This Orange Cake is one of my favorite cakes. The texture is soft and the flavor is amazing thanks to fresh orange juice and zest!
Several years ago when my mother was doing some cleaning out, she gave me a little spiral bound cookbook of recipes from a women she had known years ago named Marilyn Martell. Marilyn was an amazing cook and baker. Her little cookbook is full of county fair prize winning recipes. Marilyn has won numerous Sweepstake and Best of Show Awards and one year won 77 ribbons!!! In total she has won over 300 ribbons at various county and state fairs! This woman knew how to bake!
Several of Marilyn’s recipes have become family favorites, including this Strawberry Cream Pie.
Marilyn’s Orange Cake is another favorite and I think I can honestly say it is my favorite cake ever! Any cake that wins the blue ribbon at the fair has to be good ! In the description of the Fresh California Orange Cake Marilyn says that she had to bake it three times before leaving for the fairground. Practice makes perfect.
Well, I took Marilyn literally. I baked it three times too!! The first time I made it I realized, after I had put it in the oven, that I had forgotten to add the orange juice. I yanked it out, mixed in the orange juice and put it back in, not a good idea. The cake fell in the middle but tasted delicious. I was determined to do it right and the second time I forgot to wear my glasses and instead of adding 1/3 cup of butter and shortening I added 1/2 cup of each! Well, if you didn’t know this, cakes fall big time when there is too much fat in them!!
I figured the third time was the charm and since Marilyn had to make it 3 times, why shouldn’t I. So 12 oranges later, I found success and boy was it worth it. Note: The cakee does fall slightly in the middle, even when done right so don’t worry. I figure there is just more room for frosting! This cake is light and delicious. The fresh orange taste is lovely and reminds me of the orange groves in California I would smell as we drove to my grandparents home in San Gabriel.
The secret to success with this cake is using freshly squeeze orange juice along with some frozen orange juice. The fresh juice makes a difference.
How to Make Orange Cake
- You will need two 9″ cake pans. Grease and flour them. I also like to line the bottom of mine with wax paper which I also grease and flour.
- This recipe uses cake flour. Cake flour will give you a more tender, lighter cake, so go get yourself some. You will usually find it in a box in the baking aisle.
- One trick to a nice, tender cake is to not over mix it after adding the flour.
- To get even cake layers, be sure and get an even amount of batter in both pans. I like to use my kitchen scale and weigh the pans with the batter in them. Add or subtract as needed.
- Bake until golden brown and a tooth pick comes out clean. Allow cake to cool for 10-20 minutes and then run a knife around the edge of the pan and turn upside down onto a cooling rack. Be sure and remember to remove the wax paper from the bottom of each cake layer. Don’t worry if the cake falls a bit in the middle, just more room for frosting.
- After the cake is completely cool, wrap each layer in plastic wrap so that it is air tight and freeze. Freeze overnight or at least a couple of hours. The cake will frost so much easier if it has been frozen.
- Remove from the freezer and assemble the cake, adding frosting between the two layers. Then, apply a crumb coat of frosting over the whole cake. A crumb coat is a thin layer of frosting that locks in all the crumbs so they don’t come through on the final layer of frosting.
- After applying the crumb coat, pop the cake back in the freezer for about 30 minutes so the crumb coat will firm up. Add the final layer of frosting and garnish with slices of orange.
Can I Freeze Cake?
Cake actually freezes really well, frosting and all. Just be sure and wrap it up airtight in plastic wrap. You can also slice the cake into pieces and wrap each piece in plastic wrap or place in an airtight container. It will keep for up to a year, but it never lasts that long at our house.
