This Orange Walnut Cake is incredibly soft, light, and mildly sweet, boasting a fine crumb. Made easily in the food processor, this orange cake recipe has been a beloved favorite among readers for years! Follow the instructions closely, and you’ll make an amazing snack cake that you’ll cherish making time and again.
If you love simple snack cakes, try my date and walnut cake recipe or the almond flour lemon cake next!
A Quick Look at the Recipe
✅ Recipe Name: Orange Walnut Cake Recipe
🕒 Ready In: ~40 minutes
👪 Serves: 10 servings
🧑🍳 Main Ingredients: Fresh oranges, walnuts, butter, sugar, flour and eggs
📌 Difficulty: Easy food processor cake
Why you’ll love this orange walnut cake?
This orange cake recipe has been a reader favorite since 2017—and once you try it, you’ll see why. It’s made in a food processor, which gives it an ultra-soft, tender crumb that practically melts in your mouth.
The best part? The food processor does all the work. It finely grinds the walnuts and mixes the batter, so there’s no need to cream butter or use multiple bowls—less effort, less cleanup.
It’s lightly sweet with a bright, fresh orange flavor that isn’t overpowering. The kind of simple snack cake that’s perfect with a cup of tea or coffee.
- maria doss
Featured Comments
One reader Monika writes, "Already 2nd time making this in one week. Excellent." ★★★★★
Another reader Elizabeth writes, "One of the most scrumptious cake I have ever made. The measurements are perfect- the ratio of orange is not too overwhelming and the walnuts give a smooth texture. Recommend!!!" ★★★★★
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If you're in search of the best orange cake recipe that's perfect for a light dessert or to enjoy alongside a cup of tea, this recipe is just what you need. It boasts a wonderfully soft and fluffy texture, with a delicate crumb that is absolutely divine. You'll enjoy every bite!
Tips for Success
- Don't over-bake this cake.
- Lining the pan with parchment paper guarantees seamless removal from the pan.
- For consistent results every time, be sure to follow the recipe instructions closely. I find it helpful to use my phone to keep track of timing.
- Room temperature : Store leftovers in an air tight container at room temperature, for up to 3 days.
- Freezing: Wrap the cooled cake tightly in plastic wrap, and store it in a freezer safe zip lock bag for up to 2 months.
How to make orange juice for orange cake?
To make ½ cup of fresh orange juice for the cake, simply use 1 to 2 juicy oranges—navel or Valencia varieties work great. Roll them on the counter with your palm to help release more juice, then cut them in half and squeeze using a manual juicer or by hand over a strainer to catch any seeds. This should yield about ½ cup of juice.
Since the recipe also calls for orange zest, be sure to zest the oranges before juicing, as it’s much easier to do on whole oranges.
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More Amazing Snack Cakes
Orange Walnut Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ½ cup raw walnuts
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick) at room temperature
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- zest of one orange
- ½ cup orange juice
Instructions
- Prep. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (177°C). Spray an 8-inch round cake pan with cooking spray and line the bottom with parchment paper.
- Grind the flour and walnuts. Add the flour, walnuts, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a food processor. Process for 90 seconds or finely ground. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and set aside. 1 cup all purpose flour, ½ cup walnuts, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Process butter and sugar. Into the now empty food processor, add the butter, sugar and orange zest. Process for 45 seconds. 👉 It’s important that the butter is slightly softened at room temperature. In colder months, it may still feel too firm, which can prevent the food processor from properly creaming it with the sugar. If that happens, add one egg and process for about 30 seconds, scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula to help everything mix evenly.1 stick butter, ½ cup sugar
- Mix in eggs. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to incorporate any butter clinging to it, then add both eggs and process for about 25 seconds. 👉 If you already added one egg in the previous step, add only the remaining egg at this stage.2 eggs
- Finish batter. Add half of the flour mixture and process for about 10 seconds. Pour in the orange juice and process for another 10 seconds, then add the remaining flour mixture and process for a final 10 seconds.
