This gluten free orange cake is one of the best cakes I’ve ever made without a trace of gluten! Moist, delectable crumb, full-on orange flavor (from a whole orange), and a sweet and sticky glaze makes it a winner, all around!
A few years ago, my mother happened upon a recipe from an Italian food blog called Allacciate il Grembiule (Tie on Your Aprons.) Luisa had shared a recipe for an orange cake using the whole orange. So she tried it. It was sublime.
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We made some changes and shared the recipe, too. However, I gave credit to Luisa because that’s how anyone who is inspired by, or adapts a recipe in any way, shape or form should share it. Anyway, the rave reviews started pouring in. Mum and I made it often (in our separate kitchens) and there’s one interesting note: this cake is extremely flexible. No matter how we substituted ingredients, it has always turned out beautifully.
Even readers reviewing the whole orange cake note the changes they’ve made and how delicious it is! It’s a fabulous recipe. I even made one with lemon, instead of orange which is brilliant! And earlier today, a friend made one from tangerines and shared it on Instagram.
The biggest difference with this cake, besides the gluten free flour, is that I decided to use cream cheese instead of yogurt. I use cream cheese in this recipe from America’s Test Kitchen. and it has a fabulous texture, and it worked so much better than yogurt in this gluten free version. This is one thing I would hold fast on: do not substitute the cream cheese in this cake.
Gluten Free Orange Cake
Make one 8″ cake Adapted from my Sicilian Whole Orange Cake recipe
FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW
- eggs
- sugar
- gluten free baking flour
- rice flour
- baking powder (or Italian Paneangeli vanilla baking powder)
- xanthan gum
- butter, softened
- cream cheese, at room temperature (critical ingredient in this cake)
- fresh, organic orange
Glaze
- juice of an organic orange
- sugar
Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C)
Prepare an 8″ springform pan by spraying with oil (or butter) and lining in parchment paper (sides optional, if you want really clean sides), then spray the paper, too.
Place the sugar and eggs in a large bowl and beat with a mixer until light and fluffy.
Mix the gluten free flour with the rice flour, Paneangeli powder (or baking powder) and xanthan gum. Add to the mixture in the bowl a little at a time along with the softened butter. Continue to mix until completely blended, then mix in the softened cream cheese.
In a food processor, process the whole orange until it is almost pureed. It should look like this~
Add this orange to the cake mixture and stir until evenly combined, then put the batter into the prepared tin.
Bake for 50-60 minutes (depending on your oven), but test with a cake tester or skewer to make sure the orange cake is done before removing from the oven.
Make the orange glaze
Prepare the glaze by melting the sugar in the orange juice and allow to simmer for a few minutes, just until the liquid has a syrupy consistency.
Spoon and brush over the top of the cake, while it’s still hot, and allow to cool completely before cutting.
Yes, it’s hard to wait, but the moist orange cake will cut more easily if it’s cool first.
Remove the sides and bottom of pan, and when cool, serve on a pretty plate with a twist of orange and a few clean orange leaves (if desired.)
Serve and hope that there’s enough to last the day.
Erm–maybe enough to last the hour!
Gluten Free Orange Cake (Sicilian Whole Orange Cake)
An incredibly moist and delicious whole orange cake which no one will ever guess is gluten free!
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- 1 1/8 c (250g) sugar
- 1 c (200g) gluten free baking flour
- 1/2 c (75 g) rice flour
- 3 tsp baking powder (or 1 packet Italian Paneangeli vanilla baking powder)
- 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
- 1/3 c (100g) butter, softened
- 1/3 c (100g) cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 large organic orange, about (300g), washed and cut into pieces (with the rind, but remove the seeds)
Glaze
- juice of one organic orange
- 1/3 c (100g) sugar
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C)
Make the cake
- Prepare an 8″ springform pan by spraying with oil (or butter) and lining in parchment paper (sides optional, if you want really clean sides), then spray the paper, too.
- Place the sugar and eggs in a large bowl and beat with a mixer until light and fluffy.
- Mix the gluten free flour with the rice flour, Paneangeli powder (or baking powder) and xanthan gum. Add to the mixture in the bowl a little at a time along with the softened butter. Continue to mix until completely blended, then mix in the softened cream cheese.
- In a food processor, process the whole orange until it is almost pureed.
- Add this orange to the cake mixture and stir until evenly combined, then put the batter into the prepared tin.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes (depending on your oven), but test with a cake tester or skewer to make sure the orange cake is done before removing from the oven. Allow to cool for about 15 minutes, then remove the side of the springform pan.
Make the glaze
- Prepare the glaze by melting the sugar in the orange juice and allow to simmer for a few minutes, just until the liquid has a syrupy consistency.
