Sweet, soft, moist, and tasty Orange Cake made with fresh orange juice. This Cake Recipe is easy to follow, a bit healthy and includes whole wheat flour. A lovely eggless orange cake that is suitable for both vegetarians and vegans alike!
Table of Contents
Why This Orange Cake Recipe Works
This eggless orange cake recipe is a delicious guilt free sweet treat made with fresh ingredients. I use fresh orange juice in this recipe but you can use canned or packaged orange juice.
You can swap a few ingredients in this recipe if you do not have them to hand. I used whole wheat flour to make this orange cake however, you can use all-purpose flour instead. I also used raw sugar as a sweetener but you can swap it with powdered jaggery.
The great thing about this cake is that it is very light as not much oil is needed in this recipe. You won’t get that heavy feeling after eating a slice of this orange cake. This is definitely a relatively healthy orange cake recipe compared to others.
If you want more sweetness then feel free to frost this cake with orange whipped cream or buttercream icing. However, I prefer to eat it plain with a hot cup of tea or coffee.
This recipe makes a medium-sized quantity for 3 to 4 people. You can also try this delicious egg-free Orange Muffins recipe.
This eggless orange cake can be baked both in a regular oven and in the microwave oven with the convection mode.
How to Make Orange Cake
Make Batter
1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius/356 degrees Fahrenheit.
Sieve 1 cup whole wheat flour with 1 tablespoon cornstarch (or custard powder), a pinch of salt, ½ teaspoon baking powder and ½ teaspoon baking soda. Keep this sifted dry mixture aside.
Note that cornstarch is known as cornflour in India.
2. Add ½ cup sugar and ¼ cup sunflower oil to a bowl. You can include softened butter instead of oil. Use a neutral flavored oil. You can also use olive oil.
Kindly note that in the video, there is a typo for the amount of oil. The quantity of oil that you actually need to add in this recipe is ¼ cup only.
3. Beat this mixture with an electric beater, hand beater, or wooden spoon for a few minutes.
I have made this cake with jaggery too. So you can add powdered or grated jaggery instead of sugar.
4. I made fresh orange juice but you can use packaged orange juice too, preferably without added preservatives. If you are making fresh juice, use an electric juicer.
You can also blend the orange segments (seeds removed) and strain the juice as shown. I used three medium oranges to get a bit more than 1 cup of juice.
You can check this post for the step-by-step method of making Orange Juice in a blender.
5. The below photo is of fresh strained orange juice.
6. Measure and add 1 cup of the orange juice to the sugar and oil mixture. If you are using whole wheat flour, then 1 cup of orange juice works well and if you are using all purpose flour then you can add about ¾ cup of orange juice.
Do not keep the orange juice resting as it turns bitter. So use it straightaway to make the cake batter.
7. Stir very well thoroughly with a wired whisk until all of the sugar dissolves.
8. Now add the sieved flour mixture and ½ to 1 teaspoon orange zest. For a stronger orange flavor add a bit of orange extract or essence.
Note: To get the zest of orange, grate the orange peel before peeling the oranges. Use a handheld grater or zester to grate the orange peel. Do not grate the white pith.
9. Mix everything very well with a wired whisk. There should be no lumps in the cake batter.
10. The orange cake batter is ready.
Bake Orange Cake
11. Pour the batter in a lined or greased cake tin of about 7×4 inches. Use a spatula to scrape the batter from the sides of the bowl and pour it into the cake pan.
12. Tap the pan from the sides or tap the bottom of the pan on the countertop to remove excess air bubbles. The batter will easily level in the pan by itself when you tap the pan.
13. Bake in the preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius/356 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 to 35 minutes.
Check the cake with a toothpick or bamboo skewer and it should come out clean. If there is any batter sticking on the skewer, then bake for some more minutes.
TIP: If the top of the cake starts browning too much, cover the top with aluminum foil or parchment paper while baking.
SUGGESTION: If you do not have an oven, then bake the cake in a stove-top pressure cooker. Follow the method as detailed in this recipe post of Pressure Cooker Cake to make this eggless orange cake.
