This delicious Orange Cake is made using the entire fruit (peel, juice, and pulp) and it so easy and so spongy and fresh that it will be your favorite coffee — or tea — cake.
A blender. That’s all you will need to achieve this beautiful and aromatic orange cake. (You can check the video of this recipe at the end)
I call this the ultimate lifesaver cake when you urgently need a cake for any meeting that you forgot — I’ve been in that situation more times than I would like.
This recipe is based on my husband’s grandmother. She is Portuguese and in Portugal, orange cakes are serious business. She’s used to making this cake every Sunday for family lunches. It’s the best cake for a coffee break after lunch.
In Portugal, there is a province called Algarve that is widely known for its beaches and oranges: big, bright, and fragrant oranges. There is just something unique about those damn oranges.
And in summer they are even tastier. They are sweet with the right amount of acidity. You can make sweet dishes like this cake or savory full meals like this citrus glazed chicken. It is such a versatile ingredient that I absolutely love, especially in the summertime.
And that’s it! I bet you will not believe how tasty this cake is after going through this extremely easy process.
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How to make this whole orange cake?
Super easy!!!
This recipe requires almost zero prep and it uses staple pantry ingredients:
- 1 big orange
- ¾ cups vegetable oil preferable sunflower oil
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
Just add all the ingredients into a blender and blend until you get a homogeneous dough. Pour it into a greased pan and bake for 40 minutes at 180ºC (350ºF). Easy peasy!
- 1 big orange
- ¾ cups vegetable oil preferable sunflower oil
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
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Preheat the oven to 180ºC (356ºF)
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Cut the top and the bottom of the orange to remove its stalks. Then cut the orange into pieces without removing the peel.
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Pour into the blender the orange, the oil, the sugar, the eggs and the vanilla. Blend in high speed for 3 minutes. Make sure that the orange is completely blended.
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Mix the flour with the baking powder and the salt.
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Add the powder mix to the blender and blend in medium speed until everything is smooth.
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Pour the mix into a buttered cake mold. Take it to the oven for 40 minutes until the surface is slightly brown. Let it chill and take it out of the mold.
Owner and Food blogger on The Cookware Geek. She loves cooking, baking, traveling, playing with the cats, and knitting. She believes that eating delicious meals doesn’t require a culinary degree or a Michelin-star chef in your kitchen.
Thank you very much! I’ve made this a couple of times. It’s so easy, and helps use up oranges when we get a bit too much in bulk!
I have probably made this 10 times, I sometimes ice it or put an orange drizzle on it but it’s so easy and delicious I can never be bothered to make another cake because why would I?
Added chocolate chips this time worked really well
This is the best orange cake I have had!!!
This looks great. What size pan did you use?
Hi! I use any pan that can hold about 8 cups of batter. A round 9 x 2 inches baking pan works for this recipe.
Have you ever used a lemon in place of the orange?
Hi Lisa! Actually, I have never considered it. I think the peel would be a little too bitter, but it would be a nice experiment.
Thank you for this recipe. I’ve been using this for couple of years now. I never leave comments usually, but it just feels wrong to not thank you for a what’s become a “regular family recipe”!
Most times I use 3 cuties instead of a regular orange. And even if they are just a tad dry. No more wasting those!
Hi Jerusha! reading these comments is the reason I keep this blog. Thanks. I hope this recipe brings you a lot of joy.
The best Orange cake I have ever made, my hubby could’nt stop eating it. It will be my best orange cake at all time as my fravoutite has always been orange cake. Thank you.
Amazingly delicious & easy cake! I made orange vanilla cupcakes with this recipe (just added a bit more vanilla in the blender) with buttercream frosting, which had some orange zest and extract, and these were a hit!!! So easy and stayed moist for days!!!
Love this cake. So easy and delicious. Everyone I have given it to, also love it. I usually cut some of the sugar.
Made this cake last week and loved it!! So easy and delicious!!
I had a question though: Can I replace regular flour for gluten free? If so, what quantity? And any other changes to be made?
I zested then peeled the oranges I used because I didn’t want it too bitter tasting. I tried to double this recipe and couldn’t fit the dry ingredients into the blender so I poured the blended liquids into a bowl, sifted the other ingredients and folded it all together. Worked perfectly. It was amazing!!