- Spoon and brush over the top of the cake, while it's still hot, and allow to cool completely before cutting.
Notes
If you like this cake, try the lemon version, too.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 153Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 47mgSodium: 157mgCarbohydrates: 18gFiber: 1gSugar: 5gProtein: 4g
Nutrition information is only estimated.
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Hi Christina,
A novice baker here who’s still cunning to terms with her GF lifestyle requirements. Regrettably, my attempts with GF baking in the past haven’t exactly gone well, I’ve never been able to get a crumbly texture. Will be thankful if you can help me with the following queries,
1. Can I use Almond flour in place of GF flour? If yes, what would be the proportions be like, will I still need to use rice flour?
2. If using GF free is the only option, can you please recommend a brand (and variant) that you’ve had best results with?
Thanks again for the lovely recipe, can’t wait to try it…
Hello! If my gf flour already includes xantham gum do I still need to add in the additional amount? Thank you! Can’t wait to make this!
Good question, Amy. Mine didn’t have it, so my guess would be to leave it out. Let me know how it turns out! CC
Hi , I’m under lockdown like most people. I’m wondering do you have to have yogurt in the recipe.? As I can’t get any.
Thank you.
This is a lovely GF option, but two quibbles:
Is there a reason you don’t cream the butter and cream cheese with the sugar first? Even though I left mine out at room temp all night, neither incorporated fully into the batter. Without the friction of the sugar there was nothing to make them blend in fully. I imagined the chunks would melt away as they cooked (like in pie crust), so I followed the directions.
Your weights for the cream cheese and the butter are incorrect. 1/3 cup of both weigh slightly over 75 grams, not 100. (100 grams of butter is nearly the entire stick.). Thanks.
Hi Alicia, even though I didn’t have that issue with the cream cheese, since you did, it’s possible others maybe have the same problem, so I’ll change the directions. Thanks for letting me know.
I don’t know if you follow me or just happened upon this recipe, but WISH I didn’t have to add cups measurements to my recipes. They are extremely inaccurate for baking. If you use any of my recipes, know that the weight will always be correct. I will go back and check the cup measurements and adjust those as needed. The grams are the correct measurement. Thanks.
Christina — I am so sorry to hear of your loss — please know my thoughts are with you. And many thanks for keeping life normal for us, even in the throes of sadness.
The orange cake looks wonderful. I could use a slice now.
Thank you so much, David. Very much appreciate your kind words <3
I have made your gluten version of this cake and it is fabulous. I am excited to be able to offer this delicious recipe as a wonderful option for my gluten free friends. Thank you so much!!!
Yes! I gave it to two of my “gluten free friends” and they flipped! Thank YOU, Cathy!
Christina ~
I’m so sorry for your loss. This is a time of great sadness for our nation as well as the whole world.
Thank you for providing the non-gluten-free recipe for the orange cake. I haven’t made it yet as I’m alone and I’d end up eating the entire cake by myself. But, it looks scrumptious and as soon as we’re free again, it will be at the top of my list of desserts to make – followed by the lemon version.
Janice
Thank you very much, Janice. I appreciate your kind words.
Regarding the cake, I will have to add to the recipe, it freezes beautifully (just in case you’d like to make it but not eat the whole thing yourself.) Stay safe and thanks again. CC
I was excited to see a recipe for an Orange Cake until I started reading the ingredients…gluten free whatever and some kind of “xantum gum”.
Can’t you print a recipe for an orange cake without these “odd” ingredients?
You obviously didn’t read my post, Carol. This is based on a gluten-ful recipe which you can find here. Enjoy.
I had the same thoughts, and I DID read the whole post. After seeing this comment and response, I did go back & found the original recipe. Sounds good! So, my questions:
1. If making the original, do you recommend switching the yogurt to cream cheese, as you do in the gluten-free recipe?
2. If we use baking powder instead of the packet of vanilla-flavored BP, should we add vanilla extract?
3. If using tangerines, is the rind included? Because lemon and orange rinds are delicious, but tangerine rinds are bitter and inedible- or am I crazy? Appreciate your time and answers. Your recipes are so unique!
Hi J,
Maybe everyone assumes when I start the post that I’m talking about the gluten free version? To answer your questions:
1. I haven’t tried cream cheese with the original, but as I said, this recipe is super flexible, so use whatever you have.
2. Yes, a little vanilla would be good if you don’t use the Paneangeli.
3. I just went back to see what my friend had said about her tangerine cake (she’s also a food blogger.) She zested the tangerines and used 300 g of the flesh (no skins.)
And no, you’re not crazy, you’re right on! :) You are very welcome and thank you for the compliment! Please let me know how your tangerine cake turns out!
CC