- Bake. Transfer batter into the prepared pan, spread evenly and bake for 27 to 32 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the middle comes clean.
- Cool and enjoy. Place the pan on a wire rack to cool and serve!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information, based on third-party calculations, should be seen as estimates, not guarantees, as various factors like product types, brands, processing methods, and more can alter the nutritional content in recipes.
🍊 Craving more recipes with oranges? Try my orange almond muffins for a light and nutty treat, or whip up a refreshing fresh orange smoothie that’s bursting with citrusy goodness!
Frequently Asked Questions
The food processor does double duty—it grinds the walnuts and mixes the batter in one bowl. This not only saves time and cleanup but also helps create a finer, more even texture compared to traditional mixing methods.
Yes, but the texture will be slightly different. The food processor finely grinds the walnuts and creates a smooth, well-emulsified batter, which gives the cake its soft, tender crumb. Here is how to make it without a food processor:
1. Add all the dry ingredients including walnuts to any dry grinder and process until the walnuts and finely ground.
2. Add the butter, sugar and orange zest into a bowl and beat using an electric breater for about 3 minutes or until creamy.
3. Beat in the eggs.
4. Add half the flour mixture, beat to combine. Mix in the orange juice and then the remaining flour.
5. Transfer to the baking pan and bake!
No! The walnuts are finely ground with the flour, which actually helps create a softer, more tender crumb. They add natural oils and reduce gluten development, so the cake stays light rather than heavy. Plus, the food processor method blends everything smoothly, giving the cake an even softer texture than the traditional creaming method.
MADE THIS RECIPE AND LOVED IT? 💚 Please leave a ⭐️STAR rating and COMMENT below- I love to hear your feedback! Tag me with your creations on Instagram and find me on Facebook.
Hi, I’m Maria! I share easy, flavor-packed dinners, high-protein meals, and irresistible baking ideas. If you’ve ever asked, “Don’t know what to cook tonight?” you’re in the right place. And yes—there’s plenty here for breakfast, snacks, and dessert too. More about maria ->
Tina
Can I use vegan butter
Maria Doss
Hi Tina, We don't have any readers try with vegan butter and we are not sure if it will work out or not. So sorry that we are not able to offer any help at this time - Maria
Monika
Already 2nd time making this in one week. Excellent.
Maria Doss
That’s so great to hear! So glad you love it – Maria ♡
Andrea
I've used Earth Balance and it comes out great!
Maria Doss
Hi Andrea, That’s wonderful to hear and thanks for sharing the tip - Maria ♡
Maria Doss
Hi Patricia, We wouldn't suggest almond flour for this recipe, however we totally agree in the use of almond flour in baked goods. You can try this simple Almond Flour Cake if you prefer. (Shh... an orange almond flour cake is in the works). Hope it helps, have a wonderful day - Maria
Gauri Gopalakrishnan
Easy recipe with delicious results. Paired perfectly with a cup of coffee! Thanks Maria.
Maria Doss
Sounds great hun - Maria
Sue
Can I use toasted Walnuts?
Maria Doss
Hi Sue, You can use toasted walnuts, but we've found that they tend to overpower the flavor of orange, unlike raw walnuts - Maria
Elizabeth
One of the most scrumptious cake I have ever made. The measurements are perfect- the ratio of orange is not too overwhelming and the walnuts give a smooth texture. I added a bit of cinnamon the second time I baked it and it made it go from a 9.8 to a 10/10.
Recommend!!!
Maria Doss
Glad to hear hun, have a great day - Maria
Connie Tucker
This recipe just sounded too yummy not to try & it absolutely did not disappoint!! Delish & fun to make👍 I used the juice of the left over half -orange added to about 3/4 c powdered sugar & 1 tsp vanilla to make a drizzle. Perfect cake w/or w/o!❣️
Maria Doss
Happy to hear hun, have a wonderful day - Maria
Andrea
I just baked this with a few substitutions--I didn't have enough walnuts, so I used almonds instead; used clementines to sub for the oranges (zest and juice); I used Smart Balance instead of butter to make it dairy-free; and put a chocolate glaze on top. It smells and looks delicious--I will report back once I have tried a slice! Depending on the orange flavor, next time I might consider adding a drop of orange oil. Orange chocolate is one of my favorite dessert combinations--can't wait to eat this cake!
