I will be honest here! This was my first ever orange cake. Though, I have done a citrus cake before in form of Lemon Cake (will share the recipe soon).
For this 6″ cake, I used 2 oranges in total, but you can definitely go with less or more, depending upon the flavor you want. I have shared my notes for more information.
If you read my previous post, you will realize that I have started using condensed milk for eggless cake. Initially, I avoided using it but after multiple experiments, I have concluded that condensed milk gives the best texture. Yogurt, Buttermilk, flax seeds etc. are also good substitutes for egg.
Feel free to use any brand like Nestle Milkmaid, Amul Mithai mate.
For the fruit, use only fresh fruit juice & zest. See notes how to extract juice without citrus juicer.
I had one Malta at hand, so I used it but it’s taste was quite pronounced. I suggest using only Fresh Oranges.
Orange pairs up nicely with many flavors like nuts, cranberries, chocolate, etc. I used dark chocolate to enhance and balance the citrus and sweet flavor. Use chunks or chips, as per choice.
Also, this cake has both butter for flavor and oil to retain moisture.
Lastly other ingredients flour, baking powder, sugar remain same.
So, let’s get baking..
Ingredients
Yields: 6″ cake
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup fresh orange juice (*Note2)
- 1/4 cup melted butter, unsalted
- 1/4 cup condensed milk
- 2 tbsp oil
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp orange zest(**Note3)
- 1/4 tsp vanilla essence
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp baking soda
- pinch salt
- 1 tbsp milk, optional
- 2-3 tbsp chocolate chunks/chips
For Glaze - 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp water
Method
- Preheat the oven at 180C and grease the mould using oil and dust with flour or parchment paper
- Sift together dry ingredients, except sugar: flour, baking powder, baking soda & salt
- In a bowl take orange juice, melted butter, oil, vanilla essence, condensed milk and orange zest.
- Whisk nicely for 5 minutes. This ensures that the orange flavor develops fully
- Add sugar and mix well till sugar dissolves completely
Add more sugar if you want a sweeter cake or if you want to skip the sugar glaze. - Add dry ingredients in half portion and fold till combined. Do not overmix
- Add 1 tbsp milk if the batter is thick
- Fold in some chocolate chunks and pour the batter in the mould
- Sprinkle chocolate chunks or chips on the top and tap once
- Bake at 180C for 25 minutes.
- Now heat sugar and water together to get a thick glaze
- Let the cake cool completely on a wire rack
- Cut the cake from the center horizontally
- [Optional] Apply glaze/sugar syrup in the layers and on top of cake.
- Serve with tea.
Notes
- The taste of the cake is citrusy and sweet. It depends on the type of oranges you are using. Taste a tsp of orange juice before adding to batter and adjust the sugar accordingly
- *To extract orange juice without citrus juicer, cut the orange into half. Hold half orange in one hand and using a blender blade or balloon whisk, start rotating the blades inside the fruit. Keep the bowl at the bottom. All the juice will be collected in the bowl. Sieve the juice to remove extra seeds and pulp.
- **For zest, take the rind (chhilka) of the orange and grate using hand grater. Make sure you get only the top orange part and NOT the white part (called pith). It is bitter in taste and can spoil the overall flavor of the cake
- Butter gives a nice rich flavor to the cake. You can skip it and use 1/4 cup oil only
- Glaze/sugar syrup is optional. You can increase 1 tbsp of sugar in the batter and skip the glaze.
- Add cranberries if you wish so in the batter, along with chocolate chips/chunks
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Lots of love and Happy Cooking!
The Hungry Trails 