This vegan orange cake is loaded with vibrant orange flavor in every bite and on top goes a yummy orange marmalade frosting. You need just one bowl and 10 ingredients to make it.
Citrus is a marvelous flavor in desserts, like this vegan lemon yogurt cake and vegan orange rolls. This vegan Orange Cake is also a dessert I've baked over and over for many years, after first finding the recipe in the Joy of Cooking. Over the years I've made some tweaks and, most importantly, I've multiplied its deliciousness by doubling the recipe and slathering it with a fluffy, decadent orange marmalade buttercream frosting.
This is a delicious cake, full of orange flavor in every bite. It has a tender crumb that's perfectly but not cloyingly sweet, and the marmalade buttercream is soft and fluffy and to die for.
It is also a rather easy cake to make: it should take you no more than 10 minutes to throw the ingredients together and perhaps another 10 to whip up the frosting, if that. It's also a one-bowl recipe because you can throw all your ingredients for the cake in one by one, and then rinse out the bowl and use it to whip up your frosting.
Best of all, you can even make your cake a tad boozy, as I sometimes do, by subbing a couple of tablespoons of the orange juice with an orange liqueur.
Ingredients
- Flour. I sometimes use unbleached all purpose but when I'm feeling a little extra-healthy, I've used whole wheat pastry flour. Both give great results that are quite comparable. You can also use half and half if you're undecided.
- Oranges. You need both the orange juice and the orange zest here. I use the pulpy juice, so if you want to just toss your oranges in a blender and juice them, go right ahead. Or just buy fresh squeezed orange juice that's pulpy off the shelf at your grocer's. You will need a whole orange to zest, though.
- Orange marmalade. This is for the frosting, and it's wonderful.
- Oil. Use a flavorless, neutral oil, like avocado oil. In vegan cakes, oil not only subs for butter, I think it makes the cake more moist, which is a win-win.
- Baking soda. There is no baking powder in this recipe and 2 teaspoon baking soda is all you need for the leavening.
- Vinegar. Use either apple cider vinegar or white vinegar.
- Pure vanilla extract
- Sugar. I use turbinado, which makes the crumb darker, but any granulated sugar will work.
- Powdered sugar or confectioner's sugar, for the frosting.
- Vegan butter for the frosting.
How to make Vegan Orange Cake
- Because this is a one-bowl recipe you don't have to worry about mixing the dry ingredients, then the wet ingredients, then merging them. Add the wet ingredients -- the orange juice, zest, oil, vinegar, vanilla and sugar -- to a bowl, beat with a whisk until combined, then throw in the dry ingredients and mix.
- Scrape the batter into two 8- or 9-inch cake pans lined at the bottom with parchment paper and oiled. Bake for 30-35 minutes in a preheated 350-degree oven until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
- Cool the cakes in the pan, then unmold and continue cooling the cakes on racks before frosting.
How to make Orange Marmalade Buttercream Frosting
- Make sure the butter is at room temperature -- not hard nor melted, but soft.
- Combine the orange marmalade in the bowl with the butter and whisk, then begin to add the powdered sugar, half a cup at a time. Beat in the sugar after each addition and taste as you go to adjust the amount of sugar up or down to your liking. For this cake I used two cups of powdered sugar and it was perfect. More sugar will make the buttercream stiffer.
- Use an offset spatula or a butter knife to frost the cake.
Top tip
If the powdered sugar has been standing around for some time and is clumping together, run it through a sieve before adding it to the frosting to make sure the buttercream is perfectly smooth and fluffy.
Recipe FAQs
The orange cake is delicious without the frosting and you can definitely serve it plain. Sift some confectioners' sugar on top for a pretty look.
Using just olive oil would overwhelm the orange flavor. I recommend using an unflavored vegetable oil, like avocado oil.
The cake will keep in the fridge for up to five days. For longer storage freeze slices, individually wrapped, in a freezer-safe bag or container. You can also tightly cling-wrap the whole cake, place it in a freezer-safe bag, and freeze for up to three months.
More vegan cake recipes
Vegan Orange Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
For the vegan Orange Cake:
- 3 cups unbleached all purpose flour (can use whole wheat pastry flour or half all purpose and half whole wheat)
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups orange juice (sub two tablespoon of the orange juice with an orange liqueur if you like)
- Zest of an orange
- 2 cups sugar
- ⅔ cup avocado oil or any neutral oil
- 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
For the vegan Orange Marmalade Buttercream Frosting:
- 1 cup vegan butter (2 sticks)
- ½ cup orange marmalade
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Make the orange cake:
- Place the orange juice, zest, sugar, oil, vinegar and vanilla in a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer. Use a whisk or the whisk attachment of the stand mixer to mix for one minute or until everything appears to be well-mixed.
- Add the baking soda, salt and flour to the bowl and mix. Scrape down the sides of the pan after 20 seconds of mixing and mix for 20 seconds more, but no longer.
