This Orange Walnut Cake is incredibly soft, light, and mildly sweet boasting a fine crumb. Made easily in the food processor, this 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.
A fan favorite orange walnut cake since 2017!
"Already 2nd time making this in one week. Excellent." - Monika
"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!!!" - Elizabeth
If you're in search of the best-ever snack cake that's perfect for a light dessert or to enjoy alongside a cup of coffee, this recipe is just what you need. Like all our cake and cupcake recipes, It boasts a wonderfully soft and fluffy texture, with a delicate crumb that is absolutely divine. Enjoy every bite!
Similar to the almond flour cake, ground walnuts enhance a cake's texture with their high-fat content, resulting in an incredible moistness and a tender crumb that elevates the baked treat.
This recipe is effortlessly made in the food processor, which serves a dual purpose: finely grinding the walnuts and mixing the cake batter. By eliminating the need to cream the butter separately, it becomes an almost no-bowl cake, simplifying the process and minimizing cleanup!
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Why you'll love this recipe?
- Easily made in the food processor
- Mildly sweet
- Ultra soft texture with a fine crumb
- Made using fresh oranges
- No frosting needed
Ingredients for orange walnut cake
Scroll down to the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and amounts.
- Orange - For this cake, you'll need about 1 ½ fresh oranges. Zest one whole orange and use enough juice to measure ½ cup.
- Walnut - Use ½ cup of raw walnuts, grinding them into a fine powder along with the flour. As for the walnut cookies, avoid using toasted walnuts for the best results.
- Eggs - For an ultra-soft texture, it's best to use eggs at room temperature. Simply transfer them from the fridge and let them sit for at least an hour before you start making the cake.
- Butter - You'll need one stick of unsalted butter, softened to room temperature. Using butter at this temperature is essential for achieving the best texture in your cake.
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How to serve?
This cake has a warm, earthy hue rather than a bright orange color due to the ground walnuts. It is incredibly moist and packed with flavor, making frosting unnecessary.
However, if you want to give it some pretty finishing touch, then a slight dusting of confectioners sugar, and then top the cake with some sliced oranges and fresh mint. A dollop of fresh whipped cream will be excellent!
How to store?
- 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.
Recipe tips
- 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.
Use different size cake pans
- 9-Inch round pan: The cake will be thinner and the bake time will be a few minutes shorter than a 8-inch round pan.
- 8x8 inch square pan: The cake will have a thinner, sheet cake-like consistency, and should be baked for 25 to 27 minutes.
- 9×13 Inch: Double the recipe for a 9×13 inch quarter sheet snack cake.
More simple cake recipes
Orange Walnut Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ½ cup walnuts
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick) room temperature
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 medium oranges
- 2 large eggs room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8-inch round cake pan with non-stick cooking spray and line the bottom with parchment paper.
- Orange zest - Using a microplane or grater, zest one orange, taking care to avoid the bitter white pith underneath.Orange juice - Juice both oranges and measure out ½ cup for the recipe. Enjoy any leftover fresh-squeezed juice as a refreshing drink!
- 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.
- Into the now empty food processor, add the butter, sugar and orange zest. Process for 45 seconds.
- Scrape down the sides to incorporate any butter clinging to the bowl, then add both eggs and process for 25 seconds.
- Add half the flour mixture and process for 10 seconds.
- Add the orange juice and process for 10 seconds. Finish with the remaining flour mixture and process for 10 seconds.
- Transfer batter into the prepared pan, spread evenly and bake for 30 to 32 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the middle comes clean. Pro tip: If you’re using a 9-inch pan, the cake will take about 25 to 30 minutes to bake.
- 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.
Kelly @ Kelly Lynns Sweets and Treats
Mmmm this cake looks so moist! I love the fresh flavor of citrus in cake! Have a great weekend Maria! Xoxo 🙂
Maria Doss
Thank you Kelly. Have a great weekend!
Joanne
Might be a silly question, but if I do'nt have a food processor??????
Maria Doss
Food processor is the key appliance for this recipe, since it does not involve the traditional creaming method which results in the softness.
However, you can still make the cake without the food processor with some compromise on the softness.
Grind the flour, walnuts, baking powder, baking soda and salt in any dry grinder, until walnuts are ground to a flour consistency.
Add butter and sugar into a bowl and beat with a hand held electric beater until creamy. Beat in eggs and orange zest. Beat in half the flour-walnut mixture, then orange juice and then finish with remaining flour mixture. Bake as directed.
Hope it helps:)
Dominique
Hello, why not give us everything in grams? We do not use cups.. I know nobody in BELGIUM who uses it..
Changing in Celsius and cm is do-able, but cups..???!
Maria Doss
Hi Dominique, We sincerely appreciate your feedback. Going forward, we are looking at giving more detailed measurements catering to other countries as well. Have a great day, Maria
Dominique
Thank you very much. I will be very happy to see it!! 😃👌🏽
Lakshmi
I love citrus and this is a quick and fuss free cake which always turns out well. Thankyou for sharing such a simple and delicious cake recipe.
Silvana
I would also love to have metrics measurements. It's always a plus when one can choose between both methods.
Maria Doss
Appreciate your valuable feedback. We have been adding metric measurements to all our new recipes and will work on updating old posts with it as well - Maria
Marija
Totally! All the time I find great looking recipes from the Americans, they measure cheese, flour, spinach in cups. Like, a cup can be a tiny Spanish coffee cup or a huge one liter cup because somebody wants so.
