Orange Walnut Cake

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.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword orange walnut cake

Prep Time 12

Cook Time 30

Total Time 42

Servings Servings

Calories 224kcal

Author Maria Doss

Equipment

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

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.

Don't over-bake this cake.

Nutrition