A quick little recipe post for my lovely Mum, who I think was worrying that I was worrying too much about the health issues of the world this week. An effortless yoghurt and orange cake to welcome the weekend and to wish you all much happiness (and hopefully a little sunshine to enjoy) over the next few days. Solving the obesity epidemic can wait ’til next week! 😉
Easy Weekend Orange Cake | Gather and Graze
- 250g/1 Cup Unsalted Butter
- 220g/1 Cup Raw Sugar
- Zest of 1-2 Oranges
- 3 Free-Range Eggs
- 300g/2 Cups Plain Flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- Pinch of Salt
- 180g/ 2/3 Cup Greek Yoghurt
- 80ml/ 1/3 Cup Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice
- Icing Sugar (for dusting over the top)
Pre-heat the oven to 180°C. Grease and line the base of a 22cm round cake tin.
Cream the butter, sugar and orange zest in an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and mix until combined.
In a measuring jug, mix together the yoghurt and orange juice.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Add the dry ingredients in 2 or 3 lots to the butter mixture, alternating with the yoghurt/juice. Mix each addition through gently, until completely combined.
Scoop the mixture into the cake tin and bake for approximately 45 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.
Allow cake to cool for 10 minutes, before turning out of the tin. When cool, dust with icing sugar or decorate as you wish.
Cooking Notes:
- Please note that this cake is best eaten on the same day it is baked. For some reason it becomes somewhat denser the day after it is cooked and even more so by the second day.
- The raw sugar will also give a slightly denser crumb to the cake – feel free to use caster sugar if you prefer a slightly lighter texture.
- Take care to watch the cake in the final 10 minutes or so of cooking, to make sure the top doesn’t brown too much. Cover loosely with a sheet of foil if you feel that it is.
- This cake is lovely served with a dollop of Greek Yoghurt on the side.
Gather & Graze 
A little bit buttery for me and despite using 2 oranges would have like to have had more zest, but may be that is just me. Have to try your choccie one next….MM
Hi Mick, I’m so pleased to hear that you gave it a try and I really appreciate the feedback! Not sure if you’ve seen the comments/conversation further down between myself and Karen from ‘The Lemon Grove Cake Diaries’, but I’m keen to play around with this recipe (perhaps even tomorrow), as although I did really enjoy it, I feel that it can be improved upon. It became quite a bit denser in texture the following day (something you may notice tomorrow…) and I’m curious to know if lessening the amount of yoghurt (or perhaps butter?) could remedy this somewhat. Perhaps a little more juice and zest could be added in it’s place, which would give a slightly stronger orange flavour. Thanks again for your comment! I’ll let you know how it goes. Cheers, Margot
Please do, it was made Tuesday and is definitely heavier now. I would note that I like things on the tangy side (but not everybody does)! MM
Hi Mick, I re-visited this recipe again recently, but with the same results (regarding the density the following day) despite modifying the amounts of yoghurt and juice. I also added the zest of 1 lemon, along with the zest of 2 oranges, which I felt gave a fruitier/tangier taste. I think I’m destined to only make this cake when I know it’s going to disappear the same day… 😕
Just eating some blackberry and apple slices and think I will stick to these. Bit of a cobbled together recipe mind….MM 🍀
Sounds lovely Mick… and very autumnal! 🙂 Margot
Mmmm, this does sound and looks like a lovely cake. I just LOVE easy cakes in the summer!
Lovely of you to say so Lidia! Enjoy the remaining days of summer! Cheers, Margot 🙂
Great orange cake recipe and photo’s Margot, just looking at that first photo makes me want to make this.
Hi Karen, it really was such a delicious cake (particularly on the day I made it, when the outer edge had a slight crispiness to it and the inside lovely and moist). A little perplexed the next day though, as it seemed to become surprisingly denser in it’s texture. Perhaps the raw sugar? Too much yoghurt?? Any thoughts? Perhaps it’s a distant relation of the muffin family and just needs to be eaten up on the same day… Thanks for your lovely comment! 🙂
I’m not sure but I did buy some oranges today so I could make it – I’ll let you know how it turns out.
That’s so very sweet of you Karen! Though, only if you’re in the mood for orange cake… and only if those oranges weren’t purchased to create a recipe of your own… and only if you feel you have the time… and… absolutely no rush! Thanks, Margot 🙂
I am always in the mood for orange cake 🙂
Lovely photos. The cake looks yummy.
Thanks so much Iain! It’s lovely having something yummy and homemade ready for the weekend. Cheers!
Margot’s Mum even made it AND it is delicious.
Pleased to hear that it turned out well Mum! You wouldn’t be slightly biased would you??? xx
Excuse me if this is a stupid question (baking is very much not my thing) but I could pour the batter in muffin pan and it’ll still work, right?
Absolutely Azita! You could certainly bake the mixture in a muffin pan – they will take less time to cook (probably check them around the 20-25 min mark). They would also be perfect in little loaf pans and iced with a drizzle of orange glacé icing. Hope you give them a go! 🙂
This sounds delicious. With the fruit and the yoghurt, it’s health food right?! I love adding yoghurt into cakes. Tender and moist goodness, perfect with citrus. Thanks for the lovely family recipe xx
My thoughts exactly Laura – definitely health food when there’s yoghurt and fruit to be found within! 😉 Have a wonderful weekend!