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 Dassana! Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe. I’m very new at baking, and tried this as cupcakes (n=12) yesterday. They came out delicious! 🙂 Simple, easy and healthy 🙂
welcome purple and thanks for sharing your positive feedback.
Hi Dassana,
Looks like an interesting cake to be tried out. Can you give me some ideas to frost this cake? Thank you.
hi ashwini, best will be an orange butter frosting. whip unsalted butter till smooth, light and fluffy. add a bit of orange juice or orange essence and some orange zest. next would be a a chocolate icing with orange juice. melt chocolate in a double boiler or microwave. add powdered sugar, orange juice or essence and orange zest.
Thank you Dassana.
welcome ashwini
Thanks again Dassana for this recipe…its truly superb….I baked this for my parents’ wedding anniversary yesterday and everyone just loved it!!just like you said,the cake was light and soft….this cake scores a 10/10 for the taste,texture and health point of view…Had just one more doubt, if I have to double the quantity of the ingredients,how long should it bake in the oven?
thanks ashwini for the positive feedback on orange cake. give my best wishes to your parents on their wedding anniversary. it will be difficult to tell the exact time as it depends upon oven settings, temperature. i guess, it will be around 15-20 minutes more.
Hi there … I tried it as ‘Cup Cake’ … I used butter (1 stick) and 1 spoon of yogurt (not sour) , carbonated orange drink …. it turned up well and spongy …
thanks aslam for letting me know. i will also try the recipe as cup cakes.
Would using a carbonated drink add to the fluffiness of the cake??
i have never tried adding a carbonated drink to cake batters, but have seen recipes like these. it does aerate the batter and makes the cake light and fluffy.
Haii,This cake looks delicious and healthy.I want to try it.You’ ve mentioned that 1cup is 250ml.Request you to tell me how many grams 1cup is.The 1 cup I have holds 130grams.Thanks a bunch.
a cup is always measured in ml. so when a dry ingredient like flour or rice or grains are added in cups, their weight in grams differ depending on the space they occupy in the cup. so 1 cup of rice would weigh differently than 1 cup of sugar. 1 cup of whole wheat flour weighs differently than 1 cup of maida or all purpose flour.
Dassana, I used ghee instead of oil/butter and had a very difficult time in dissolving the sugar but the end result was worth the effort. it was really fluffy and delicious and was done in 25 mnts at 180 c. one doubt, If i want to double the quantity, do i need to add more baking powder and baking soda? Thanks
nimmi, you made a ghee cake 🙂 ghee will surely make the cake taste delicious. yes you will need to increase the baking powder. increase the baking soda will give that soapy smell. so i suggest adding 1 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp baking soda.
very nice recipe.doesnt involve a hand mixer and thats what i loved the most.i forgot to add the corn flour and didnt notice much change in the texture.wud however reduce the sugar by quarter. thanks
welcome rj
Don we need to add curd in eggless cake as we r using eggless custerd pd
depends on the recipe. you don’t need to add curd in all eggless cakes.
May i know what is orange zest
the top layer of the orange peel is orange zest. this is grated and added to the cake.
I made this cake today with multigrain flour, and stevia for a diabetic loved one and it was delicious…….will try making the others too
thanks sital for sharing your variation. yes do try other cake recipes.
sorry forgot to add.. that if you using stevia u need to add 1/3 extra cup of the bulking agent.. in this case the orange juice… thanks and will look forward to more of your healthy but delicious recipes
thanks again.
I liked this cake very much as it is healthy to use wheat flour instead of white flour. Itreally came out well. SSmooth cake. Loved it. I didnot use corn flour/ venilla. I made orange juice in mixy and used pulp too. ( I tasted orange juice to test bitterness) (y) thank you so much for the mouth watering recipe.
thanks for the feedback swathi.
My batter came out very thick it was not a flowing tendency.I am baking the cake now.Keeping my fingers crossed
hope the cake turned out good. not sure why the batter was thick. may be the quality of flour.
The cake was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I had plucked dozens of oranges from our garden, didn’t know what to do with em. PERFECT!!!!
Thanks a ton! My Mom doesnt lemme enter the kitchen, so i baked it when she was out. 😛
Everyone loved it!
So m bakin it again, with whipped cream and stuff.
I just wanna know, can i moisten the layers by orange juice before spreading the cream?
thats great. you are lucky to have oranges from your garden 🙂
yes, you can moisten the layers. just brush lightly with orange juice. make sure that the cake does not becoming soggy.
orange cake in the oven…the house is smelling divine..what a way to welcome hubby dear home:)…will tell you how it was 🙂
thanks and hope the cake was good.
Instead of vanilla custard powder if i add corn flour, will it be advisable to add vanilla essence as well?
you can add corn flour instead of custard powder. yes you can add vanilla essence.
do u have substitute for eggs . i would like to know substitute for an egg.
Thnx
by substitute what do you mean? there are many substitutes for eggs.