I am SO excited to be sharing this Blood Orange & Vanilla Cake with you today! A moist, slightly tangy orange flavoured cake with a hint of vanilla, covered in creamy vanilla frosting and decorated with blood orange slices. I actually made it last week and dropped some slices off to my parents, Greg’s parents and Greg’s sister & her roommates and every single household gave it rave reviews! And trust me, they wouldn’t hold back if they thought the recipe needed some tweaking.
But every person who tried it said it was these 3 things:
- delicious
- moist
- incredible
And you know what? I agree! I never liked super airy, cake-y cakes. The texture throws me off. But this is a heavier, way more moist cake that just pairs so well with the creamy frosting.
Do I need blood oranges?
You don’t actually need blood oranges for the cake, any type of orange juice will work, but I recommend getting a blood orange (if you can find them) to decorate because their colour is just so gorgeous! However if you can’t find them (or can’t get them cheaply) don’t sweat it. Regular oranges still look pretty on top of the white frosting. And like I said, any orange juice you normally purchase works for this cake!
No eggs, no problem!
The key component in making this cake super moist and hold together well is aquafaba! If you don’t know already aquafaba is the liquid you normally would drain off when you open a new can of chickpeas. Its that thick (kind of weird smelling) liquid that you want to get rid of as fast as possible. But wait!! Don’t throw it out! It makes an amazing egg substitute in baking! And some people even use it to make vegan meringue because it whips up just like egg whites.
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Blood Orange & Vanilla Cake (vegan, dairy-free)
- Total Time: 1 hour plus cooling time, approx 2.5 hours total
- Yield: 8 slices
Description
A moist, slightly tangy orange flavoured cake with a hint of vanilla, covered in creamy vanilla frosting and decorated with blood orange slices.
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup aquafaba (liquid drained off the can of chickpeas)
- 2 tsp orange zest
- 1 blood orange (or a regular orange), use this for the zest and to decorate finished cake
- 3/4 cup oil like canola
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup nondairy milk
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- pinch of salt
Vanilla Frosting:
- 2 tbsp vegan butter
- 4 tbsp nondairy milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375. Line a 10 inch round cake pan with parchment, or grease and flour it so it doesn’t stick.
- In a large bowl, combine the sugar and aquafaba and using an electric mixer or a whisk, beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Add the oil, orange zest, vanilla, milk and orange juice and stir to combine.
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt and mix until fully combined and only a few small lumps remain.
- Pour into the prepared cake pan and bake 42-44 minutes, until golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean or with. a few crumbs clinging to it – no wet batter should come out on the toothpick.
- Let the cake cool in the pan almost completely before removing and transferring to a wire rack or cake stand to cool completely.
- Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, combine the vegan butter, 2 tbsp nondairy milk and vanilla and mix to combine. Add 1 cup of powdered sugar and beat until creamy. Add the other 2 tbsp nondairy milk and the rest of the sugar and beat until smooth and creamy. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Once cake is fully cool, spread the icing over the top in an even layer. I like to leave the sides bare and just have the icing on top. Then, decorate with some orange slices and extra zest, if desired. Slice and serve.* Leftover cake can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the fridge up to 5 days.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 43 minutes
You forgot to add cinnamon to the instructions! Also the cake was delicious!
★★★★★
Thank you!! Added 🙂 glad you enjoyed!!!
Really tasty, but the frosting is too drippy, even tho I added more sugar to it and left it in the fridge to cool overnight.
★★★★
What size cake pan should we use?
Also this recipe looks like the Perfect summer evening sweet treat!!
Just so you know your baked goods recipes get me through bad days so thanks for sharing such easy flavorful beautiful recipes 💞
I used a 10 inch springform pan 🙂
★★★★★
Tasted great but the cake came out with a blue tint?
★★★★★