Springtime has just arrived here in Brisbane and that means a bounty of fresh produce are brimming with colour and flavour. That also means the citrus season has returned. To celebrate the return of the citrus season, I wanted to create a simple blood orange cake. A couple of weeks ago I bought a few fresh blood oranges and wanted to do justice to their flavour and the beautiful appearance. So, I ended up making a cake using the whole oranges.
Do not fret if you cannot find blood oranges. You can simply substitute them with any type of orange you can get your hands on. I find Navel oranges are the closest in sweetness.
If you’ve been enjoying blood oranges for a while you might have noticed that their crimson hue might be a bit hit and miss at times. I recently got to know that it all depends on the night time temperatures during the growing season, the cooler the nights the redder the flesh! Don’t be put off if yours aren’t as red as they will still be incredibly sweet and juicy.
Let’s kick off the blood orange season with this vegan-friendly mouth-wateringly delicious cake with distinct citrus notes. Enjoy it as it comes on its own or turn it into a special dessert by serving it with a dollop of cream or ice cream.
Ingredients
For the Orange Cake:
- 2 and 1/2 cups self-raising flour
- 1 and 1/3 cups caster sugar
- 1 and 1/2 cups soy milk
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- 2 tablespoon orange zest
For the orange buttercream frosting:
- 3 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 cup vegan butter
- 2 teaspoon orange and lime zest
- 4 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
For decoration:
- Macadamia nuts
- Orange slices
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C. generously grease two 8-inch cake pans by spraying with non-stick spray and lining the bottoms with circles of parchment paper.
- Make the vegan buttermilk by combining the white vinegar, orange juice and soy milk and set aside to curdle.
- Sift the flour into a mixing bowl and add the sugar, baking soda and salt and mix in.
- Add in the oil, vanilla extract, orange zest, buttermilk that previously made and use a hand whisk to whisk it briefly until well combined. Please be mindful not to over mix.
- Divide the batter between the two prepared cake pans and bake for 25 -30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Let the cakes cool for a few minutes before removing from the cake pans and placing on a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
- Prepare your frosting by adding the powdered sugar, vegan butter, salt and orange juice to the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl and an electric hand mixer) and starting at low speed, gradually increase speed until the frosting is thick and smooth.
- When the cakes are completely cooled, frost the cake and decorate with orange slices and serve with macadamia nuts on top.