Orange Cake Loaf Recipe

Finally the day has come! It’s been 6 weeks since I promised to share with you how I make this loaf. Again, blame it on my busy schedule. This is the 4th time I make this loaf and I use the exact recipe each time. If you follow all the instructions, you will get the same results even if it is your first time.

The best thing about this loaf is that, it is full of orange flavor. So if you are someone that loves orange, you must try it. Check out all ingredients I used

350g Self raising flour
150g granulated sugar
2 large eggs
80ml vegetable oil
150ml orange juice (freshly squeezed with pulp)
150ml milk
Enough orange zest
10g baking powder
vanilla extract

You need to turn on the oven before you start mixing. While the oven is preheating, get your stand mixer or hand mixer if you are comfortable holding. Personally I am too lazy, so it’s definitely the stand mixer.

I should tell you that you are absolutely free to use All Purpose Flour for this if that is what you have. But if you are using All Purpose, you must use baking soda or way more baking powder, which is not necessary with self raising flour, because self raising flour is made with all the raising agents already in it. If you notice in this recipe, I still went ahead to add 10g baking powder which I am not even supposed to. So at the end of the day, just do you. But keep in mind that self raising flour is a type of flour that contains all the raising agents in it already, to help bakers skip the process of measuring baking soda/powder.

Let us also talk about the orange itself as the star ingredient. Please DO NOT use Nigerian orange for this recipe. I remember when I was in pastry school, the head pastry chef said this same exact words to us. She didn’t tell us why really, but I later found out for myself. The zest from our local orange is just not it at all. Please save yourself the drama and pick the foreign ones instead for this recipe. Not only is the zest from the foreign orange more delicious and brighter in color, the juice that you will get out is also sweeter and the color is what will make it a success. Long story cut short, this is the real orange by taste and color.

In your stand mixer, beat the eggs and sugar on low to medium speed until combined. Add the oil, milk, vanilla and orange juice one after another while mixing on low speed.

Stop the machine first before folding in the flour to avoid making a mess. Mix the flour on medium speed for another 2-3 minutes and add the orange zest last. Get your loaf pan and line it with baking paper. Pour in the batter and bake for 45 minutes. Temperature can be between 150-180 degrees. Ever since I understood that our ovens are all different, I usually tell people to bake at whatever temperature is perfect for their oven. Nobody knows your oven better than you, especially if it is a gas oven.

Once it is done, get a rack wire and let the loaf rest on it until it is completely cooled down. Enjoy!

Once it is completely cooled down, you will see that you have just made a soft, moist and delicious loaf. It goes very well with tea. When I made this, I took it to the office and everyone who ate it loved it so much.