14. Place the baked cake on a wired tray to cool at room temperature. Later gently remove the orange cake from the pan.
Serving and Storing Suggestions
Slice the eggless orange cake and serve as a sweet dessert snack or with tea or coffee.
If you want to save some cake for later then wrap the remaining cake in cling film or store in a covered container, and refrigerate for about a week. You can also freeze this cake for about a month.
Expert Tips for Orange Cake
- Flour: Make sure you sieve the flour before making your cake batter. This gets rid of any bran in the flour, and splits up lumps of flour. I used whole wheat flour to make this orange cake recipe as it is a healthy alternative however, you can use all-purpose flour if you do not have any whole wheat flour to hand.
- Oil: I added oil to this orange cake batter which makes it a vegan option. For a vegetarian option use butter instead. Both ingredients work well in this cake.
- Orange juice: If you are making orange juice from scratch then use medium-sized, juicy ripe oranges. Make sure you remove the seeds before juicing them. Sieve the juice to ensure that the orange fibers do not get added to the cake batter. Alternatively, you can use canned orange juice without preservatives or additives, if you are short of time.
- Leavening ingredients: It is important to add baking soda and powder to this recipe as they help the cake to rise. Make sure that both leavening ingredients have not expired because this will stop the orange cake from rising.
FAQs
Adding too many liquids to cake batter can result in an overly moist cake. Make sure you add ¼ cup of oil to this recipe to achieve the perfect amount of moisture.
Yes, you can. In this recipe, I have only added fresh orange juice but you can add orange extract or essence to enhance the orange flavor. Add a bit of orange extract along with the sieved flour mixture and ½ to 1 teaspoon of orange zest.
Yes, it is very easy to freeze orange cake. Allow the cake to cool completely and wrap it tightly in cling film then foil. Label the cake and freeze it for up to 1 month.
There are a few reasons why your cake may not have risen. Perhaps the batter was mixed too much or maybe it wasn’t mixed enough. Also, using expired baking powder or soda will prevent the cake from rising.
I add corn starch to this recipe to give this cake a delicious soft texture.
More Delicious Cake Recipes!
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Orange Cake (Eggless, Vegan & with Whole Wheat flour)
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat flour – 120 grams or can use all-purpose flour or half-half of both the flours
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 pinch salt
- ¾ to 1 cup Orange Juice – If using whole wheat flour then add 1 cup orange juice and if using all-purpose flour, then add ¾ cup orange juice
- ½ cup raw sugar – 100 grams, can use powdered jaggery or powdered sugar – add more if required
- ¼ cup sunflower oil or olive oil or butter or any neutral oil
- ½ to 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch (cornflour) or eggless custard powder
Instructions
Making batter
- Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius/356 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Sieve whole wheat flour with the corn starch (or custard powder), a pinch of salt, baking powder and baking soda. Keep this sieved mixture aside.
- In a bowl add the sugar and oil. You can also use softened butter instead of oil.
- With an electric beater or hand beater or a wooden spoon, beat this mixture of oil/butter and sugar for a few minutes until well blended. Set aside. I have made this cake with jaggery too. So you can add powdered or grated jaggery instead of sugar.
- Now make the fresh orange juice. You can extract the juice with a handheld juicer or in an electric juice or blender. For the blender method, blend the orange segments (with seeds removed) and strain the juice to filter out the fibers. I have used three medium oranges to get a bit more than 1 cup juice.
- You can use packaged juice too.
- Measure and add 1 cup of the orange juice to the sugar and oil mixture. If using whole wheat flour, then 1 cup of orange juice works well and if using all purpose flour, then you can add about ¾ cup of orange juice.
- Mix very well until all the sugar is dissolved.
- Now add the sifted flour mixture and orange zest. To get a more dominant flavor of oranges, add a bit of orange extract or essence.
- Mix everything very well with a wired whisk. There should be no lumps in the cake batter.
Baking orange cake
- Pour the batter in a lined or greased cake tin of about 7×4 inches. Use a spatula to scrape the batter from sides and add it to the cake pan.
- Tap the pan from the sides or tap the bottom of the pan on the countertop, so that excess air bubbles are released and the batter becomes even in the pan.
- Bake the cake in a preheated oven for 180 degrees Celsius/356 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 to 35 minutes.