Andrea
I made this cake with a few modifications and it was delicious! First, I substituted almonds for the walnuts; second, I used clementines instead of regular oranges; and third, I used Smart Balance instead of butter to make it dairy free; and finally, I put a chocolate glaze on top. The cake was soft, had great texture from the ground nuts, and was a great combination of flavors--orange and chocolate is one of my favorites! Next time I might add a drop or two of orange oil to intensify the orange flavor, but it was delicious just how it was! Would definitely make again.
Maria Doss
Hi Andrea, All the modifications sounds delish. Have a fantastic week - Maria
Erica
Absolutely a keeper this recipe is amazing so delicious. I used cara Cara oranges which I highly recommend or use blood oranges if u can find them. Cara cara are so sweet and juicy I’m so glad I used them. I did make some minor changes. I creamed my butter about 5 min in my mixer along with the sugar. I put the walnuts in my food processor until they were finely chopped then added the rest of the ingredients and the walnuts to the mixer. I mixed only until mixed. Then I baked the cake in a 8” Wilton pan. I absolutely loved this cake. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe.
Maria Doss
Glad to hear hun, have a wonderful day - Maria
Donna
Can you use almond flour instead of flour?
Lisa
Because of excessively displayed ads and Pop-ups I hardly can Reader the texts! Awful!!
Maria Doss
Hi Lisa, We are sorry that you didn't have a good experience! We have a "jump to recipe" in the beginning of the post so, you can skip straight to the recipe - Hope it helps, Maria
Vini Narsinghani
Hi Maria
This cake is fantastic 😊 thank you for sharing the recipe. In case I want to make this with a frosting then which frosting would you suggest.
Regards
Maria Doss
Hi Vini, That’s so great to hear! I'd recommend a simple whipped cream frosting. Given that the cake contains butter, it's ideal to serve it at room temperature to ensure the best texture and flavor, I suggest allowing the cake to sit at room temperature for a few hours before serving. Hope it helps - Maria
Vini
Thank you for your reply 🙂
Also is there anyway to make this eggless? Can I use flax egg? If yes what would be the quantity. Thank you for your prompt replies 🙂
Kathy
I recently tried a similar cake in a Cafe costed $10 for a piece..
Only difference it had bits of chocolate through it..
My granddaughter loved it so will try this but posebly with oil as she is dairy free...
Maria Doss
Sounds good. However, exclusively relying on oil could result in a slightly greasy texture for the cake, as the walnuts already contribute a significant amount of fat to the mixture - Maria
Rosemary
Lovely recipe, thank you. I always process the citrus zest with the sugar alone so that all the oils and perfume are uniformly dispersed throughout the sugar also making the sugar a beautiful colour orange or yellow depending of the variety of citrus used. The citrus flavour is more intense when processed with sugar first before adding other ingredients.
Maria Doss
That’s so great to hear, so glad you loved it - Maria ♡
Angela Hartman
I love this cake! So flavorful even
though it’s relatively low sugar. I used one of those jet bullet blenders instead of the food processor and blended the wet and dry by hand. Worked fine. It’s fast and easy and gets better overnight.
Thank you.
Maria Doss
That’s so great to hear, so glad you loved it - Maria ♡
Robarni
You answered my question. How can I bake this cake without a food processor? Thanks for your method using a mixer.
Maria Doss
👍
Ann
This cake is fantastic! I have made this twice in two weeks because everyone in my family gobbles it up. An amazing texture, flavor, and just the right amount of sweetness!
Maria Doss
That’s so great to hear, so glad the family loved it - Maria ♡
Ive
I never rate but this deserves 100 stars! I served it to my new neighbors from India and they loved it so much that I had to bake it for their parents! Thank youuuu!
Maria Doss
Love to hear that - Maria ❤️