- Spray two 8- or 9-inch cake pans with cooking spray or oil. Preferably line the bottom with parchment paper, or, if you don't have this, flour the pans. Divide the cake batter equally between the two pans.
- Bake the cakes in a 350-degree oven for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then slide a thin knife around the edges of each cake
- Gently flip each cake onto a plate, slide onto a rack, and continue cooling before you frost.
Make the frosting:
- Place the orange marmalade, vanilla and butter in a bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat until combined, around 30 seconds.
- Add the powdered sugar, half a cup at a time, incorporating well into the butter mixture after each addition. Your frosting should be smooth, creamy and fluffy.
Assemble the cake:
- Place one of the cakes, on a plate or cake stand. Dump half of the frosting on the cake, use an offset spatula or knife to spread it evenly, then place the second cake on top, taking care to ensure they line up evenly. Spread the remaining frosting evenly over the top of the cake, using anything that remains for the sides.
- Slice and serve.
Anna
This is delicious! really moist, and even better after a day or two in a tin, if it lasts that long. I left out the Cointreau and made up the liquid with orange juice and the orange flavour with zest of half an orange and half a lemon. I made it as two small layers and sandwiched them with quince jelly - fantastic. A dusting of icing sugar on top is nice instead of icing or drizzle, too.
Vaishali
Shobana, it will bake up to about 2/3rds of a 9-inch pan, so it's not going to be very big. If you are making it for a large crowd, I'd suggest doubling the recipe and baking two cakes, then icing around the middle and on top. The cake is fairly sturdy and would do well with icing.
Lemon juice wouldn't really go with this cake, but orange zest (the outer skin without the white pith) would be a good addition.
Shobana.
Hi.. I have been smitten by this cake ever since I saw it.. am trying it out for a friend's surprise bday party. Have a few questions:
1. would this be enough to fill in a 9 inch round cake tin or do i have to increase the quantities
2. i have neither orange essence nor orange liqueor. Can I sub with some lemon juice/orange rind?
3. Will this cake lend itself to some icing.. Nothing much, just some butterscotch chips heated up and poured on top..? pl help.
Vaishali
Anonymous, Thanks for the feedback.
Roshni, tulsi rose tea and lime juice sound wonderful. Thanks for your kind words. 🙂
roshni
Hi Vaishali
Tried your orange cake was superb..made some changes since i did not have those stuff in hand but liked it very much..
Added some pistachios and instead of liqueur & vinegar added decaffine tulsi rose tea and lime juice..
Thanks for your wonderful vegan site we love it..
Anonymous
I made this cake with the only two exceptions were that I used orange extract and added cardamom. It was so delicious - thank you!
Vaishali
Hi Kamini, Thanks for agreeing with me. It still hurts me to think of Michael Vick and what he did, and now he's happily back in major league football being a big hero. Meanwhile, the innocent animals he tortured are either dead or struggling to get back to normal lives after years of hard work by groups like Best Friends. It really makes me wonder about the values of the world we live in...
Thanks for the link to the cake! I love Sharan and the work Nandita does, so will look forward to trying this soon.
Kamini
Hey Vaishali...was looking for some good vegan cake recipes and found this. Am going to try it today. But just wanted to say I so agree with you.... for people who torture animals, there should be no second chance! THATS IT! Or do to them what they did to the animals!
Am so with you on this! BTW, here is a great cake recipe
Vaishali
Anonymous, Laura, thank you for the feedback! 🙂
Laura
Hi,
This is the first recipe I have tried from your blog and it was amazing! This has got to be the best cake I've ever eaten, vegan or not. It was so moist and orangey. My whole family of omnivores couldn't stop raving about it. I used a teaspoon of orange extract instead of the liqueur and served it with a warm blueberry sauce.
Looking forward to more great recipes!
Anonymous
Vaishali,
i am finally getting to thank you for this recipe. I have made it several times now. I have brought it to friends' homes and they have loved it and asked for the recipe. Made it for my sick mom and she loved it and asked for it again.
The texture comes our so light and airy in this eggless recipe - it surprises everyone that its eggless. USually eggless cakes come out dense, not this one.
Vaishali
Hi Mindhaven-- it's exactly what it sounds like. You need two tablespoons less than one full cup. Instead of measuring out 14 tbsps (a cup is 16 tbsps), it is easier to measure out one cup and remove two tbsp from it. Does that help?
Katalin
Very tasty! I found this recipe an hour ago and I am already eating it.
It is super moist, you couldn't tell it is vegan. Can't wait to share it with my friends!
I added some orange zest for a stronger orange flavor. Really good!
Aparna
Love the crumb-like texture of your cake. Great tea-time snack. I made a vegan cake once and it came out good, using vinegar.
Amy D
I love your blog, you express yourself well and you have great recipes! I receive your posts via email, but they enter my email box as holy cow! and no description of the post. Is there a way to write Orange Cake in the subject line so that when I save your recipes they'll be easier to retrieve? Just a suggestion, I'll keep subscribed either way.
Curry Leaf
Love it Vaishali.I love oranges in baked goods.