- Check the cake by inserting a bamboo skewer and it should come out clean. If it has any batter on it, bake the cake for some more minutes.
- Place the cake on a wired tray or rack to cool it completely at room temperature.
- Later gently remove it from the pan. Slice the eggless orange cake and serve as a sweet dessert or with tea or coffee. You can wrap the remaining cake or store in an tight container and keep in the fridge for about a week.
Video
Notes
- If using fresh orange juice, then make the juice just before you add it to the oil-sugar mixture. Keeping orange juice for a long time can result in it getting bitter and spoiling the taste of the cake.
- The recipe can be scaled easily. If scaling, then keep in mind that the time of baking will increase if you bake the entire cake batter in one pan. If you decide to bake in 2 to 3 pans, the timing will remain almost the same.
- Omit cornstarch (cornflour) or custard powder if you do not have it.
- Make sure that your baking soda and baking powder are fresh, active and within their shelf period.
- You can use all purpose flour in this recipe. Add ¾ cup orange juice if making the cake with all purpose flour.
- Note that the approximate nutrition info is for one slice of the orange cake.
Nutrition Info (Approximate Values)
This Orange cake recipe post from the blog archives (first published on February 2013) has been republished and updated on 5 June 2021.
Hi,
I have tried many of your recipes and all came out super delicious. I would like to try this recipe. If i use maida, is it necessary to add custard powder? Also I plan to make in a steel cooker with salt at the bottom, how much time will it take to bake on low flame? Will it be okay to use rice bran oil?
Thank you for the feedback on the recipes you have tried. Custard powder can be skipped. It will take 25 to 35 minutes or more in a cooker but I cannot mention the exact time as it will vary. Yes you can use rice bran oil.
The cake came out well nice and fluffy. I added custard powder, 3/4 maida and 1/4 atta. I mixed some cocoa podwer to some batter and tried marble cake. It came out perfect.
There was a smell of wheat and also slightly sticky to the end. I guess the wheat flour had a strong flavour and also I could have waited for 10 more mins. I checked at 35 mins and the toothpick came out clean though. I used tropicana orange juice. I didn’t get any orange flavour in the cake and there was no tanginess too. Will an orange juice sugar glaze make it a more flavourful cake?
Usually fresh orange juice works best and if you add more orange zest it add a lot of flavor. Definitely an orange sugar glaze will make it a more flavorful cake. Thanks for the feedback and sharing the variations you made.
Dear Dasanna ji ,
Tried this recipe today …..it was fabulous ….I didn’t get to eat it though ????. Increased the proportion 3 times of the measures you gave to cater for my team of 24 ….the aroma was so overpowering that my friends wouldn’t allow the cake to cool completely and pounced on it ….the first few lucky ones polished off more than half of it in no time ????…. I satisfied myself with the crumbs that fell while cutting the pieces ????????….it was so soft …I must say one of the best of your recipes that I have tried so far ! Like i had mentioned elsewhere you have made me a baking sensation in a foreign land ……someone commented that the cake tasted as awesome as one of the best Lebanese bakers in this city ! Thank you so much …..!
As I did not have an electric juicer had to squeeze the oranges manually for 3 cups of juice so midway as I got tired added substantial pulp also….it came out really well ( a feedback ….I normally don’t deviate from what’s mentioned in your recipe).
Waiting for an interesting carrot cake from you …….!
God Bless !
hello geeta. wow and super is what is coming to my mind. all the effort paid off – mine and yours too. thank you very much. i become super happy when i get feedback like yours. it was great that the recipe worked on scaling it. yes, squeezing orange juice manually does take time. for the carrot cake, i have already shared the recipe.
p.s – i love lebanese food – mains & desserts everything. though we usually have vegetarian & vegan options when we order. some lebanese recipes i make at home. i do plan to add some lebanese recipes – dips, snacks, mains and sweets gradually.
Loved it!! It’s going to become my standard recipe going on. Thanks for sharing it! Can you pls share all measurements in grams? I’m very bad at using cups. Thanks in advance.
thank you shailaja for this review and for the rating too. i will update the measurements in grams. welcome.
