This vegan orange cake is light, soft, and very easy to make. You can eat it as is or you can fill it with our delicious orange curd filling.
It's a perfect breakfast cake, and it's also great as a mid-afternoon snack with tea or coffee. And the orange curd inside is tangy, zesty and so delicious that it will make you reach for another slice.
Check out our best vegan cake recipes collection!
What to expect
There are many types of orange cakes around, from bundt orange cakes to more elaborated layered orange cakes.
Our vegan orange cake is a round cake that is filled with a layer of vegan orange curd that we show you how to make below. It's really easy to make and it tastes delicious.
For the cake itself, you can literally whip it up in 5 minutes. The ingredients are simple ones that you probably already have at home.
It cooks in the oven in 30 minutes, and while you wait, you can make the orange curd.
We tested this cake with both all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour. Both versions are great, but in my personal opinion, all-purpose flour is best if you want a cake that is more dessert-like, or if you serve it to non-vegans that are not used to more wholesome flavors.
On the other hand, whole wheat flour is best for a cake that you want to eat for breakfast or that you want to serve to your kids, and get them used to whole-some flavors.
Also, this cake is delicious both with the orange curd filling and without.
Ingredients & Substitutions
For the vegan orange cake
- Flour: you can use all-purose flour or whole-wheat flour. You can also use 50% all-purpose and 50% whole-wheat.
- Plant-milk: we use soy milk, but any other plant-milk will do.
- Vegetable oil: you can use most vegetable oils, you can use canola oil, sunflower oil, and even a light olive oil, altough this makes the cake slightly heavier.
For best taste we recommend a neutral oil that doesn't taste too much of the vegetable is made of. - Sugar: plain sugar works great. Unrefined cane sugar works well too. If you use coconut sugar, then you need to multiply our sugar amount by 1.25 as coconut sugar is less sweet than regular sugar.
- Baking powder: or cream of tartar.
- Orange: we use the juice and the grated zest of organic oranges. It would be best for you if the orange is organic.
- Vanilla extract: this is optional but it adds a nice vanilla flavour to the cake that goes well with the orange flavour.
For the eggless orange curd
The orange curd is optional, but recommended. The cake is delicious both with the curd, and without.
- Orange juice: we like to use freshly squeezed orange juice, then we filter out the pulp and only use the liquid part of the juice. You can also use packaged orange juice.
- Potato starch or corn starch: use either to thicken up the curd.
- Sugar: any type will work. You can add more or less based on your preference. The orange curd is usually tangy and sour, so if you don't like that add more sugar.
Instructions
Equipment
- Springform pan with 9 inch or 23 cm diameter. If you have a different size check our conversion table below.
- Hand mixer or whisk
- Orange squeezer if you use freshly squeezed orange juice
- Zester
Make the cake
Preheat the oven to 340F or 170C. Then lightly grease your springform pan with some vegetable oil, then dust it with flour. Set aside.
In a bowl add soy milk, sugar, orange juice, vegetable oil, grated zest of 2 oranges, and vanilla extract. Give it a stir with a spatula.
Sift in flour and baking powder and mix with a hand mixer or with a whisk for a few seconds. In the pictures that follows we used whole-wheat flour.
TIP: do NOT over-mix the cake batter. Mix only for about 30 seconds. Over-mixing will activate the gluten and your cake will turn out heavier.
Transfer the cake batter into the springform and bake for 25 minutes at 340F or 170C then set aside to cool completely.
Make the orange curd
To a pot add filtered orange juice (without orange bits), sugar and potato starch. Stir with a whisk to dissolve the sugar and the starch.
On medium-low heat cook the liquid for one to two minutes, while stirring. As soon as the liquid thickens take it out of the heat and keep stirring for another minute.
Fill the cake
With a serrated knife, cut the orange cake open in half. Make sure the cake has cooled completely before you do that.
Add the orange curd and spread it evenly on the base layer of the cake.
Cover with the top layer, sprinkle with powdered sugar and enjoy.
How to scale this recipe?
How to scale ingredients?
Easy! We calculated the scaling number for you. Pick the springform pan that you want to use for your cake, then multiply all the ingredients in our recipe box by the scaling number in this table.
| Springform pan size | Scaling Number |
|---|---|
| 4 inch (10 cm) | 0.22 |
| 5 inch (13 cm) | 0.31 |
| 6 inch (15 cm) | 0.44 |
| 7 inch (18 cm) | 0.60 |
| 8 inch (20 cm) | 0.79 |
| 9 inch (23 cm) | 1 |
| 10 inch (25 cm) | 1.23 |
| 11 inch (28 cm) | 1.5 |
How do I know if my cake is fully baked?
Depending on the type of oven, type of milk, and type of flour, your cake will take more or less time to cook than our cake.
For this reason, when baking ANY cake, you should always check the core of the cake with a clean toothpick or skewer before you take your cake out of the oven.
To do that, just insert the toothpick or the skewer in the centre of the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean and dry it means that your cake is ready.
If the toothpick comes out wet, then bake for a few minutes longer, then check again.
Mistakes I made
- I over-mixed the cake batter: the first time I made this vegan orange curd cake I mixed the cake batter with a whisk for a long time trying to remove all the lumps. This is wrong. Over-mixing will activate the gluten which will make the cake heavy and more compact.
- I overcooked the eggless orange curd: citrus tends to get bitter if you cook it too much. So use gentle heat and don't over-cook.
- I didn't add enough sugar to the curd: I tried orange curd without sugar but it's just too sour.
