If you’ve been searching for the best homemade Orange Cake, then look no further, because this. is. it!  Made with both fresh orange juice and orange zest, this is a flavour-packed Orange Cake!  It’s whisked together in a few minutes with a balloon whisk, which means you don’t even need an electric mixer.  It’s the perfect Orange Cake for an afternoon tea, and because it stays so soft and moist for days, it’s the perfect cake for special occasions, when you want to make your cake ahead of time.

Why You Will Love This Recipe

• No stand mixer required
• Simple, fresh ingredients
• Greek yogurt creates a beautifully tender cake
• It’s the perfect cake to use in layered desserts -think Trifle or Tiramisu
• It’s the best orange cake you’ll ever make!

Ingredients

• Vegetable oil:  keeps this Orange Cake super moist and tender
• Eggs:    adds richness and structure
• Orange Juice and Zest:  for a deliciously fresh orange flavour
• Greek Yogurt:  for the perfect texture you just can’t beat!
• Caster Sugar:  (superfine sugar) for sweetness
• Self-Raising flour:  see substitutions if you don’t have SR flour
• Icing Sugar:  for dusting

Substitutions and Additions

• Self Raising Flour:  whisk 2 teaspoons of baking powder into all purpose flour, to make self raising flour
• Greek Yogurt:  can be swapped for sour cream here -it will still produce that lovely tender crumb.
• Icing Sugar:  for a more intense orange flavour, make a simple syrup using orange juice and brush it over the top of the cake while it’s still warm.
• Add Vanilla:  for a more rounded and less citrus flavour, try adding a teaspoon of vanilla extract
• Glaze:   want to make it a little more fancy?   Top your orange cake with a simple vanilla or orange glaze and sprinkle with orange zest.
• Swap the round cake tin:  instead of the 9 inch cake tin I have used, try a loaf pan or bundt pan -the bake time should still be around the same, but be sure to test the cake with a knife or cake tester

Step by Step Instructions

1. Pre heat your oven to 180 Celsius or 350 Fahrenheit  (160 celsius if using a fan oven)
2. Spray a 9 inch cake tin with oil and line with parchment paper
3. To a large bowl, add the vegetable oil, eggs, zest, juice, Greek yogurt and caster sugar.   Use a balloon whisk to whisk it all together
4. Add the flour to the wet ingredients and whisk gently until there are no remaining lumps of flour
5. Pour the cake batter into your prepared pan and bake for 50-55 minutes, until golden brown and cooked in the middle (use a cake tester and make sure it comes out clean)
6. Remove from the oven and sit the cake tin on a wire rack, to allow the cake to cool completely in the pan
7. Once cooled, dust with icing sugar and serve

Tips and Tricks

• How to tell when your cake is ready:  it will spring back when gently pushed in the centre.  When you insert a cake tester into the middle of the cake, it should come out clean
• Because this cake is so moist, really make sure it has cooked completely, otherwise it will sink in the middle.
• Prepare your cake tin before you start the recipe and make sure your oven has pre heated.

Serving Suggestions

• Afternoon tea:  this cake is deliciously light and is perfect served with afternoon tea.  It’s lovely with a side of Chantilly Cream.
• School lunchboxes:  wrap individual slices of this cake and send it to school!  I used to always freeze my boys’ cakes and pop them in their lunchboxes -it helps keep the rest of their lunch cool during the morning.
• Layer it:  you can layer this cake with a store-bought curd, or make my citrus curd (swap out the lemon for orange).  Simply spread the curd between the orange cake layers, then coat it with a buttercream.  A cream cheese frosting would also be supremely delicious!
• Leftover cake:  (like that’s a thing!) Because this orange cake is so incredibly moist and tender, it makes great truffles!  Use it to make my Orange Cointreau Truffles (coming soon).

Storage

• Room temperature: in an airtight container, this Orange Cake will store well at room temperature for 4-5 days
• Fridge:  you will only need to refrigerate this cake if you are going to cover it with frosting
• Freezer:  this cake will freeze perfectly either whole or in slices.  Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and store in the freezer for 3 months

The Perfect Orange Cake Recipe (easy and moist!)

Made with just a handful of simple ingredients, including fresh oranges and Greek yogurt, this is a super easy Orange Cake recipe, that produces an incredibly moist cake with a lovely tender crumb.

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 50 minutes mins

Course Afternoon Tea, brunch, Dessert

Cuisine Australian

Servings 1 9 inch cake

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ⅔ cup Vegetable oil
• 2 Eggs room temperature
• 2 tbsp Orange zest you will need around 2 oranges
• ¼ cup Orange juice from the fresh oranges you just zested!
• 1 cup Greek yogurt
• 1½ cups Caster sugar superfine sugar
• 2 cups Self Raising flour see notes
• Icing sugar to dust

Instructions

 

• Pre heat your oven to 180℃ or 350℉  (160℃ if using a fan oven)
• Spray a 9 inch cake tin with oil and line with parchment paper
• To a large bowl, add the vegetable oil, eggs, zest, juice, Greek yogurt and caster sugar.   Use a balloon whisk to whisk it all together
• Add the flour to the wet ingredients and whisk gently until there are no remaining lumps of flour
• Pour the cake batter into your prepared pan and bake for 50-55 minutes, until golden brown and cooked in the middle (use a cake tester and make sure it comes out clean)
• Remove from the oven and sit the cake tin on a wire rack, to allow the cake to cool completely in the pan
• Once cooled, dust with icing sugar and serve

Notes

Substitutions and Additions

• Self Raising Flour:  whisk 2 teaspoons of baking powder into all purpose flour, to make self raising flour
• Greek Yogurt:  can be swapped for sour cream here -it will still produce that lovely tender crumb.
• Icing Sugar:  for a more intense orange flavour, make a simple syrup using orange juice and brush it over the top of the cake while it's still warm.
• Add Vanilla:  for a more rounded and less citrus flavour, try adding a teaspoon of vanilla extract
• Glaze:   want to make it a little more fancy?   Top your orange cake with a simple vanilla or orange glaze and sprinkle with orange zest.
• Swap the round cake tin:  instead of the 9 inch cake tin I have used, try a loaf pan or bundt pan -the bake time should still be around the same, but be sure to test the cake with a knife or cake tester

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