Gluten Free Orange Cake (Sicilian Whole Orange Cake)
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.
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
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.
Grain Free Fig and Walnut Tart
Blood Orange and Pineapple Pavlovas
Christina’s Cucina is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
Can this be made ahead and frozen?
Yes, it freezes beautifully, even with the glaze, but if you don’t want to deal with sticky, then glaze it after you defrost it. :)
Are any of these the (affiliate link) vanilla baking powder you reference?
I link to the actual product, yes this is the one, Jennifer.
Ciao Cristina does your whole orange cake taste bitter because of the pit? I like to try wth just almond flour. what do you think?
No, just read all the rave reviews. Use a good orange and it’s not bitter. Never tried with almond flour, so I honestly can’t say.
Has anyone tried adapting this for egg and dairy-free?
My toddler really loves oranges and I want to make this cake for her birthday, but she has a lot of food allergies. I’m new to allergy baking and not superb at coming up with substitutions on my own yet.
Hi Elaina, I have not. I’m so sorry your daughter has allergies (mine is severely allergic to all tree nuts). I don’t do much in the way of vegan baking (egg-dairy free) however, I did manage to make some amazing vegan doughnuts with the suggestions from readers. If you want to see if you can adapt this cake with some of these substitutions? In the meantime, your daughter can have these doughnuts. Let me know if you try. And happy birthday to your daughter!
Lemon cake is a favorite. I would use your lemons for your lemon cake to share with my sons at Easter! 🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋
I opted for measuring by weight as I made 1 1/2 recipes to use a bundt pan. I was surprised that my butter weighs much less than what is referenced in the recipe. 1 stick is 114g where the recipe says 1/3 cup is 100 grams. So I went by weight and did 150g of butter. I hope it turns out right. It smells delicious.
Hi Laurie, it will absolutely turn out. My recommendation is always use a scale, however so many Americans do not own them and only use cups that I add the conversions. I have made the conversions easier to use by rounding up or down because the cake turns out perfectly both weighing and using cup measurements. Let me know what you think when it’s out of the oven!:)
Can I use just gluten free flour instead of the gluten free plus rice flour?
You can try, Janine. I honestly think people have made it that way, but I haven’t so I can’t advise you on it. Let me know if you try it. Good luck!
Christina, I’ve made your cake 4 times now using only gluten free flour and each time is just delicious! I’ve also made it using lemons instead of oranges and it, too, was yummy! Thank you for a great recipe!
That’s great to hear and helpful to others who will read this! Thank you, Janine! Yes, I have the lemon version posted, too!
Do I need to add the xanthum gum if my gluten free flour blend already contains the xanthum?
No, skip it if it’s already in your mix, Susan. :)