An easy food processor recipe for super soft cake that is bursting with orange flavor. Delicious plain or coffee.
Say hello to my old obsession.
Do you love cakes slathered with frosting or just the plain kind?
I'm the not-to-sweet kinda gal.
And this is totally my kinda jam.
Just the right amount of sweetness, like the walnut cookies, double the orange punch and the earthiness of walnuts. This cake is sure to become your favorite too.
The cake comes together just in a food processor-
-Grind all dry ingredients into the food processor, transfer into a bowl.
-Into the now empty food processor, process butter, sugar and orange zest.
-Add eggs and process
-Add ½ flour mixture - process - orange juice - process - remaining flour mixture-process.
-Pour into pan and bake.
You might also like this cranberry orange sauce.
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
- 1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest (only the outer orange skin and not the white part), about 1 large orange
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ½ cup orange juice, freshly squeezed (about 1 - 1 ½ large), I used Navel oranges
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 8-inch or 9-inch round cake pan with non-stick cooking spray and line the bottom with parchment paper.
- Into a food processor, combine flour, walnuts, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Process for one minute and 30 seconds, until finely ground. Transfer mixture to a bowl and keep aside.
- Into the same (now empty) processor, add butter, sugar and orange zest. Process for 45 seconds. Add both eggs and process for few seconds until smooth (scrape the sides of the processor to mix in any butter sticking to the sides).
- Add half the ground flour mixture, process for 10 seconds, then orange juice, process for 10 seconds and then finish off with remaining flour mixture and process for additional 10 seconds, until combined.
- Transfer batter into the prepared pan, spread evenly and bake in the middle rack of the oven for 33 minutes (if using 8-inch pan) and 30 minutes (if using 9-inch pan) or until a tooth pick inserted in the middle comes clean.
- Place pan on a wire rack to cool (awesome when warm).
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