Orange Poppy Seed Cake
This orange poppy seed cake is infused with bright orange zest and earthy poppy seeds baked into a light and fluffy loaf and topped with sweet orange glaze.
Why we love this poppy seed cake recipe
We’ve been really enjoying our citrus this year, and this poppy seed cake is one of my favorite new recipes. Instead of pairing poppy seeds with the usual lemon, I decided to use up some of the cara cara and blood oranges.
And, I’m so glad I did. The cake turned out beautifully and the flavor is unmatched. Not only is this cake super light and fluffy, it’s so flavorful and full of orange zest.
Here’s what you’ll need to make it
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Ingredients & substitutions
- Oranges – I used a combination of cara cara and blood oranges for this recipe because that’s what we had at home, but you can use regular old oranges, like navels, or you can substitute your favorite citrus.
- Eggs – I haven’t tried this recipe without eggs, so I can’t say how it would turn out.
- Coconut yogurt – I used So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Yogurt to make this cake. It’s my go-to dairy free replacement for sour cream in recipes. Make sure you use an unsweetened yogurt for this recipe or your cake will be way too sweet.
How to make this orange and poppy seed cake
Mise en place. Preheat oven to 350˚F and grease a 9×5 loaf pan. Then, measure out your ingredients for the recipe before getting started.
Dry ingredients. In a medium mixing bowl, stir the flour, baking powder, salt and poppy seeds. Make sure the baking powder and poppy seeds gets evenly distributed.
Wet ingredients. Beat the oil, sugar and orange zest together until smooth. Then, mix in the egg yolks, coconut yogurt and orange juice. Continue to mix until smooth.
You can do this with an electric mixer or mix it by hand. If you’re using an electric mixer, a medium speed will work. If you’re mixing by hand, I recommend using a wire whisk.
Combine. Slowly mix the flour mixture into the wet ingredients, mixing until smooth and combined. Be careful not to over-mix the batter.
Bake. Pour the batter into your prepared loaf and bake the cake for 45 – 55 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. You can also tell when the cake is finished if the center is set and spring back up when pressed.
Glaze the cake. While the cake is baking, mix the powder sugar, orange juice, orange zest and a pinch of salt together in a mixing bowl.
When the cake has completely cooled, spread the glaze over the cake and allow it to set before slicing.
Everything you need to know about orange poppyseed cake
You do not have to soak the poppy seeds before baking them. Though this step is said to help release the nutty, earthy flavors it will also soften the crunchy outer layer that we so love in baked poppy seed goods.
Poppy seeds have a subtle, nutty flavor. They add a fruity, earthy flavor to recipes, in addition to a lovely crunch. These mild seeds pair extremely well with citrus flavors.
Not all loaf cakes are considered pound cakes. A pound cake is traditionally made with a pound of each of its ingredients and most commonly made in a loaf pan.
More poppy seed recipes you should try
- Strawberry poppyseed salad
- Winter fruit salad
- Orange poppyseed muffins
- Lemon poppy seed protein balls
More dairy free cake recipes you will love
Print
Orange Poppy Seed Cake
This orange poppy seed cake is infused with bright orange zest and earthy poppy seeds baked into a light and fluffy loaf and topped with sweet orange glaze.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 9 slices 1x
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
- 3 tablespoons poppy seeds
- 2/3 cup canola oil
- 2 tablespoons orange zest
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 3/4 cup coconut yogurt
- 1/4 cup orange juice
For the glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons orange juice
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350˚F and grease a loaf pan.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and poppy seeds together until evenly distributed.
- With an electric mixer, mix the oil, sugar and orange zest together until smooth.
- Beat in eggs, one at a time.
- Add the coconut yogurt and orange juice and mix until combined.
- Slowly add in the flour mixture, mixing until incorporated.
- Transfer batter to prepared loaf pan and bake for 45 – 55 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and allow cake to cool completely before removing from the loaf pan.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk the powdered sugar, orange juice, orange zest and a small pinch of salt.
- When cake is cooled, glaze as desired.
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 429
- Sugar: 32.2 g
- Sodium: 92.9 mg
- Fat: 21 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 56.2 g
- Fiber: 1.7 g
- Protein: 4.9 g
- Cholesterol: 41.3 mg
Keywords: orange poppy seed cake, orange and poppy seed cake, poppy seed cake, orange & poppy seed cake, poppy seed orange cake, orange cake with poppy seeds
Last Updated on February 2, 2023 by Melissa Belanger
This post contains affiliate links. I may earn commission from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. I will never recommend a product I don’t use or trust.
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