Tips
- Don't grate the white flesh of the orange: only grate the orange-colored zest of the orange. The white flesh under the peel is bitter.
- Do not over-mix the batter: I repeat this again. Only stir the cake batter with a spatula for a few seconds and don't worry too much about the lumps.
- Wait for the cake to cool down: this is a very light and soft cake that should NOT be cut while warm. Wait until it cools completely before cutting it open.
- Bake the cake immediately: to have your cake soft and fluffy you should bake it as soon as you mixed all the ingredients together. To do that always preheat the oven in advance and also prepare your springform pan in advance so you are ready to bake.
Storage
Store this vegan orange cake on a plate, covered, in a dry corner of your kitchen. It'll stay nice and soft for up to 4 days.
If you want to extend its shelf-life, then store it in a reusable plastic bag - like one for freezing food.
You can also freeze this cake for up to 3 months, but we do not recommend it. It stays softer and fluffier when it's fresh.
Variations
You can fill this orange cake with any filling you like. For a quicker version, you can use orange jam or any other jams.
Alternatively, you can fill it with one of our vegan custards. Our favorite is to fill it with our delicious vegan pistachio custard, but a classic custard, or a coffee custard work too.
Similar recipes
If you're a big fan of plant-based desserts (like we are), check out our other easy vegan cakes:
For many more sweet ideas, check out our desserts category page.
Recipe
Vegan Orange Cake + Orange Curd
Equipment
- Springform pan 9 inches (23 - 24 cm)
- Hand mixer or whisk
- Zester
- Orange juicer (if you use freshly squeezed orange juice)
Ingredients
For the orange cake
- 2 cups flour all-purpose or whole-wheat
- ¾ cups soy milk or other plant-milk
- ½ cups sugar
- 2 oranges the grated zest
- ½ cups orange juice
- ¼ cups vegetable oil canola, sunflower or other
- 1 tablespoon baking powder or cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
- ½ tablespoon powdered sugar (optional to sprinkle on top)
For the orange curd
- 1 cup orange juice filtered, no bits
- ¼ cups sugar
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch or potato starch
Instructions
Make the orange cake
- Preheat the oven to 340F or 170C. Then lightly grease your springform pan with some vegetable oil, then dust it with flour. Set aside.
- In a bowl add soy milk, sugar, orange juice, vegetable oil, grated zest of 2 oranges, and vanilla extract. Give it a stir with a spatula.
- Sift in flour and baking powder and mix with a hand mixer or with a whisk for a few seconds.TIP: do NOT over-mix the cake batter. Mix only for about 30 seconds. Over-mixing will activate the gluten and your cake will turn out heavier.
- Transfer the cake batter into the springform and bake for 25 - 30 minutes at 340F or 170C then set aside to cool completely.
Make the orange curd
- To a pot add filtered orange juice (without orange bits), sugar and potato starch. Stir with a whisk to dissolve the sugar and the starch.
- On medium-low heat cook the liquid for one to two minutes, while stirring. As soon as the liquid thickens take it out of the heat and keep stirring for another minute.
Fill the cake
- With a serrated knife, cut the orange cake open in half. Make sure the cake has cooled completely before you do that.
- Add the orange curd and spread it evenly on the base layer of the cake.
- Cover with the top layer, sprinkle with powdered sugar and enjoy.
Video Recipe
Nutritional Values
If you liked this recipe, you might also like:
ruth
WOW! This was honestly one of the best cakes I have ever made, including non-vegan. The texture was perfectly light and fluffy, and the tangy citrus and sugar were well balanced. The curd is to die for. I had to comment and thank you. Grazie mille from Canada.
Chef Nico
Wow, Ruth, I am delighted to hear! It is also one of my favorites (especially for breakfast).
Thanks for taking the time to comment, I appreciate it!
Cheers,
Nico
Sylvie
I made it with gluten free flour (a mix for cakes and cookies) and it turned out incredible! It´s so hard to find recipes that still taste good if you use gluten free flour, and this one just made it to the top of my list. It took my mom and me just two days to eat it completely, so don´t mind the storage - if you like orange, it will be gone long before it has a chance to turn bad. I just ordered a new box of oranges to have more of it...
Chef Nico
Wow, I'm delighted you liked it, Sylvie! We have an abundance of oranges in Italy right now, so I like to put them to use in this cake too before they go bad. Cheers! Nico
Heidi
I made this cake for my husbands birthday and it was delicious! Very moist and flavourful. The curd in the middle was a wonderful addition. I chose to do an orange butter cream frosting instead of icing sugar and it worked very well. Highly recommend!
Nico
Wow, Heidi, buttercream frosting sounds absolutely delicious!! I am delighted you liked the orange cake - I hope you had fun on your husband's birthday. Thanks so much for your kind message! Cheers, Nico
Sandy
I am yet to try this out but I have never seen a more detailed blog post. Yours is the first blog in which I don't skip to the recipe card and I always read the full post because of the wealth of information you have for us. I thought your videos were brilliant but your blog posts take the whole thing up a notch. Thank you.
Nico
Thank you for your nice comment Sandy. I'm happy you find the info in the text useful 🙂
Bridget
This cake is delicious! Thank you so much for sharing! Do you think this could be made gluten free as well? I loved it so much I’d like to share it with a family member who is gluten free. Thanks!
Nico
Hi Bridget, thanks so much, we are so happy you liked the Orange Cake. Yes, it can be made gluten free with a store-bought gluten free flour mix, one that is suitable for cakes. The only challenge would be that it might crumble more that the regular cake, but the taste will still be delicious 🙂