Sandy the Magpie
It's not quite that bad any more - a "cup" in a modern American recipe is a specific volume measurement: 8 ounces = 547 milliliters. 19th-century recipes, of course - that's something else, we have "teacup-fuls" and "a piece of lard the size of a walnut"!
This cake is wonderful. I don't have a food processor so I ground the walnut in a mortar and used a whisk on the eggs, so mine is probably a little more dense than the original, but walnut & citrus is a good combination!
Kim @ The Baking ChocolaTess
Perfect summertime breakfast or snacking cake! YUM! Pinning! Have a wonderful weekend Maria!
Maria Doss
Thank you Kim, you too:)
Noelle
This looks so amazing! What an easy recipe!
Maria Doss
Thanks Noelle:)
Deepika|TheLoveOfCakes
The texture of that cake looks so soft and buttery! And yummy flavors ☺️😍
Maria Doss
It is, thank you:)
Patrick@looneyforfood.com
Love when I can't dump stuff process and bake! Great new pics
Katherine | Love In My Oven
Yum! I totally get what you mean about the not-too-sweet kind of cake. Sometimes I don't need all the sweet!! This looks delicious!
Jenny | The Baking Skillet
Walnut and orange is such a terrific combination of earthy and zingy!! I love simple coffee cakes with little to no frosting to nibble on (not a great habit.. lol.. but irresistible)
Maria Doss
I agree, sometimes it gets dangerous because I've just eaten way too many slices. Thanks Jenny, have a great weekend
cakespy
This looks like a great cake to enjoy as a mid morning snack. The texture is so perfect, and I love how you've used the food processor to get everything to the right consistency.
Maria Doss
Thank you dear:)
Hager
Just made your cake, my kitchen smells amazing!! Thank you for sharing your recipe ❤️
Maria Doss
You are so welcome! So glad you loved it:)
Jessica T
I don't like orange in my desserts but I loved this cake! Easy to mak, delicious & enjoyed by all. Thanks for the recipe.
Preethi
Hi.. i always get stuck with cup measurements.. is it 240ml cup? can u pls tell how much 1 cup of flour in your recipes weighs
Maria Doss
Hi Preethi,
One cup is the standard measuring cup which is equivalent to 236 ml and one cup of flour is 132 grams by weight.
Hope it helps:)
Beverly
Amazing cake! A new favourite.
Added a teaspoon of cardamom and an orange liqueur glaze.
Maria Doss
That’s so great to hear! So glad you love it hun – Maria ♡
Manisha
Made this cake a few times already and it’s a huge favourite with the kids and the extended family. Amazing texture and taste.
Ania
This is amazing. I'm a big baker and this simple cake is one of the best things I have made and tasted. So easy and delicious!
barbarah lippiatt
This was amazing!!!!!
Ruth
I have everything but orange juice. Can you recommend a substitute? I wondered about milk, or water with orange extract.
Maria Doss
Sorry Ruth, this cake is not gonna work without the orange juice and zest. I would rather wait to buy fresh oranges and then make this cake. Sorry for not being any help, Maria
Ruth
Lo and behold I opened my fridge and found bottled oj. I have a couple of oranges so I’m good to go.
Stephanie
Hello! Will this work if I bake it in a loaf pan instead? Thanks a lot
Maria Doss
Hi Stephanie, I haven't had any readers try in a loaf pan, however I don't foresee any reason for it not working. Let me know how it goes, thanks Maria
Arlene Toves
I've used a loaf pan but you got to half of the batter if not it'll overflow lol it happened to me.
Maria Doss
Aaah, too bad!! Thank you for sharing this tip, Maria
Mini priya
It was absolutely amazing!!! Everyone in my family loved it. My son loves chocolate cake more then orange cake but when i gave this to him he changed his mind. Thank you for this great and simple recipe.
Maria Doss
That sounds wonderful Priya, cheers Maria
Mello
I love this recipe! Do you know if I can freeze this cake. I would like to make a few to have on hand for the summer.
Maria Doss
Hi Mello, Absolutely! Cake is good frozen for couple of months. Thaw overnight at room temperature, Maria
Lanny
Hi Maria,
Can this be made into muffin cups? If yes, how long would be the baking time? N oven temp?
Thks for this recipe.
Maria Doss
Hi Lanny, I've never had any readers try this into muffins. The only problem I foresee is that this cake is extremely soft, so not sure how it might hold up after baking. However, if you are baking them into muffins, I would highly suggest using paper liners and letting them cool completely before serving. Hope it helps, Maria
Simone
Are there any adjustments for high altitude? Cakes tend to sink in the middle here.
Maria Doss
Hi Simone, We do not have any readers try this recipe on a higher altitude. Here are couple of useful articles that might be of help :
https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/learn/resources/high-altitude-baking
https://iambaker.net/high-altitude-baking-tips/
Hope it helps, Maria
Rita
@Maria Doss, Could I use another substitute for the whit flour like Almond or Oat flour?
Rita
Maria Doss
Hi Rita, We don't have any readers try with gluten free flours. Since this recipe has less gluten and more oils from walnuts, almond flour might make it more greasy whereas oat flour will need more moisture. Here is a hugely popular almond flour cake that might be of interesting to you. Hope it helps, Maria