Check out more of my favorite cake recipes:
Orange Cake Recipe
Orange Cake
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup butter
- 1/3 cup shortening
- 2 tsp orange zest
- 1 1/2 cup sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 1/2 cup cake flour sifted
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup orange juice fresh squeezed, less 2 Tbsp
- 2 Tbsp orange juice concentrate
Creamy Orange Frosting
- 1/2 cup butter
- 4 oz. cream cheese
- 6 cups powdered sugar sifted
- 1/4 cup orange juice fresh
- 2 tsp orange zest
- dash salt
Instructions
- Cream together butter, shortening and rind
- Very gradually add sugar, creaming until light
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each
- Continue beating 5 minutes
- Sift together dry ingredients and add alternately with orange juice to creamed mixture
- Add in orange juice concentrate
- Beat only until smooth after each addition
- Bake in 2 greased and floured 8 inch round pans at 350 for 25-30 minutes
- Cool 10 minutes on rack and then remove from pans and cool
- Wrap cake layers in plastic wrap and freeze for an hour to overnight before frosting. (See frosting directions below)
Creamy Orange Frosting
- Cream butter and cream cheese
- Gradually beat in sugar alternately with orange juice beating until smooth
- Stir in orange rind and salt
- Add a drop or two of orange food coloring to tint a light orange
- Beat until creamy and spreading consistency.
- Place frosting between cake layers. Put a thin coating of frosting over entire cake, a crumb coat and then freeze cake for 30 minutes.
- Add final layer of frosting over entire cake. Garnish with some fresh orange slices.
Nutrition
originally published April 15, 2010
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Kristy
April 15, 2010 at 6:52 amWow this looks delicious! I’m going to have to print out all of your recipes and start a book! lol.
PartyPossum17
May 19, 2014 at 4:31 pm🙂 wow does that look DELICIOUS!!!
Jelli
April 15, 2010 at 7:49 amMy next cake project is your lemon crumb cake, but I must say that orange cake with cream cheese frosting sounds amazing! Too many cakes, so little time 🙂
Mary Kathryn
April 15, 2010 at 8:38 amThis looks like a great summer cake… we are having a family get together this summer and this just may have to make an appearance. Thanks!
Melissa
April 15, 2010 at 9:25 amWOW that sounds so good..thanks for sharing that recipe…my mom and dad always make orange oatmeal cookies, wont they be excited when i bring that Fresh California Orange Cake over..YUMMY.
Thank you so much for sharing.
Melissa from Naches, WA
Valerie H.
April 15, 2010 at 9:42 amOhhh! This sounds so good! It cracks me up to think that she made all these sweet baked goods and her husband was the dentist to fill cavities from the sugar. 🙂 I’m running out of printer ink copying your recipes! They all are so great! Thanks!
Mindy
April 15, 2010 at 10:06 amI can’t wait to make this one! I need to head over to my grandma’s and pick some oranges STAT!
Vicki R.
April 15, 2010 at 10:09 amLooks divine!!
Joan
April 15, 2010 at 10:10 amLOL…my aunt who taught me to bake always insisted flour should be sifted before measuring for baked goods. I still do even though cooking show hosts don’t seem to think it’s important. I notice that Test Kitchen still does it…I’m careful to watch recipe…2 1/2 cups sifted flour or 2 1/2 cups flour, sifted…makes a difference.
Your lemon curd recipe yesterday reminded me of a dessert I used to make a lot for bridge, etc…. add lemon curd to whipped cream that has been well whipped. Not important to have it well blended…kind of want little chunks of curd. Pour into layer of crushed vanilla wafers. Top with some vanilla wafers. Freeze well. Frozen lemon pie!
Nancy
April 15, 2010 at 10:26 amUmm… yum. And the Strawberry Pie. I think I need to plan a grocery trip so I can make both of these. Thanks for sharing.
Colleen
April 15, 2010 at 10:40 amThat looks divine! Sounds like a perfect dessert for summertime! Will definitely try this recipe out as the temps start rising…
Patti
April 15, 2010 at 10:42 amWhat I wouldn’t give to reach into the computer for a slice of this! Maybe we’ll have to rethink our dessert idea for our Empty Nester’s party this weekend and switch to this! Then I’d have two of your recipes on the menu (rice pilaf!).
