Cara Cara Orange Cake
Happy First Day of Spring! I think we should all celebrate by making this Cara Cara Orange Cake with some Orange Cream Cheese Icing. I mean, it's FINALLY spring. I need some major citrus. And a pretty cake never hurts.
In the photos, you'll see one 8-inch round layer. That's because I used the other half of the batter in my Ikea Horse Cake tin. Big mistake. I mean, it was a cute cake. It tasted just as good, but it's REALLY hard to photograph a horse cake. Anyway, you can make yours however you like. But a two layer 8-inch round one would be perfect.
My icing recipe makes more than this needs also, but I just spread some on a chocolate banana sheet cake to use up the rest. I guess I'm on a cake kick. Sometimes it's kale and cauliflower, sometimes it's cake.
I hope you love this cake. It uses sweet Cara Cara oranges, which we LOVE and we always pick up a bag when Costco has them.
Also worth noting, I've only put 2 cups or so of powdered sugar in the icing recipe. Most recipes usually have a lot more powdered sugar than that. I'm not big into sweets (surprising, with all the cake I've been making), and I really like that this icing is kind of sweet, but really tastes like cream cheese and orange.
Anyway, while you're making yours, go ahead and taste it after 2 cups of icing sugar is added, and then decide if you want more.
Enjoy!
Recipe
Cara Cara Orange Cake
Ingredients
Cake:
- 250 grams all-purpose flour about 2 cups
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup plain yogurt
- ½ cup orange juice from about 2 oranges
- 1 teaspoon orange zest from about 1 orange
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
Frosting:
- 8 oz cream cheese 1 brick, at room temperature
- ½ cup butter 1 stick, at room temperature
- 250 grams powdered sugar about 2 cups
- ½ teaspoon orange zest
- 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180℃).
- Grease 2 cake pans (I used one 8-inch round cake pan and 1 horse shaped pan, but you can use 2 8-inch round cake pans)
- In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together the milk, orange juice, orange zest, yogurt, vanilla, eggs and sugar. Sift in the dry mixture and whisk together just until combined.
- Pour into pans and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until done.
- Let cool completely.
- To make the frosting, whip up the cream cheese with the butter until light and airy.
- Add powdered sugar, a pinch of salt, orange zest and juice and whip until smooth. Ice cooled cakes.
Notes
Nutritional information is an estimate. Values vary based on products used. Read our full Nutrition Disclaimer.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you.
Gloria @ Homemade & Yummy says
Cara Cara oranges are so delicious. This cake sounds divine. Love the frosting. This would be a great brunch item, and also the perfect end to a delicious meal.
pipercooks says
Yes, it would be nice for a spring brunch!
Aish Das-Padihari says
I have been meaning to bake an orange cake since long and your post just reminded me of that. I love orange cakes and I love your post. May be I should use this recipe and try.
pipercooks says
Thanks, I hope you try it out 🙂
Nicole says
This really appeals to me - I love a citrus cake and like you, I prefer my desserts not too sweet, so I would follow this recipe exactly.
pipercooks says
Thanks Nicole!
Sarah James @ Tales From The Kitchen Shed says
Your cake looks delicious, I love orange in a cake. I've not come across Cara Cara oranges before, I'm not sure they're available here in the UK but I should imagine the recipe would work with a sweet orange.
pipercooks says
I'm sure it would work with a sweet orange. Cara Cara's are a cross between two navel oranges, and kind of pinkish-red on the inside (but not as bright as a blood orange).
Gillian says
I've never heard of Cara Cara Oranges but really want some now. Your cake looks delicious and the icing looks perfect.
pipercooks says
Thanks Gillian!
Mark S. says
This orange cake looks delicious. The icing sounds perfect. I'll be putting this one on my "to-make" list. I'll let you know how it turns out. Thanks!
pipercooks says
Thanks Mark, I hope you enjoy it 🙂
Britt @ Sweet Tea & Thyme says
You had me at cara cara oranges! Ooh, to candy them as a topping...that would be divine with this cake. Going to give this a try!
pipercooks says
Oh ya, I'll have to try that, thanks!
Margot says
It looks lovely! I made similar mistake recently with my parsnip cake, I used too large tin, nevertheless it tasted the same good. I can imagine how good your cake had to taste, so fresh and fragrant...
pipercooks says
Thanks Margot, it's a really nice cake 🙂
Kristine says
This looks delicious! I love the flavor of fresh orange so this is perfect to make for the Spring. Can't wait to try!
pipercooks says
Thanks!
Amy says
Ha! I really want to see the horse cake now! This is a stunner, for sure, and I love the fresh, bright flavors!
pipercooks says
It was pretty funny. I thought decorating it with orange peel would help. It did not. 😉 haha Thanks for the comment!
Nicole says
Oh my goodness, this looks divine! Love all the specks of zest throughout the cream cheese frosting!
pipercooks says
Thank you Nicole!
Alisha Ross says
These are perfect for Valentine’s day….I love the beet dye (not sure why people feel the need to correct spelling on a food blog)…congrats to your brother.
Alisha Ross says
Excellent read, I just passed this onto a friend who was doing a little research on that. And he actually bought me lunch since I found it for him smile So let me rephrase that: Thanks for lunch!
Dayna says
I got a lot of pulp in my fresh Cara Cara juice. Should I strain it?
pipercooks says
I don’t strain mine but if you feel you’ve got quite a bit then you could definitely do that.
Jacqueline
Diane says
This sounds delicious! Have you tried making cupcakes with a shorter baking time?
Jacqueline Piper says
Hi Diane,
I haven't tried that, but I'm sure it would work. Let me know if you try it, that's a great idea!
Jacqueline