Simple Glazed Orange Cake is a fast and easy moist cake made with fresh oranges. This simple bundt cake is the perfect breakfast, snack or even dessert cake.

Orange cake on a glass cake dish with a slice on a white plate.

When it comes to fruit, winter fruit is my favourite, from a delicious Apple bread or an Italian apple cake, but I couldn’t resist making a delicious moist Orange Cake Recipe. I actually made two different types of glazes for it, one a powdered sugar glaze and another one was a stove top glaze, but both were made with fresh orange juice.

We like them both but I think our favourite it the powdered sugar glaze. If you wish you could make it a little thicker or as most Italian do, a dusting of powdered sugar is never a bad idea!

Recipe Ingredients

All purpose flour or cake/pastry flour
Baking powder
Salt
Granulated sugar
Butter
Orange zest and juice
Eggs
Milk – either whole or 2% milk
Powdered sugar

How to Make Cake Flour

For every cup of all purpose flour, remove two tablespoons and replace with two tablespoons of corn starch. Be sure to sift the flour and cornstarch together a couple of times, this way it is sure to be properly combined and lump free. Cake flour in cakes will give you a very tender texture and fine crumb, it will also help the cake to rise.

This is one of those cakes that is so good you start eating it in the morning for breakfast with a cup of coffee, and then in the afternoon with a cup tea and eh why not a slice for dessert after dinner!

What’s so great about this Orange Bundt Cake is you don’t even have to bring out the beaters! Just mix with a fork.

How to make this Simple Glazed Orange Cake.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar, add butter and cut in until mixture resembles coarse crumbs, then stir in the zest.

The dry ingredients combined and the butter added.

In a medium bowl with a fork or whisk beat together the eggs and milk, then pour into the dry ingredients and stir together until just moist.

Adding the wet ingredients to the dry in a white bowl.

Pour into the prepared bundt pan and bake until done, test with a toothpick for doneness. Let cool completely before adding the glaze.

The cake batter in the pan before and after baked.

Since living in Italy I noticed, that when they make a cake everything is mixed with a fork or a wooden spoon, spatulas have just become popular in the last couple of years.

My mother-in-law used to use a spoon to get all the batter out of her bowls, I used to find that fascinating, especially since she would get every drop. Last Sunday my mother-in-law’s brother and his family came for a visit and I decided to bring this Orange Cake to serve with coffee after lunch.

Simple glazed orange cake on a glass cake stand.

Why do you add Vanilla to a cake recipe?

Vanilla acts as a natural flavor enhancer, it brings out the sweetness and dimension of the other ingredients in cakes, such as the butter, sugar, or chocolate. It also makes baked good more inviting and appetizing. It helps to balance the flavors in a cake giving it a well blended taste. Even when vanilla isn’t the main ingredient, its subtle presence will make a big difference in the overall taste and quality of the cake.

How to store the Glazed Orange Cake

As long as the cake is unfrosted it should be kept at room temperature. Keep it in a cake container or well wrapped. It will keep for up to 3 days.

How to freeze it

Be sure to cool the cake completely then wrap it tightly in either plastic wrap or foil, place it in a freeze safe bag. The cake will keep for up to 2 months. When ready to thaw place the wrapped cake in the refrigerator to thaw before serving. Or you could freeze individual slices.

More Simple Cake Recipes

The Italian who had been talking to someone outside, came into the kitchen to have his coffee and have a slice of Orange Cake, which he was lucky to get since not much remained of this cake! So good I hope you like it, let me know what you think. Enjoy!