Sicilian Whole Orange Cake

Amelia Taylor

The most luscious, moist and delicious orange cake you'll ever try!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 55

Total Time 1 20

Servings: 10

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Italian

Calories: 335

3 eggs
1 ⅛ cups sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
2 ½ tsp baking powder OR 1 packet Italian Pane Degli Angeli vanilla baking powder
⅓ cup butter salted softened
⅓ cup Greek yogurt plain yes, sour cream works, too
1 orange approximately 1 large fresh sweet, organic: washed and cut into pieces (keep the rind, but remove the seeds)
1 tsp vanilla extract ONLY USE IF USING PLAIN BAKING POWDER
Glaze
2 ½ oz orange juice freshly squeezed juice of one large organic orange
3 Tbsp sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C)
Make the whole orange cake
Prepare an 8" springform pan by greasing and lining the bottom in parchment paper (sides optional, if you want really clean sides), then grease the paper, too.
Place the sugar and eggs in a large bowl and beat with a mixer until light and fluffy.
Sift the flour with the baking powder or Paneangeli then add to the mixture in the bowl a little at a time along with the softened butter. Continue to mix until completely blended, then stir in the yogurt.
In a food processor, process the whole orange until it is almost pureed.
Add this orange to the cake mixture (along with the vanilla if you used plain baking powder) and stir until evenly combined, then put the batter into the prepared tin.
Bake for 50-60 minutes (depending on your oven), but test with a cake tester or skewer to make sure the orange cake is done before removing from the oven. Allow to cool for about 15 minutes, then remove the side of the springform pan.
Make the orange glaze
Prepare the glaze by melting the sugar in the orange juice and allow to simmer for a few minutes, just until the liquid has a syrupy consistency.
Spoon and brush over the top of the cake and allow to cool completely before cutting.

MEASUREMENTS:

I've received lots of emails and messages about the discrepancy in the measurements between metric and cups: THIS RECIPE WILL TURN OUT BEAUTIFULLY WHETHER YOU USE EITHER MEASUREMENT, which isn't normally the case (I normally recommend metric as it's more precise.)
Measurements are NOT critical in this cake recipe. For some reason, it's extremely forgiving.
I do not line the sides of the pan, but for perfect results, you may.
Thousands of reviews can't be wrong.

USING DIFFERENT PANS:

I've made this orange cake recipe in a loaf tin, and it's perfect.
I've also made it in a bundt tin and the amount of batter for one recipe makes a short bundt cake. If you want a full size bundt cake, make 1.5x the recipe.
Yes, it's hard to wait, but the moist orange cake will cut more easily if it's cool first.

FYI, IF YOU ARE CHOOSING A WHOLE ORANGE CAKE RECIPE:

When I published this recipe almost a decade ago, it was the ONLY WHOLE ORANGE CAKE RECIPE in ENGLISH online. My mother found it on an Italian website (which I credit.) This is the original in English.

Nutrition: