Orange Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese frosting is made with fresh orange juice and lemons, then topped with a rich cream cheese frosting! Fantastic homemade Bundt Cake recipe with delightful citrus flavors.
Every bite of this Orange Bundt Cake is a combination of tangy flavors and creamy rich goodness. It is just as perfect to serve as a dessert in summer as it is in winter when the citrus fruits are being harvested from the trees. Dress it up or dress it down and it can be a casual dessert or a fancy one depending on what you prefer.
Easy Orange Bundt Cake
This easy one bowl cake recipe is made with basic pantry staples and the results are a buttery delight I am sure you will love. Making this orange Bundt cake from scratch does not take too long to do and you will be finished in about an hour (including the bake time). You are going to love making this Bundt cake from scratch because the results are worth it and unlike anything you would get from a boxed mix. It is perfectly sweet, tangy, buttery, and moist to the very last crumb.
Orange Bundt Cake ingredients
For the cake, you will need:
-Butter: You need ½ cup of butter (one stick). This will help to add richness and moisture to the cake.
-Sugar: 1 ½ cups of granulated white sugar will add the perfect amount of sweetness to this bright and citrusy cake.
-Eggs: Use 4 large eggs to help bind and stabilize the batter.
-Milk: You need ½ cup of milk to bring a creamy richness to this dessert.
-Orange juice: You will need ¼ cup of orange juice. Fresh squeezed is best but bottled will work fine.
-Orange zest: Use 1 tablespoon of orange zest for a nice tangy taste. This is about what you get from one orange.
-Lemon juice: Use ¼ cup of lemon juice for fresh flavor. Bottled or fresh squeezed are both fine.
-Flour: You will need 3 cups of all-purpose flour for the base of this recipe. A whole wheat flour or gluten free blend would also work well.
-Leavening agents: You will need 1 teaspoon each of baking soda and baking powder to help this cake rise up and leaven properly as it bakes.
For the frosting, you will need:
-Cream cheese: Use 1 8-ounce block of room temperature cream cheese to get a creamy frosting.
-Powdered sugar: Adding in 1 ½ cups to 2 cups of powdered sugar will make the frosting smooth and sweet.
-Orange juice: Use 2 tablespoons of orange juice to help get a zesty flavor that pairs well with the cake.
How to make Orange Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese frosting
Prep
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Grease the inside of a 10 cup Bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray, make sure to cover all the nooks and crannies. Set it aside.
Make the batter
In a large bowl or in the bowl of your stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Then, add in the eggs, milk, orange juice, and lemon juice. Whisk together until well combined.
Next, add in the flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Beat slowly until the flour is fully incorporated and no white streaks remain. Be careful not to overmix your cake batter. If you mix too vigorously after adding your flour, an abundance of gluten can form. This will make your cake dense and overly chewy.
Bake
Pour the batter into the prepared Bundt pan and bake in the oven for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
Be sure to allow the cake to cool completely before preparing the frosting
Make the frosting
In a medium size bowl, beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and orange juice until smooth using an electric hand held mixer.
You can add in more orange juice for a thinner consistency or add in more powdered sugar to make it thicker depending on what you will prefer. Not confident in your piping skills? Add extra orange juice to your cream cheese frosting to turn it into a drizzly glaze.
Frost the top of the cake, slice and serve. Enjoy!
Bundt Cake Topping Ideas
Dress this lemon-orange bundt cake up or down with your choice of different decorations. Below are a few of my favorite frostings and toppings to pair with this citrusy cake.
- Sugared cranberries
- Candied orange or lemon zest
- Fresh mint sprigs
- Dried or fresh lemon and orange wedges
- Lemon or orange-flavored candies
- A simple powdered sugar glaze
- Poppy seeds
- Any type of candied or roasted nut
CAN I FREEZE a Bundt CAKE?