Darla
April 15, 2010 at 12:08 pmHee hee, I’m guessing my family would LOVE it if I had to make this 3 times!!
Ashley
April 15, 2010 at 2:09 pmI know I’m late to the cake party, but I wanted to share my cake recipe. I noticed that it is similar to your chocolate cake. My mother-in-law gave me this recipe before I got married, and we have loved eating it for the last ten years. Hope you enjoy our variations! http://hillhang-out.blogspot.com/2010/04/let-them-eat-cake.html
Chef Dennis
April 16, 2010 at 2:26 pmwow…it looks so moist….so delicious I am becoming an instant fan of this site!!
Kaitlyn
April 16, 2010 at 8:31 pmHelp! I made this cake tonight and the frosting was runny. In the recipe it says “1/4 fresh orange juice” and I assumed it meant 1/4 C. Is that right? I can’t think what else I would have done wrong. Was yours runny at first? Did you refrigerate it before frosting the cake? Thanks!
Barbara
April 17, 2010 at 1:30 pmLeigh Ann, made this cake today, shared it with all my neighbors, it really turned out pretty, and love the orange flavors, I am with orange like you are with lemon, love it. Thanks for the wonderful recipes.
I also found an article on Blooming Cupcakes for Mother’s Day, they are floral topiaries, using regular and mini size cupcakes and putting them together with bamboo skewers. It’s in the May issue of Ladies Home Journal.
Heather
April 21, 2010 at 2:20 pmThey must serve this in the celestial kingdom! 🙂 Making this as we speak, and sure hope it tastes as good as the batter does!!
Beth
April 25, 2010 at 11:28 amI made this cake this weekend. I was pleasantly surprised that it didn’t collapse at all on me. There they were…two perfect level cakes. Woo Hoo. Anyhow, what a great treat. It’s a fantastic spring/summer cake. Thanks.
I added a little orange oil to the cake to enhance the orange flavor even more. Now I need to make one of those cute cake plates that you have in your tutorial.
I think I need to stop eating cake now. It’s not helping the figure. Thanks for the great recipes. I would love to spend a week with Marilyn and collect some of her wonderful recipes. What a treasure.
Jackie
October 31, 2011 at 6:35 pmHi
How do you measure a 1/3 cup of butter.
Leigh Anne
November 6, 2011 at 8:11 amYour butter wrapper should have markings on it for measuring – 1/4 cup, 1/3 cup, 1/2 cup. It also usually lists Tablespoons or you could just fill your 1/3 C measuring cup with butter.
Nancy
March 6, 2013 at 1:36 pmHave you ever made this as cupcakes? My daughter has to do a homeschool presentation on the state of California and likes the idea of an orange cake or cookie. Thanks!
Leigh Anne
March 6, 2013 at 1:52 pmI have not made them as cupcakes. I might be a bit leery just because it is a light, somewhat fragile cake and I have had it fall a bit in the middle. That is easy to cover with a cake but not so much with a cupcake. It is yummy though!!!
Rita Zimmerman
June 25, 2016 at 6:23 pmI just pulled mine out of the oven and though i is done in the middle it has fallen on both of the rounds. I am soooooo disappointed as this is for my elderly mother’s birthday party tomorrow and it is already 8:00 p.m. I am just hoping that it will still look alright when I frost it. I suppose it will be quite a bit smaller than I had hoped. What wet wrong???
Leigh Anne
June 27, 2016 at 7:14 amRita, I’m wondering if it is really humid where you are? That can cause cakes to fall. Hopefully it still tasted great.
Joy Marsh
March 30, 2013 at 7:44 amYummy…looks like an awesome dessert for Easter!
Arya
October 9, 2013 at 3:56 amI want to eat the cake. I will tell my wife to make it later.
Ellen
March 14, 2014 at 7:30 pmCan’t wait to try!
