Portuguese Orange Cake Recipe | Foodess.com (2024)

This Portuguese Orange Cake is moist and fragrant, with the most alluring bright orange flavour.

Portuguese Orange Cake Recipe | Foodess.com (1)

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1This Portuguese Orange Cake recipe is authentic.

2Portuguese Orange Cake is moist and fragrant, with the most alluring bright flavour.

3Other Citrusy Desserts You’ll Love

4Portuguese Orange Cake

This Portuguese Orange Cake recipe is authentic.

It was shared with my by my friend Cherie who is married to a Portuguese man with a major penchant for the orange cake of his country. I realize it hasn’t even been a week since I posted a Lemon Pound Cake recipe, but I don’t often hearanyone complain about too much cake.

Cherie bakes it regularly and it’s a treat I look forward to when I pop by for play dates – our sons were born on the same day in the same hospital!

Portuguese Orange Cake Recipe | Foodess.com (2)

Portuguese Orange Cake is moist and fragrant, with the most alluring bright flavour.

Portuguese Orange Cake Recipe | Foodess.com (3)

It leans slightly more toward bitterness than the tartness you might expect from citrus desserts – this is owing to the lashings of zest beaten into the batter. Don’t worry, it’s not bitter-bitter, just enough to be intriguing.

It’s a sponge cake of sorts, with egg whites folded in at the last minute to lighten the batter, but with more moisture than the airy sponge cakes you may have had. Both the zest and juice of three oranges are involved, so it is wonderfully orange-y.

Portuguese Orange Cake Recipe | Foodess.com (4)

Make sure to bring all of your ingredients to room temperature before you bake – cold eggs or oranges will cause the butter to seize up.

Portuguese Orange Cake Recipe | Foodess.com (5)
Portuguese Orange Cake Recipe | Foodess.com (6)

Serve with a dusting of confectioners’ sugar, a fluffy dollop of whipped cream, or a scoop of softened vanilla ice cream. Leftovers freeze well!

Other Citrusy Desserts You’ll Love

  • This moist Blood Orange Cake with pretty blood orange glaze.
  • A wonderful Portuguese Orange Cake recipe – very delicious.
  • This Lemon Curd Cake is definitely a must-try for citrus lovers.
  • Lemon Curd Cookies can’t be missed either.
  • Love citrus, love chocolate? This Chocolate Orange Cake is for you.
  • This Cranberry Lemon Cake is a long-standing favorite.

Of course, can’t forget this recipe for orange pound cake with orange glaze, baked in a pretty bundt pan.

Portuguese Orange Cake Recipe | Foodess.com (7)

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Portuguese Orange Cake

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Servings 9

Dessert

Portuguese

Keyword Orange Cake, Portuguese Orange Cake

Ingredients

  • cup 150 grams butter, softened
  • 1 ¼ cups 250 grams granulated sugar
  • 4 large eggs separated, room temperature
  • 3 large oranges room temperature
  • 2 cups 9 oz/250 grams all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • Confectioners’ sugar for dusting (optional)

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Grease an 8×8″ baking dish or line with parchment paper.

  • Beat butter and sugar on medium speed of electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each. With mixer on low speed, add the zest and juice from all three oranges. The mixture will appear curdled at first – that’s ok. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat until it comes together, pausing to scrape down sides of bowl as needed.

  • In a separate bowl, whisk flour and baking powder. With mixer speed on low, gradually beat into the butter mixture until just incorporated.

  • In another bowl, whip egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold 1/3 of the whites into the cake batter to lighten it up, then gently fold in the rest. (Use a light hand so you don’t deflate the whites.) Scrape batter into prepared baking pan and bake for 35-45 minutes, until top feels springy when gently pressed and tester inserted in centre comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 382kcalCarbohydrates: 55gProtein: 6gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 109mgSodium: 185mgPotassium: 141mgFiber: 2gSugar: 32gVitamin A: 631IUVitamin C: 23mgCalcium: 63mgIron: 2mg

Keyword Orange Cake, Portuguese Orange Cake

Last Updated on February 20, 2024 by Jennifer Pallian BSc, RD

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maria

4 years ago

Portuguese Orange Cake Recipe | Foodess.com (12)
best orange recipe ever! have made this 3 times and everything is perfect. light, fluffy, full of flavour and such an easy recipe compared to others which use sooo many ingredients or sour cream or buttermilk…so glad you shared this!

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Portuguese Orange Cake Recipe | Foodess.com (13)

Andrea

4 years ago

Portuguese Orange Cake Recipe | Foodess.com (14)
Can this be doubled? I need a bigger cake

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Portuguese Orange Cake Recipe | Foodess.com (15)

Oktavia

4 years ago

Delicious !, I love the orange flavor is coming through very well. I made in a cake form size 8,5‘x8,5‘ and it was to small. I would recommend 1-2inches bigger size than I’m using. I also just add only 200g of sugar and it’s still was to sweet. Next time i will just add only 150g should
Be enough. Because the orange I had was sweets already. Anyway So fluffy and delicious… yum yum yum ! ?

