Whole Orange Blender Cake
on Jan 31, 2023, Updated Jan 14, 2024
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My mom’s whole orange blender cake is light, 🍊 citrusy, and moist. It’s always on rotation in my house. I know it’s crazy, but this cake combines a few simple ingredients in the blender, including a whole orange, to make the most amazing cake. My mom and I worked on this recipe to bring you the easiest and most flavorful coffee cake ever! The subtle hints of orange and lemon 🍋 make this cake irresistible.
Why You’ll Love Whole Orange Blender Cake
Using a 🍊 whole orange, blended to perfection, infuses the cake with a zesty and citrusy element that is both refreshing and healthy. Some citrus cake recipes require you to zest, peel, or juice an orange – not this one! All you have to do is clean and cut your orange into 🔶 quarters and toss it in the blender. Don’t worry, the resulting cake won’t reveal your secret and you’ll be making this cake on repeat, just like me!
How to Prepare Whole Orange Blender Cake
🔥 Preheat the oven to 350°F and prepare a loaf pan with parchment paper and baking spray.
🌀 Add all ingredients to a high-powered blender, starting with the wet ingredients. Blend for 30-40 seconds until a thick pourable batter forms. Do not over-blend!
♨️ Pour the batter into the lined pan and bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean 2 inches from the side.
🧊 Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes, then remove it from the loaf pan.
❄️ Once cooled, dust the cake with powdered sugar if desired. Enjoy!
Nonna’s Tip 🍊
I used a Navel orange which was sweet. Do NOT over-blend this cake. If your blender is not powerful enough to break down the orange peel, please zest it, peel it and use that instead. I use a Vitamix and blend only for 20-30 seconds.
Variations and Substitutions for Whole Orange Blender Cake
Remember to adjust quantities accordingly and have fun experimenting with these variations to create your best version of my whole orange cake 🧡 that suits your preferences!
- You can use alternative flours such as almond flour, 🥥 coconut flour, or 1-1 gluten-free flour for a gluten-free cake.
- Feel free to experiment with 🍯 honey, maple syrup, or monk fruit sweetener instead of sugar if you prefer a natural sweetener.
- Add chopped nuts such as walnuts, pecans, or almonds.
- Include shredded coconut or grated 🥕 carrots for additional texture.
Other Coffee Cake Recipes
Best Served With
- Coffee or tea 🫖
- Other loaf cakes, like my Carrot Cake or cookies with a brunch
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Must Have Knife
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Nonna's Dry Measuring Cups
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My Favorite Parchment Paper
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Best Blender Ever
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Liquid Measuring Cups Set
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Baking Fave!
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This knife is my most used tool in the kitchen. The love I have for this knife is unmatched.
This is my favorite set. I have had mine for 10 years and need a new one. Highly recommend!
This is the parchment paper that I use for all my recipes!
I have had my Vitamix blender for 12 years and I cannot live without it. It is hands down the best blender in the world. Definitely an investment but worth every penny.
This set includes 1-cup, 2-cup, and 4-cup Pyrex measuring cups that are perfect for baking, cooking, and melting ingredients. They're also dishwasher-safe for easy cleaning.
The perfect loaf pan for making baked goods! The ceramic is non-stick and it's super easy to clean.
Common Questions
I used a Navel orange which was seedless and sweet. You could also use a Cara Cara orange. If you are unsure if your orange is bitter, peel it and throw it in peeled! You can also add the zest as well.
Yes you may. However, if the food processor is not powerful enough it may not break down the skin. To be sure, please peel the fruit and add the zest as well.
As per your feedback, this recipe would work with a Cara Cara orange.
I have not tested this, but yes, you can experiment with a blood orange for this recipe. Your cake may turn out a different color (maybe pink!).
Do NOT over-blend this cake. If your blender is not powerful enough to break down the orange peel, please zest it, peel it and use that instead. I use a Vitamix and blend only for 20-30 seconds.
I have not tried making this cake gluten-free but you could try using a gluten-free 1-to-1 all-purpose flour for baking. Let me know if you try it and how it comes out!
Certainly, you can use clementines or tangerines to prepare this cake. Click HERE to make my Clementine Cake.
You can add poppy seeds to this recipe!
If you have any dietary preferences (like keto or low-carb), you will have to experiment with a 1-to-1 monk fruit sweetener and various other alternatives. Please let us know in the comments of this blog how you made this cake differently so others can learn as well.
You can always adjust the sugar in this recipe as it’s not overly sweet. Feel free to add more if you like your baked goods sweeter. Alternatively, you could do less sugar if you’re trying to cut sugar out.
The bake time will depend on the oven and what type of pan you use, so please keep a good eye on it.
I use a ceramic, non-stick loaf pan for this recipe. You can use a different type of pan, but please keep a close eye on it as the baking time may reduce or increase.
I like to spray and line the loaf pan for easier cleanup, but feel free to butter and flour it if you wish to do so as well.
The lemon extract is optional. I would use lemon zest instead of lemon juice, as it has a stronger flavor, like the extract.
You can store this cake, covered, on the counter for a few days but it probably won’t last you that long!
Certainly, you can use Meyer Lemon to prepare this cake. Click HERE to make my Whole Lemon Blender Cake.
Although I have not tried this cake with almond flour, you will have to experiment. You will have to experiment but always add a little at a time until you have the proper consistency.
To ensure lemons/oranges are clean, you can soak them in a vinegar and water solution and scrub them to draw out any impurities. Mix 1/4 cup of vinegar + 2 cups of water and soak for 5-10 minutes. Rinse and use as directed.
