Easy Citrus Iced Orange Cake Recipe
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This Orange Cake is a soft, moist, iced loaf cake with bright citrus flavors. Easy to make without a mixer, it’s a treat you won’t soon forget! Perfect for celebrations, gifting, or simply when craving an easy treat packed with delicious flavor.
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Packed with citrus flavor in every bite, this orange cake recipe is made with both orange juice and orange zest. And simple? Oh my, yes! Baked in a loaf pan and iced with an easy icing flavored with additional zest, it’s a perfect treat for the season.
Orange Cake Recipe Overview
This soft and tender iced orange cake, infused with irresistible flavor from orange juice and zest, is an easy loaf cake, perfect for celebrations, gifting, or to satisfy sweet citrusy cravings!
- Recipe Time: 15 minutes prep, 60-70 minutes baking time
- What You Need: 8.5 x 4.5 inch loaf pan
- Servings: 10-12 servings
What I Love About This Orange Cake
When the weather is chilly outside, but the promise of spring is just around the corner, I’m reaching for all things citrus.
This cake satisfies on so many levels. It’s moist, it’s tender, and it’s utterly easy to make.
But it’s also special, which makes it perfect for Easter, for spring brunches, for a spring afternoon tea, or for gifting! It’s also perfect when I’m craving sweet citrus.
I love that this easy cake can be made without needing a mixer (handheld or stand mixer) and uses only a couple of bowls.
I also love that it beautifully domes on the top with a delicious, irresistible crevice forming in the middle, perfect for drizzling that simple icing that further elevates the citrus flavor.
This orange cake will melt in your mouth, be difficult to resist more than one slice, and brighten your day, even on gloomy days when the hope of spring is only in your imagination!
If you love citrus cakes, be sure to see my Lemon Drizzle Cake or Orange Upside Down Cake, too!
Orange Cake Recipe Ingredients
You will find all the ingredient measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of this post, but here is a quick list of what you will need.
Pantry Ingredients: All-purpose flour, baking soda (for rise), granulated sugar for the cake, powdered sugar for the icing, and vanilla extract.
Large Eggs: It’s best to use room temperature eggs in most cake recipes. This will help trap air in the mixing and allow them to incorporate into the ingredients more effectively, helping give the cake it’s beautiful rise. Eggs are considered at room temperature when they reach 68-70 degrees F. In my Almond Cake recipe, I give a few quick and easy ways to bring eggs to room temperature, my favorite is running them under warm tap water.
Orange Juice and Zest: While you can absolutely use ready-made orange juice from the market, the orange zest, due to the oil in the peel, is what delivers the citrusy flavor we love. Since we are already zesting oranges, it’s just as simple to squeeze the juice, too. Plus, fresh orange juice will bring this cake another layer of bright citrus flavor.
Oil and Melted Butter: Oil and melted butter give this cake the ultimate flavor and texture. Oil helps make the orange cake moist and tender, while melted butter delivers the most amazing flavor.
How to Make This Orange Cake Recipe
Preheat the oven to 350F and grease an 8×4-inch loaf pan or spray with baking spray with flour.
Combine dry ingredients
In a bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt.
Combine wet ingredients
In a separate bowl, combine sugar and orange zest, rubbing the zest into the sugar with your fingertips– this helps enhance the orange flavor. Add the oil, melted butter, eggs, orange juice, and vanilla, and whisk until combined.
Make the batter
Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and whisk together until the flour is incorporated, but be careful not to overmix. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
Bake the cake
Bake for 1 hour – 70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean. If needed, tent a piece of foil over the cake to prevent over-browning.
Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes before removing from the pan to cool completely on a wire rack.
Drizzle the icing
In a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, zest, and juice until smooth. Drizzle over the cooled cake and let it stand until set.
Storing the Orange Cake
Room Temperature: Let the cake cool completely before storing it in an airtight container or wrapping it tightly with plastic to keep it fresh.
The cake can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days in a cool and dry place, away from direct sunlight or heat.
Freezing: This cake also freezes well, but is best to freeze before icing the cake. Let it cool completely and wrap it in plastic, followed by a layer of foil to help prevent freezer burn. It will keep for 2 to 3 months.
Thawing: To thaw the frozen cake, remove it from the freezer and let it defrost in the refrigerator overnight. Then, you can ice the cake.
More Citrus Recipes to Try!
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Easy Orange Cake Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons orange zest about 3 oranges
- 1/2 cup cooking oil
- 1/2 cup butter melted
- 1 cup fresh orange juice about 3-4 oranges
- 4 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Orange Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- zest of ½ orange
- 2 tablespoons orange juice about 1/2 orange
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ and grease an 8×4-inch loaf pan, spray with baking spray with flour or line with parchment.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, combine sugar and orange zest, rubbing the zest into the sugar with your fingertips– this helps enhance the orange flavor. Add the oil, melted butter, eggs, orange juice, and vanilla, and whisk until combined.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and whisk together until the flour is incorporated, but be careful not to overmix. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
- Bake for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean. If needed, tent a piece of foil over the cake toward the end of baking if it browns too quickly. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes before removing from the pan to cool completely on a wire rack.
For the icing:
- Whisk together powdered sugar, zest, and juice in a small bowl until smooth. Drizzle over the cooled cake and let it stand until set. Store the cake in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Video
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Recipe looks good, except is it baking soda, or baking powder?????? Instructions say diff from ingredients list . Was gonna make today, but will not. Must see total clarity in recipe..
Thanks
Hi Colleen, it is baking soda. Thank you for the question.
live in arizona, high altitude for cooking. any suggestions for high altitude baking this orange cake? thanks.
Hi Carmen, I have not baked this cake at a high elevation. This is a great resource for simple tips to help adjust the recipe based on your specific elevation. I’d love to hear how it turns out! https://www.allrecipes.com/article/high-altitude-cake-baking/
Can I use all butter instead of cooking oil?
Yes you can! Use a 1:1 ratio for replacing the oil.