Can you please mention ingredients in grams?
will try to update in a few days.
mam i have panasonic otg 32ltr. i m new in baking. i m confused which function to use for baking cakes, cookies etc. like bake with only lower tube or both the tubes, with or without fan etc. also in which recipes we use different temp. for upper and lower tubes.
can u please tell otg function settings for:
cake
biscuit
bread
kanchan, you can use both lower and upper rods (toast mode) or only lower rod (bake mode) for baking cakes, cookies and bread. experiment with both and then you can gauge for yourself which works better in your oven.
when you use the lower rod, heat is generated from the lower rod. there is no heat coming from the top rod. so the base or bottom of the pan gets heated first and thus browns more. so the cake or cookies will have a well-browned crust or color from the base.
when you use both the rods, heat is generated from both the top and bottom rods. thus the top and base of the cake or cookies are browned evenly.
using the fan will accelerate the baking process and the time taken will be less. so when you use the fan, you can either reduce the temperature by 10 to 15 degrees or reduce the time.
when i bake cakes and cookies, i use the toast mode (top and bottom rod) as it helps the cake or cookies to have a golden color on top and bakes evenly. for bread, i use either bake mode or toast mode. when bake mode (bottom rod) is used, the top does not get browned or has a less golden color. so then towards the end of baking, i use the toast mode. but for all the bread recipes shared on the website, i have used toast mode.
Dear Dasanna,
Thank two much for the recipe. The cake really came out well and everyone loved it.
Cheers!!
dear rucha, thanks for this positive review on orange cake recipe. glad to read. happy baking.
Dear Dassana, huge fan of your recipes and thank you so much for this eggless orange cake! Used whole wheat flour and butter, skipped the custard powder as we didnt have it, used a tablespoon of vanilla extract instead, 1C of orange juice, a bit more than 1 tsp of zest and my son insisted on chocolate chips! Incredibly soft and crumbly cake, was super delicious! Will definitely make it again and would try it as muffins if we have kids coming over!
Excellent recipe. I have made this cake 3 times and everytime it came out awesome. My kids loved the orange flavor. Thanks for a great egg less cake recipe.
Made this cake today, turned out awesome, very soft, moist and flavourful. Easy recipe, only 1 thing, my cake didnt rise at all. What could be the reason.
thanks ritika. if the batter is mixed too much or is undermixed or if the baking powder or baking soda is not fresh, then the cake won’t rise. hope this helps.
I want to make a bigger cake. Can i just double the recipe or there should be any variations?
shruti, i am not sure if the recipe will work when doubled. so you can make two cakes separately and then if you want you can make a four layered cake frosted with chocolate or orange butter or orange cream icing.
I doubled the recipe and the cake turned out awesome. My kids loved it. Thanks for an excellent eggless recipe.
Hi dassana
Yesterday I made this orange cake third time.first time it was good.second time a big disaster????nd third time super duper hit.
But this time I baked at 160 instead of 180 nd for 30 min. Nd pls guide what is the role of custard powder in this recipe because I forgot to use this but still my cake is very nice. Thanks a lot for sharing such an easy yet delicious recipes.
thank you harmeet. custard powder helps to give a nice soft texture in the cake.
Thanks.
Next time I will try with custard powder
welcome ????
Just made this cake! Turned out awesome and looks like my daughters will not save any for me and my husband.
I keep trying your recipes and also recommend to all my friends. Thanks so much!
Welcome Shweta. Glad to know this. Thanks for your positive feedback on recipes. Nice to know that you are recommending the blog to your friends.
I baked this cake today and it turned out delicious! Loved the orangey flavour and the consistency was just right.Thanks a lot Dassana! I’m a huge fan of your recipes. Keep up the good work:)
Welcome Kshama. Thanks for your kind words and positive feedback on orange cake recipe.
This recipe was nice and fluffy but for me, I felt like it needed a bit more orange flavor and sugar.
thanks. for more orange flour orange extract or essence can be added.
Hi..
I am planning to bake this today in pressure cooker.. will butter taste good or oil?
Thanks,
Kirti
both taste fine. but for oil use a neutral flavored oil like sunflower oil. any other oil will have its aroma come in the cake.