This cake is super-moist and ohhhhh soooo delicious, and ready in no time. I am particularly proud of this recipe since I developed it from scratch without having any other recipe as basis to work from. And do you know what? It worked so perfectly that I did’t need to change the recipe at all after the first try.
I posted it on my German blog Taste of Travel a year ago and I have been making this cake pretty often ever since. It soon became one of my go-to recipes and the batter is brilliant for cakes and muffins!
Originally, I wanted to make a blood orange upside-down cake but I simply was too lazy to cook the caramel that goes on top (well, or the very bottom?) of the orange slices.
You can even consider it a one-bowl cake if you add the flour and baking powder directly to the wet ingredients. Just make sure to distribute the baking powder evenly.
Nothing left to say, except: Enjoy!
This cake is super-moist and ready in no time. It uses freshly squeezed blood orange juice and you can make it with or without orange wheels on top (no caramel necessary). Add some almond extract for an intense almond flavor (even without it has a nice almondy aroma).
Ingredients
- 1 or 2 blood oranges to fillet, depending on their size (see note)
- 1 stick (113 g) unsalted butter, cubed and softened*
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon (120 g) granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
- 1 cup (100 g) almond meal
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) blood orange juice (from 2 small oranges; add some pulp if you like)
- 2/3 cups (90 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- Powdered sugar for dusting
- Additional: parchment paper and a 8 or 9-inch (21 cm) round cake pan
* >> Did you forget to soften the butter or bring eggs to room temperature in time? No problem: Simply place eggs in a bowl with warm water for a couple of minutes. Slice butter very thinly and arrange them in a single layer in a mixing bowl. The butter should be soft within 5 minutes (or place mixing bowl onto a radiator or microwave for 15 seconds).
Instructions
- Line the bottom of a round cake pan with parchment paper and grease the sides.
- Fillet 1 or 2 blood oranges and cut them crosswise into 1/8 to 1/4-inch wheels; discard any seeds. Arrange the orange wheels in a single layer – as tight as you like - on top of the parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, cream together the softened butter with granulated sugar for about 5 minutes.
- Beat in eggs, one a time, mixing 30 seconds after each addition. It’s crucial that butter and eggs have room temperatures or they’ll separate easily.
- Add salt (and almond or vanilla extract if using), mix until well combined.
- Add almond meal and blood orange juice at the same time and mix on low speed until combined.
- In a separate bowl, mix together flour and baking powder and then add it to the wet ingredients. Mix for just a few seconds, until combined.
- Carefully scrape the batter over the oranges. Bake the cake in a 350 °F (175 °C) preheated oven until it is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center emerges clean, 30 to 35 minutes.
- Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes, then run a knife along the pan’s edges to loosen it. Invert the cake onto a platter and cool completely. Dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving.
Notes
For a quick version or if you simply are not really into filleting citrus (like me) you can skip filleting the oranges. The cake doesn’t look as pretty without the orange slices on top but it sure tastes delicious!
Did you follow this recipe? You could share your result here. All you need to do is take a picture with your smartphone and send it to [email protected]
The sign of a true baker: you can bake a cake by yourself without a recipe! It looks absolutely delicious and I’m sure that it is! I bet a lemon or grapefruit version is lovely, too!
Thanks so much Christina! I’m sure any citrus would taste lovely ;-) I would go the grapefruit road.
What a nice recipe, It has two of my favorite ingredients which I never had together in a cake, and it looks heavenly!
Thank you Jasmin! I think so too. Blood oranges and almonds go so well together. They are simply a dream-combo!!
This cake looks so tasty! I love almonds but would have never though to pair them with blood oranges, sounds like a great combination.
Hi Beata, Thanks so much! The blood orange and almond combo is amazing!!!! I can’t get enough of it ;-)
This cake was so tasty! I followed the recipe exactly and it came out amazing, moist and not too sweet. I have made several of your recipes already and all were great! Please keep more recipes coming! Thank you Ursula!
Hi Anna! It’s so great that you have already tried several recipes and that all worked fine!!!! You made my day!
The blood orange cake is really one of my favorites. If you like it, you can try the orange muffins, I posted a few days ago. I bet you will love them ;-)
love this cake recipe. One of may favorites. Delcious.
Simon
Thanks Simon! Great that you like the cake! This is also one of my favs ;-)
Hi, Would this recipe work with olive oil instead of butter? I’m lactose intolerant, so am trying to find an alternative.
Hi Dana, I’ve never tried it using oil but I would say: yes. What you can also try is vegan butter (for example from earthbalance). Since this one is solid, it will definitely work. Hope you try the cake – it really is one of my favorites if not THE favorite!
Hi Ursula,
I actually tried it with the olive oil in the end. I used half a cup to replace the butter. It worked really well! It was very dense and moist, almost like a friand. I will definitely be using this recipe again. Thanks a lot for getting back to me. I think it’s my new favourite too!
:-))) The olive oil version sounds very tempting! Have to try it some time!
I have made this cake twice in the last month. It is fabulous- especially with a good cup of coffee!
Hi Paul,
Thanks so much. Of course, I love to hear that ;-) It’s so easy to make yet so delicious. This cake is one of my favorite cakes ever.
Sharing in case anyone asks :) This can be made gluten free.
I replace the all purpose flour with GF 1:1 flour and it comes out fabulous!!!!!!
Hi Marietta,
Thanks so much for testing the recipe with gluten-free flour. It’s great that it works well too, thanks so much for sharing!! Ursula