Beautiful Blood Orange Loaf Cake with Orange Icing
Impress with this simple but delicious recipe for blood orange loaf cake. The beautiful sweetness and colour of blood oranges elevates a simple loaf cake to something special. Topped with naturally coloured pink icing and dried blood orange slices to finish.
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Jump to RecipeBlood oranges
I love cooking with blood oranges They look just like oranges from the outside, but once you slice into one you’ll discover the beautiful crimson flesh. Often slightly smaller than other oranges, they are also sweeter. And the juice is wonderful for adding flavour and a natural red colour.
Don’t have blood oranges? You can also make this recipe with standard oranges. It will still taste delicious, but the cake colour will be paler and you won’t get the naturally pink coloured icing. Blood oranges are usually slightly smaller than standard oranges, so you will need to pay attention to the measurement guides for zest and juice.
Loaf cakes
Cooking cakes in a rectangular loaf cake makes for simplicity and easy serving. Just cut into nice thick slices, just like a loaf of bread. Some people would call this a blood orange bread recipe, but once you add a lovely thick layer of blood orang icing it definitely becomes a cake. Another name for a loaf cake is a “pound cake”.
Some pound cake recipes require a stand mixer, but this recipe works just as well by beating the mixture by hand with a little elbow grease.
Blood orange loaf cake ingredients
To make this easy orange loaf cake, you’ll only need a few ingredients, including 2 small blood oranges.
As the recipe uses orange zest, make sure to wash oranges well first. If you are using store bought blood oranges, you may want to read about how to remove citrus wax before using.
For the cake:
- 125g (4oz, 1/2 cup) softened butter
- 3/4 cup caster sugar
- 2 eggs
- zest of one blood orange (about 1 Tablespoon), fined grated
- juice of one blood orange (about 1/4 cup)
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1.5 cups of self raising flour, sifted
For the icing:
- 1/3 cup butter
- 1.5 cups icing sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon blood orange zest, finely grated
- 2 Tablespoons blood orange juice
- 3-5 dried blood orange slices to garnish (optional)
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.
Grease and line a 20 x 10cm (8 x 4 inch) loaf tin with non-stick baking paper
Blood orange cake
Add butter and caster sugar to a bowl and beat together until creamy. (You can use an electric mixer if desired, but creaming ingredients with a fork is fine too).
Add 2 eggs and zest the rind of the blood into the sugar mixture and mix well. After zesting, cut the blood orange in half and juice using a citrus juicer. Mix in remaining ingredients – blood orange juice, milk and flour – and beat for about 3 minutes until well combined. Again, you can use an electric mixer or beat by hand.
Pour cake mixture into prepared pan and cook in oven for 35-40 minutes. The cake is cooked when a skewer or cake tester inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Leave the cake to cool in the pam for about 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool.
Blood orange icing
Mix icing sugar, butter, zest and juice together in a small bowl until creamy and spreadable.
Ice cooled cake and garnish with dried blood orange slices.
This recipe makes about 10 slices of cake.
Storage and freezing
This blood orange cake tastes so good that it’s not likely to last long. However, it will keep in an airtight container in a cool place (or the fridge) for up to 5 days.
Blood orange loaf cake is best enjoyed fresh. However, if you would like to freeze it, it’s best to freeze the cake before icing it. You can either ice it after defrosting, or try serving it warm and dusted with icing sugar.
More citrus inspired recipes
If you have lots of blood oranges oranges, save some for later by making a store of dried blood oranges slices. They can be used to garnish cakes and baked goods like this recipe, or they make a wonderful addition to your drinks and a lovely gift for friends and family. You could also use blood oranges to make our delicious orange vinaigrette salad dressing. You’ll find lots of delicious citrus recipes on our recipes page.
And don’t forget to subscribe for more citrus inspiration for your kitchen, garden and home.
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Beautiful Blood Orange Loaf Cake with Orange Icing
Equipment
- 1 20x10cm (9×4 inch) loaf cake pan greased and lined with non-stick paper
- 1 large mixing bowl
- 1 mixing spoon
- 1 citrus zester
- 1 citrus juicer
- measuring spoons and cups
- 1 wire cooling rack
- 1 small bowl
- 1 spreading knife for icing
Ingredients
- 125 g (1/4 cup) butter
- 3/4 cup caster sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 Tablespoon blood orange zest (from one orange)
- 1/4 cup blood orange juice (from one orange)
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1.5 cups self raising flour
- 1/3 cup butter (for icing)
- 1.5 cups icing sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon blood orange zest (for icing)
- 2 Tablespoons blood orange juice (for icing)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.
- Grease and line a 20 x 10cm (8 x 4 inch) loaf tin with non-stick baking paper
- Add butter and caster sugar to a bowl and beat together until creamy. (You can use an electric mixer if desired, but creaming ingredients with a fork is fine too).
- Add 2 eggs and zest the rind of the blood into the sugar mixture and mix well. After zesting, cut the blood orange in half and juice using a citrus juicer. Mix in remaining ingredients – blood orange juice, milk and flour – and beat for about 3 minutes until well combined. Again, you can use an electric mixer or beat by hand.
- Pour cake mixture into prepared pan and cook in oven for 35-40 minutes. The cake is cooked when a skewer or cake tester inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Leave the cake to cool in the pam for about 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool.
- Mix icing sugar, butter, zest and juice together in a small bowl until creamy and spreadable.
- Ice cooled cake and garnish with dried blood orange slices.
