Moist orange drizzle cake, full of citrus flavor. A cheap and easy to make loaf cake that your family will love.
This orange drizzle cake is a twist on the Lime Drizzle Cake, a very popular recipe on the blog. I've been baking drizzle cakes for years (starting with the Lemon Drizzle Tray Bake) and my kids could not be happier.
Any drizzle cake is just THE cake for children. They love the fluffy, moist crumb, the sweet and tangy flavor and the fact that the cake is so easy to eat. No need for a plate or a fork, just a slice on the hand is enough.
Drizzle cakes were made popular by the famous British TV chef Mary Berry. They are actually no more than simple sponge cakes baked in a loaf pan (or trays or bundt pans if you want to change something), soaked with citrus juice mixed with sugar.
But the texture and the flavors are exquisite, you should really give this kind of cake a try, I am sure you would love it!
What do you need?
The usual cake ingredients:
- Unsalted butter
- Sugar
- Eggs
- Flour
- Baking powder
- Oranges
- Icing sugar
How to make the batter?
- Place the soft butter and the sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until light and fluffy. You can do this with a handheld mixer, of course, but as you have to beat the mixture for 5 minutes a stand mixer is more comfortable.
- While the mixer works, you can prepare the loaf tin.
- Add the eggs to the batter, one at a time, and mix well in between.
- Mix the flour and the baking powder and sift them over the butter mixture.
- Add the finely grated zest and mix until combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf tin.
- Bake for 60-65 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Leave to rest in the pan for 10 minutes.
How to make the drizzle?
- Sieve the icing sugar into a small bowl.
- Add the juice and stir well.
How to drizzle the cake?
- Prick the cake with a skewer or a toothpick.
- Pour the drizzle all over.
- Let cool completely in the tin.
- Sprinkle with icing sugar and top with the reserved orange strips just before serving.
Tips
Kitchen scale: Always use a kitchen scale when baking, it guarantees for best results. (Amazon affiliate link)
Tin:
- Prepare the loaf tin: grease it well with butter.
- Sprinkle it with about 1 tablespoon flour and shake the tin to distribute the flour all over the tin, including the walls.
- Turn the tin over the sink and pat it on the back and sides to remove the excess flour.
Butter:
- Make sure the butter is soft. Take it out of the refrigerator several hours before baking.
- If the butter is not soft enough, you will not be able to stir the batter properly.
Oranges:
- I recommend using organic, unwaxed oranges.
- As unwaxed one might be difficult to find (even the organic ones are often waxed), make sure you wash and dry them very well before zesting.
- You will need 100 ml/ /3.4 fl.oz/scant ½ cup juice, depending on the size of the oranges, so about two or three, small to medium ones.
- You will only need the zest of one for the batter.
- If you want to decorate the orange drizzle cake with peel, remove a piece of peel from one orange before you grate the remaining zest. Cut this piece into very thin strips and reserve for decoration.
- When grating the peel make sure you only get the orange-colored peel, the white peel is really bitter.
More orange cakes:
- Mandarin Orange and Cream
- Orange Polenta Cake
- Carrot Cake with Almonds and Orange Juice
- Orange Bundt with Chocolate
- Moist Orange Bundt Cake
Orange Drizzle Cake
Ingredients
- Cake:
- 250 g/ 8.8 oz/ 1 cup unsalted butter
- 200 g/ 7 oz/ 1 cup granulated sugar
- 5 eggs medium Germany, large US
- 2-3 oranges depending on size, small-medium (See note)
- 250 g/ 8.8 oz/ 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- Drizzle:
- 100 g/ 3.4 fl.oz/ 1 cup icing sugar
- 100 ml/3.4 fl.oz/scant ½ cup orange juice from the oranges mentioned above
- some orange peel stripes for decoration optional
Instructions
Preparations:
- Make sure to take the butter out of the fridge a few hours before baking, so that it has time to soften.
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius/ 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Prepare a loaf cake tin of about 30x12 cm/ 12 x5 inches. Butter it all over, sprinkle with a little flour and shake the tin to distribute the flour all over. Turn the tin upside over the sink and pat it on the back and the sides to remove the excess flour. Set aside. - Wash and dry the oranges very well. Cut a piece of orange peel very thinly, if you want a few stripes to decorate the cake. Set aside. Zest the rest of one orange by grating the orange skin on the fine grater. Set aside. Juice the oranges, you will need 100 ml/3.4 fl.oz/scant ½ cup juice. Set aside.
Batter:
- Beat together the soft butter and the sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- Add the eggs to the batter, one at a time, mixing well in between.
- In another bowl, mix together the flour and the baking powder, sift them over the butter-sugar mixture and add the finely grated zest. Mix gently until combined. Pour the batter into the prepared tin.
- Bake for 60-65 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Let rest in the pan for 10 minutes.
Drizzle:
- Make the orange drizzle in the meantime. Sieve the icing sugar into a small bowl. Add the lime juice and stir well.
- Prick the cake with a skewer (or toothpick) all over. Pour the drizzle all over. Let cool completely in the tin. Carefully, remove from the tin and place it on a serving platter. Sprinkle with icing sugar and top with the reserved orange strips.
Notes
You will only need the zest of 1 orange, most of it grated for the batter, and some thin peel stripes for decorating the cake.
mjskitchen says
A nice light and fluffy cake and I love the orange drizzle.
grace says
what a beautiful texture! makes me want to sink my teeth into a slice or three. 🙂