Yes, bundt cake can be frozen in a tightly sealed container for up to 3 months. You can freeze the entire cake for later or store leftover slices of cake for a later dessert if you can’t finish it fast enough. This is a great way to get a tasty bite of sweets over the course of the next few weeks. Just thaw the slice of cake for a few minutes at room temperature before serving.
Best Bundt Cake Pan
It’s best to use a good quality, heavy bundt pan when baking bundt cakes. I prefer this 12 cup, 10.5 inch non-stick bundt pan from Nordicware. It’s heavier than others and offers more even baking. Most bundt pans are non-stick but tend to not work as well as needed, so you’ll still need to grease even a non-stick pan.
How to prevent cakes from sticking to the pan:
Make sure to grease the inside of your cake pan well and then add in a dusting of flour to help as well. For chocolate-based cakes, using cocoa powder instead of flour works well but flour is best for the lighter colored cakes. You can also use a nonstick baking spray with flour in the mix to make it a little easier as well but I’ve found that manually adding grease + flour works best as the spray doesn’t always help cakes to come out flawlessly.
ORANGE BUNDT CAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
Ingredients
Cake batter Ingredients
- ½ cup softened salted butter
- 1 ½ cup white granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- ½ cup whole milk
- ¼ cup orange juice from 1 orange
- 1 TBSP orange zest from 1 orange
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 3 cups white flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
Frosting Ingredients
- 8 oz cream cheese room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 TBSP orange juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease 10 cup bundt pan and set aside.
- In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat the butter and granulated sugar together until creamy.
- Add the eggs, milk, orange juice, and lemon juice. Whisk the mixture again until homogenous and smooth.
- Add the flour, baking soda, and baking powder and beat slowly until the flour is fully incorporated into the batter.
- Pour the batter into the Bundt pan and bake for 45 minutes.
- Allow the cake to cool while preparing your frosting.
Making the frosting
- In a medium size bowl, beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and orange juice until smooth. You can add more orange juice if you would like the frosting to be thinner. I prefer a thicker frosting that I can pipe onto the top of the cake.
- Frost the cake as desired. Slice, serve, and enjoy!
Nutrition
How to Store Leftover Lemon Orange Cake:
You can store leftover orange Bundt cake on the counter for up to 2 days. Just be sure to place any leftovers into an airtight container. Alternatively, you can store your container of leftover cake in the fridge. It should stay good for up to 4 days.
You can also keep your lemon orange cake fresh by storing it in the freezer for up to 3 months. Just be sure to wrap your cake tightly in plastic wrap before storing it.
What happens when you add citrus juice to a cake?
The natural acids present in lemon and orange juice will react with your baking soda and form air bubbles. This will help your cake to rise and become light and fluffy.
How can I help my cake to have more orange flavor?
Depending on your personal tastes, you may want this lemon orange cake to have even more citrus flavor. For a cake with extra zing, try folding some fresh lemon zest into the cake batter, in addition to the orange zest.
Can I bake my lemon orange cake in a different type of cake tin?
Absolutely! You can bake your citrus cake in a sheet pan, circle cake pan, square cake pan, or loaf tin. Just be aware that baking times may change; you will want to frequently use the toothpick trick (as mentioned in the recipe steps above) to determine when your cake is done baking.
More delicious orange flavored desserts to try soon
- ORANGE CREAM FRUIT SALAD
- CRANBERRY ORANGE SCONES
- ORANGE CHOCOLATE BABKA RECIPE
- ORANGE JUICE BUNDT CAKE
- ORANGE BREAKFAST CRESCENTS
- ORANGE CREAMSICLE CHEESECAKE
- VANILLA ORANGE WAFFLES
- ORANGE CREAMSICLE BITES
- GLAZED ORANGE BROWNIES
- ORANGE CHEESECAKE BROWNIES
- ORANGE CREAMSICLE FRUIT DIP
- ORANGE CREAM COOKIES
Made with fresh oranges and lemon juice this orange bundt cake with cream cheese frosting is a delicious blend of sweet, tangy, rich flavors in every slice.
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