Orange Loaf Cake with Orange Chocolate Glaze
A delicious buttery cake infused with orange zest and juice, this Orange Loaf Cake is bright and mildly sweet, with an orange chocolate glaze for a touch of decadence! Love orange in baked goods? Try Orange Cinnamon Rolls with Orange Cream Cheese Icing.
When I crave cake and chocolate or vanilla flavor just won’t hit the spot, I know that the combination of orange and chocolate will always do the trick. This flavor is always great for a change.
It’s bright, buttery and mildly sweet, and the orange chocolate glaze on top makes it so special. If you love orange chocolate flavor, try Chocolate Chiffon Cake with Orange Chocolate Glaze too.
Orange Loaf Cake
There is nothing complicated about making this cake. It is my usual, laid back kind of baking like Pineapple Loaf Cake, and Chocolate Cake Loaf with Cream Cheese Filling. Hurray for simple baking!
My favorite? You do not have to have elaborate cake decorating skills to pull this off.
Zest a large orange to infuse the cake (and some more to garnish the cake in the end, as well, if you want), and the rest are usual baking process. Let’s start shall we?
Orange Loaf Cake with Orange Chocolate Glaze: The Process
- Preheat the Oven and Line Your 9 x 13 inch loaf pan.
- Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time and then the vanilla.
- Beat in the orange zest and buttermilk.
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Alternately add the flour mixture and the orange juice n three gradual additions beginning and ending with the flour. The batter will be thick an smooth but flowy.
- Pour and scrape the batter into the prepared pan.
Pointers and Tips
- Room temperature eggs, orange juice and buttermilk will ensure optimal mixing. Take these ingredients at least 40 minutes ahead of time.
- No buttermilk? Measure out ¼ cup of milk and add 2 teaspoons of vinegar.
- To store the cake, keep it in a tightly sealed container for up to 3 days. Refrigerate for longer storage. Serve at room temperature if you refrigerated it.
More Delicious Cakes
- Chocolate Chip Loaf Bread with Choco Honey Butter
- Chocolate Banana Sheet Cake with Coffee Cheese Icing
- Red Velvet Sheet Cake
- Apple Loaf Cake with Sweet Pecans
- Chocolate Chip and Pecan Quick bread
Orange Loaf Cake with Orange Chocolate Glaze
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- ½ tsp vanilla
- 1 tbsp. orange zest or zest of one large orange. Plus more for garnishing the top of the finished cake
- ¼ cup buttermilk at room temperature
- ⅔ cup orange juice at room temperature
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
For the Orange Chocolate Glaze
- ½ cup icing sugar
- 1 tbsp. cocoa powder
- 2 tbsp. orange juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan, then lined the insides with parchment paper. Using an electric mixer, beat together butter and sugar for about one minute, or until the mixture is fluffy. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated. Beat in vanilla extract.
- Add the orange zest and the buttermilk. Beat to incorporated. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.
- Add the orange juice and flour mixture alternately to the bowl starting with the ⅓ of the flour mixture, then followed by ½ of the orange juice. Then beat in 1/3 of flour mixture and the remaining orange juice. Beat in the remaining flour last. The batter is smooth and thick but somehow flowy.
- Pour and scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 350 F for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted at the center of the cake comes out clean. If the cake is browning too much as you approach the end of baking time, loosely cover the top with foil. Let the pan cool on a wire rack before you put icing.
To Make the Orange Chocolate Glaze
- In a mixing bowl, combine icing sugar, cocoa powder and orange juice. Whisk everything using a wire hand whisk. The mixture will start out thick but it will begin to loosen up to a thick flowy chocolate glaze as you stir, Pour this on top of the orange cake.
- Garnish the top of the cake with orange zest (optional).
Video
Notes
- Make sure to use room temperature eggs, orange juice and buttermilk. This will ensure optimal mixing of the batter.
- If you do not have buttermilk, measure out ¼ cup milk and then stir in 2 tsp vinegar.
- You can make a plain orange glaze instead, but I find it too sweet for the cake. The chocolate adds a nice contrast to the flavor.
