I want to change the name of this cake from easy orange cake – to ‘Larah’s cake’. Larah, a good friend of mine from Wagga has made this cake using fresh oranges from her tree numerous times, “About one hundred times!” she states. I love how she sends me pics over insta of the finished product, admitting that with three growing sons and one hungry husband in the house – it never lasts long.
The recipe below is still the same, it’s just the name that’s changed. Larah’s cake. Has a nice ring to it don’t you think? Hmm I think Larzy sound’s better.
So I officially give you – ‘Larzy’s orange cake’. Perfect for those of you lucky enough to have an orange tree in your backyard. An orange tree in your backyard, with hungry mouths to feed inside.
Simple cooking at it’s best.
Enjoy.
Original blog post starts below.
I’m sitting here at my kitchen table currently eyeing off whats left of the orange cake I made with the girls yesterday. Excuse me while I go and pop the kettle on.
I’ve been trying to come up with ways to use the bags of oranges that were given to me by my good friend, Georgie, straight from her tree. And there is only so much orange juice one can drink!
There are loads of cake recipes out there that use the whole orange and many also use almond meal or dark chocolate. Now as much as I love fresh oranges, I’m not a massive fan of really ‘orangey’ tasting things once cooked. So I wanted something that was light on the orange and good for an afternoon treat with a cup of tea.
So I adapted this simple cake recipe that I usually make with lemons. It’s a recipe that mum used to bake all the time and is so basic that it makes for the perfect cake to get your littlies involved. They can get stuck in to mixing the batter, icing the cake and can even sprinkle the orange rind over the finished product. I don’t put in as much sugar as the original recipe stated and I’ve added some vanilla extract too.
The secret to getting this cake to rise is in the mixing. Beating the cake mix in the mix master really helps as it allows air to get in. Oranges are best at this time of year so if you can get your hands on some fresh ones – give it a go. And if not, I can always send you Georgie’s number.
Better get back to my piece of cake while the cuppa’s still hot.
easy orange cake
150 grams of butter, softened
2/3 cup of castor sugar
3 x eggs
1 1/2 cups of self raising flour
3 x tablespoons of milk
1/2 a teaspoon of vanilla extract
The rind of one large orange, finely grated
orange icing
1 cup of icing sugar, sifted
Juice of half a large orange
Extra orange rind, to sprinkle over the top
- Preheat the oven to 165℃ and grease and line a round 20cm cake tin.
- Add all ingredients in to a large bowl of an electric mix master and beat for 3 minutes until the mixture is light in colour and well mixed.
- Scrape the mixture out of the bowl using a spatula and bake in the oven for approximately 40 minutes or until a cake skewer comes out clean.
- Turn the cake out on to a wire rack to cool completely while you make the icing.
- Simply add the sifted icing sugar to a mixing bowl and add a little bit of orange juice at a time, mixing with a fork. You don’t want to add too much liquid at first as you only need a little. The icing should form a thick consistency and be easily spreadable.
- Ice the cooled cake on the top only and sprinkle some extra orange rind over.
Lo’s tips
- I soften my butter in the microwave for this cake.
- When I’m making this cake with my girls, I let them help measure out and add the ingredients to the mixing bowl and then let them stir the cake mixture with wooden spoons. Once they’ve had enough, I pop the bowl in the electric mixer and give it a few minutes being stirred again. The cake rises nicely because it gets nice and airy from the mix master.
- You can also substitute the oranges for lemons or ruby red grapefruit if that’s what you have available.
- This cake freezes well for up to three months.
- When making the icing, if you add too much orange juice and it’s really sloppy, simply add more icing sugar until you’re happy with the consistency. It doesn’t matter if the icing is a bit too ‘wet’ as it looks quite nice when it drizzles down over the sides of the cake.
If you make this orange cake, please leave your comments below. xx
lo's kitchen 
This recipe works perfectly. And I just love it when I have all of the ingredients in the pantry.
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Me too! I’m glad to hear. Thanks for sharing xx
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Made this cake today and it was a hit! Delicious and very easy to make. I used my Thermomix to beat (1minute, speed 5…scrape and repeat). Thankyou Lo for a recipe i will continue to use xx
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So glad you adapted it to use the thermomix! I don’t have one but have heard great things xx
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Just made this cake with my home grown oranges. It is such a light and fluffy cake and most importantly delicious! I love the orange flavour in cakes so I added the rind of three oranges (still only a slight orange flavour). I also added some butter and extra orange rind to the icing. Now to have more cake!
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Oh how I’m jealous of your gorgeous orange tree!
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Delish! Thanks Lo for a super easy recipe- all ingredients in the cupboard and fresh oranges from our tree. Cake was a hit.
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So lucky to have an orange tree out the back! So glad the recipe worked for you. x
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https://www.therural.com.au/story/5463124/heres-an-orange-cake-recipe-to-share/?cs=1532 this one is in The Rural this week. Thanks Lo for sharing. I hope our readers enjoy this recipe as much as we do. Thanks again Lo. This really is cooking how it should be.
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A wonderfully easy and delicious recipe – thanks Lo! I’m keen to try it using lemon next time. It’s always fun to have a few go-to recipes that you know you’ll always have the ingredients for.
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Thanks for sharing Casey. I’m glad the recipe worked for you z
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