8

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Maggie

5 years ago

Can you freeze this recipe

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Dan Melendez

5 years ago

Just a thought, what do you mean by fold the egg whites after being whipped?

-1

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Tanya Mills

5 years ago

Hi! I’d love to try this cake out. 🙂 Just wondering how much zest to add. All the zest from the 3 oranges? Thanks!

-1

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Portuguese Orange Cake Recipe | Foodess.com (2024)

FAQs

What is the famous cake in Portugal? ›

Pastel de Nata (cream tart) is Portugal's most famous pastry cake. These small custard delicacies are available everywhere and have small differences in the cream and puff pastry used as a shell.

What is orange cake made of? ›

Orange cake is made with whipped egg whites which keeps the cake fluffy and light, orange zest, and fresh orange juice that gives this cake a delicious fresh flavor. The rest of the ingredients are super simple. Flour, baking powder, vanilla extract, kosher salt, vegetable oil, and sugar!

Why is Russian cake called Russian cake? ›

There is an interesting legend of how the Russian cake got its name. The story goes that a New Orleans baker made it because he ran out of ingredients to bake a proper cake for the visit of the Russian Grand Duke Alexis when he visited the city in 1872 for Mardi Gras.

What is the national sweet of Portugal? ›

Pastéis de Belém/Pastéis de Nata

Perhaps the most famous Portuguese dessert, Pastel de Nata or Pastel de Belém is a custard tart pastry with a crisp, flaky crust and a creamy custard filling. This is a true icon when it comes to dishes to try in Portugal.

What is the most loved cake in the world? ›

Chocolate Cake

You've guessed it right! Chocoholics' favorite dense and moist chocolate cake ranks top of the list. Glazing the cake with a thick chocolate ganache is one of the most popular ways to enjoy this dessert!

Why is my orange cake dry? ›

If you have too much flour in a recipe and not enough fat, like butter or oil, your cake is going to be dry and hard. For best results, I would encourage you to use a scale when baking, but if you don't have a scale, then just make sure you're using measuring cups correctly.

What is Elvis Presley cake? ›

An Elvis Presley cake is a single-layer classic yellow cake that's topped with a pineapple glaze. Much like a poke cake, the syrup and juices of the pineapple will seep into the cake through fork holes, resulting in a decadent, ultra-moist cake.

Why is my orange cake dense? ›

There's a big chance your butter and sugar will over-cream, meaning the butter will trap more air than it should. As the batter bakes, that extra air will deflate and leave you with an overly dense cake. It's all science! For best results, cream butter and sugar together for about 1-2 minutes.

What is a Madonna cake? ›

However, there is one cake the Madonna Inn is famous for creating and that is, the Madonna Inn Pink Champagne Cake. Three-lovely and feather light white cake layers all snuggled in-between a whipped almond flavored Bavarian cream and fresh made whip cream.

What do Germans call cake? ›

Kuchen (pronounced “koo-ken”) is the German word for “cake,” but a real kuchen is so much more than that! Traditional kuchen is like a delicious mash-up of cake and pie, topped with creamy custard.

Why is it called Devil cake? ›

There are a few theories as to how it got its name. One, it's the decadent counterpart to angel food cake. Two, it's sinfully delicious. Finally, devil's food cake came about during a time when food that was spicy, rich, or dark was described as deviled, like deviled ham and deviled eggs.

Can you use lemon juice instead of lemon zest in a cake? ›

Lemon juice carries the same flavor as lemon zest, but it's more acidic, so you might want to add a pinch of sugar to balance out the tartness. That said, the lemon flavor is not as concentrated as lemon zest, so you'll want to keep this formula handy: 1 teaspoon of lemon zest = 2 tablespoons of lemon juice.

Can I use orange peel instead of orange zest? ›

Sweeter and less tart than lemon peel, orange peel brings a bright, citrus flavor to everything from desserts to main dishes. Use it whenever recipes call for orange zest, substituting equal amounts of dried orange peel to fresh.

Can I use baking soda instead of baking powder? ›

Remember that baking soda is stronger than baking powder, so you'll want to use a quarter of the amount of baking soda as powder. So if the recipe calls for 1 tsp. baking powder, use ¼ tsp. baking soda.

What is a famous tarte in Portugal? ›

Pastel de nata (Portuguese: [pɐʃˈtɛl dɨ ˈnatɐ]; pl. : pastéis de nata; Portuguese: [pɐʃˈtɐjʒ ðɨ-])) is a Portuguese egg custard tart pastry, optionally dusted with cinnamon.

What is the traditional cake in Lisbon? ›

Pastel de nata

It's one of Portugal's most famous cakes and, not only will you find them in just about every pastelaria in Portugal, but you'll also find them in many bakeries around the the world as well.

Why is Madeira cake so nice? ›

The cake will have a heavier texture, but will be well caramelised on the outside giving a good flavour. Of course too much caramelisation can be bad, as it can give a burnt taste to the cake. Baking at around 180ºC is in fact a compromise, that gives a light textured cake with enough caramelisation to impart flavour.

What is the special pastry in Lisbon? ›

A specialty all over Lisbon, pasteis de nata are the famous Portuguese egg tart pastries.

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