Any oil will work for this cake. You can also use melted butter if you’d like.
Yes, you can certainly use butter instead of oil for this recipe.
A Nutribullet is not nearly as powerful, but If you try it in a Nutribullet, I would suggest peeling the orange before blending.
Always check the baking powder and flour before use! If the cake comes out too dense and not fluffy or moist, the baking powder is most likely out of date.
You can test if your baking powder has expired by adding ½ teaspoon baking powder to ¼ cup hot water. If the water bubbles up, it’s not expired; if it does not bubble, it’s expired and should be tossed. When using baking powder, always check the expiration date. Expired baking powder will not help your recipe rise in the oven, and you’ll have a sad, deflated cake.
Whole Orange Blender Cake
Ingredients
- avocado oil spray
- 4 eggs, at room temperature
- ¾ cup avocado oil, 175ml
- 1 cup granulated sugar, 200 grams
- 1 whole seedless navel orange, washed, quartered, and seeds removed
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract, 5 grams
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, 250 grams
- ¾ tablespoon baking powder, 8 grams (make sure it's not expired)
- ½ teaspoon salt, 3 grams
- powdered sugar, for dusting (optional)
Instructions
- Please check if the baking powder or flour is expired prior to starting.
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper and spray with baking spray. You can use a bigger size pan as well, but the cake will be larger and thinner, so you may need to adjust the baking time.
- Add all of the ingredients to a high-power blender, starting with the wet ingredients. Be sure to add the wet ingredients first so that the blender doesn't get stuck. Blend for 20-30 to seconds or until a thick pourable batter forms. Do NOT over-blend.
- Pour the batter into the lined pan and bake on the middle rack for 45 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean 2 inches from the side.
- Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes. Take the cake out of the loaf pan and once it has cooled, dust the cake with powdered sugar, if using. Enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi! I tried your recipe today and it was delicious! The only thing is my cake won’t bloom(?). The cross section still looks like unbaked. Did I blend too much?
Hi Belle, so happy to hear it was delicious despite being undercooked. A few things may have gone wrong here: over-blending the batter; oven temp not correct (I like to use an additional oven thermometer, since the temp your oven reads is not always accurate); or the vessel you baked your cake in: dark-colored baking dishes will absorb heat faster and bake quicker than light-colored baking dishes.
Absolutely love this recipe! Made it this weekend and used coconut sugar and it is absolutely delicious! We will definitely be making it again 🙂
Thank you, Lisa! Love that you used coconut sugar, sounds perfect. Appreciate your rating! 🥰
Just took this cake out of the oven – perfect!!
Yay!! Thanks, Audrey!! ❤️🥰
Hi, is this a WHOLE UNPEELED ORANGE? With the pith as well?? Thank you!
Hi Jady, yes it is! I cut mine in quarters or eighths and then remove the seeds before adding to the blender. Happy baking!
Made this twice loved it – we only have a bullet blender. I just did the wet ingredients and sugar then mixed that into the flour/salt/baking powder mixture in a bowl. Worked fine
Awesome, Melinda! Thank you for sharing your experience and method for this cake, I appreciate it! 😌❤️
I have a bullet too. Thanks for letting us who don’t have a full size high powered blender know how we can still make this. I can’t wait to try it!
Love it, Jena! So glad this is an option for those of you with this appliance!! ❤️
Hi, I don’t have lemon extract is it okay if I use vanilla extract? And will it change the taste?
Hi Nancy, thats more than okay
Your recipes are precise and simple I tried this too turned up nice.
wow STUNNING! Thank you for attaching a photo
I came back to leave a comment because I love this cake. I’ve made it with all purpose flour, and measure to measure gluten free flour and it’s been perfect every time!
Also, I make it in a Bundt pan with the same bake times and temp because we like that shape better but it’s fabulous either way!
I bake a lot and have an Italian margherita cake recipe that I used to love but now we just make this!
omg Kelly THANK YOU FOR THIS!!!! Sooooo helpful, your review means a LOT n🥰
I did this in my 6 cup blender. Put all the wet ingredients then the dry as instructed. The dry ingredients just sat at the top and didn’t blend into the wet. It did chop up the orange well, but the dry wouldn’t mix with the wet. I was afraid of your “don’t over blend” in all caps so I finally gave up on the blender and dumped it all into a bowl and had to combine it by hand. Then when I poured it into my prepared loaf pan, there was too much batter. Instead of being 2/3 full it would overflow if I used all the batter. I had to switch to a square pan instead and it was still almost up to the edge of the pan.
Hi Vivian, what kind of a blender did you use? That shouldn’t be happening if you’re using a high powered blender making sure to add the wet ingredients to the bottom. Hope you try again.
My blender is an Oster 16 speed. Was my mistake in putting everything into the blender at once? All the wet ingredients were at the bottom but should I have blended all the wet ingredients first and then just added the dry bit by bit blending in between?
The loaf was a bit bitter but the icing sugar dusted on top helped. This turned out as a square cake instead of a loaf because of the amount of dough and the size of my loaf pan. Despite all this, my family still ate it up!
Hi Vivian, ok that makes a lot of sense as Oster is not powerful enough. I would recommend you peel the fruit and add some of the zest instead and don’t over blend.
Made the blender orange loaf. Since I had frozen cranberries I decided to add them. Turned out delicious. I also added a touch of almond extract.
Hi Isabella! So glad you loved it 🙂