Jules
October 4, 2014 at 5:18 amI just made this cake and it is very bitter. 2 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder seems like way too much for this cake but I used it anyway because when I bake a new recipe I like to do as directed the first time. The orange flavor isn’t very strong either. I had to alter the icing to try and make up for the bitter cake and nonexistent orange flavor. Not sure if it’s even edible at this point.
Leigh Anne
October 6, 2014 at 2:57 pmWondering if maybe your oranges weren’t sweet enough. The cake does not have a strong orange flavor, more of the flavor comes from the orange in the frosting.
Linda Traynor
August 13, 2017 at 6:45 amMaybe your oranges were not sweet. Mine came out with a world of orange taste.
Ange wood
February 22, 2015 at 12:22 pmIs this sweetened or unsweetened coconut?
Leigh Anne
February 22, 2015 at 12:23 pmWhich ever you prefer. I don’t use it.
Sandra Lyons
January 24, 2016 at 6:46 amI have been looking for this recipe for about 45 years. My grandmother never wrote down recipes and she was a amazing cook. Her method was judge it or better yet handfuls. lol!
I have been talking about this cake for years and I think my daughters are very tired hearing it. I use to beg my grandmother to bake it for every week when I went to stay with her and of course, she always did.
I can’t wait to bake this cake for my family. This recipe from what I can remember is exactly as she make it. Now if I could only find the recipe for her Black Walnut Filled Cookies.
Leigh Anne
January 24, 2016 at 7:52 amSandra, I am so glad you found it too. It is one of my all time favorite cakes. I am curious, where is your grandmother from? I got the recipe from a friend, it was his grandmothers and she was from Southern California. Just curious, maybe they knew each other!
Yazmin
February 13, 2016 at 10:47 pmI just started making this cake. The batter is thick and not “flowy”. Almost lumpy. What went wrong? It hasn’t came out of the oven so I don’t know if it’ll turn out ok still.
P.s.
If I have to do it over, can I use regular flour?
Ashley
August 13, 2016 at 4:11 amMy boyfriend LOVES anything orange. I tried out this recipe because I saw it on pinterest. He LOVED it so much it became his new favorite over the dark chocolate cake I usually make. This recipe is officially in our rotation!
Leigh Anne
August 22, 2016 at 9:51 amAshley, so glad you he loved it. This is probably my favorite cake of all time!!
Madeleine Fuchs
May 15, 2017 at 10:29 amI made this cake for Mother’s Day. It was perfect.
Thank you.
Leigh Anne
May 15, 2017 at 11:44 amIt’s been too long since I made this cake – it is definitely one of my top favorite cakes. I need to make it too! So glad you enjoyed it.
Linda Traynor
August 13, 2017 at 6:44 amI found the frosting too lose and had to add more powdered sugar. Next time I will reduce the amount of orange juice.
It was delicious!
Nancy
March 1, 2018 at 6:09 pmWhat is orange juice concentrate?
Leigh Anne
March 2, 2018 at 6:53 amIt is the frozen orange juice. The frozen juice you add water to. It is called orange juice concentrate before you add the water to it.
Lyn
April 4, 2018 at 8:05 amI made this cake for Easter and it was great. The frosting tasted wonderful but it did not go on the way other frostings I’ve made for layer cakes. The frosting kept sliding down so even though it tasted great it really wasn’t a pretty presentation. The cake was totally cooled when I frosted so I don’t understand what went wrong. I did use organic powdered sugar but i can’t imagine that would make any difference. Any ideas on what I can do differently the next time? Thanks!
Caroline
July 16, 2018 at 5:50 pmI’m considering making this cake for my husbands bday. If I don’t use the orange concentrate and don’t use fresh orange juice. How much of a difference is there in the taste. I love orange juice but many times fresh squeezed juice isn’t that sweet. Thank you!
Leigh Anne
July 19, 2018 at 7:02 pmCaroline, I am a little confused by your question – what are you planning on using if you don’t use orange concentrate or orange juice? The concentrate is combined with the fresh orange juice to give it a stronger flavor than just what you would get with fresh squeezed juice.