Make the most out of citrus season with this vegan orange loaf cake with a orange drizzle icing.
It's everything you want from a fruit cake. Zesty and sweet with a fluffy moist sponge!
And it's super easy to make! The beauty of loaf cakes are that you only have to bake in one tin and can put the icing straight on top and you're ready to go!
I'm convinced anyone can make this cake, even if you've never baked a cake before!
How are we making this cake vegan? We are switching eggs or butter for vegetable oil and almond milk.
If you're a regular on here you'll notice that's how the majority of cakes are made on here! They make for super fluffy and moist sponges and you can't go wrong!
I use rapeseed oil and unsweetened almond milk. Any neutral flavoured oil will work, such as canola oil. Just make sure you use an unsweetened plant milk or it will affect the flavour and sweetness of the cake!
How to make vegan orange cake:
First of all, measure out the caster sugar, plain flour and baking powder. Sift the flour and baking powder in with the sugar and gently mix.
Zest two oranges and then juice them. You should have around 2 tablespoon of orange zest and 130ml orange juice.
Measure out the rapeseed oil and almond milk, add in the orange juice and zest and vanilla essence and stir.
Add into the bowl of flour and sugar and mix together until just combined. Don't over mix.
Pour into a lined loaf tinned and gently tap on the kitchen surface to release any air bubbles.
Place in the oven for 45-55 minutes and prepare your icing. It's super simple - just icing sugar and orange juice!
You can add a bit of orange extract for a stronger orange flavour, and decorate with some extra zest on top!
Wait for the cake to cool, drizzle on top and it's ready to eat! It will make about 8-10 slices.
It's the perfect afternoon pick me up with a cup of tea or coffee! Or an indulgent breakfast. Because cake for breakfast is totally acceptable in my house!
What type of orange to use for this cake:
I used naval oranges for these, you want to use good quality oranges to get the most from their flavour. Valencia, blood or seville oranges are all delicious.
If you opt for a cheaper orange you may not get a strong orange flavour. I find cheap oranges lack in flavour, so it's worth getting good quality ones for this cake.
For more loaf cakes you might enjoy these:
Chocolate chip banana bread with peanut butter frosting
Lemon and poppyseed drizzle cake
Cinnamon and apple cake with maple icing
As always if you make this vegan orange loaf cake be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe and tag me on Instagram. I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations!
Don’t forget to follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram – I’d love to see you all there!
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Orange Loaf Cake
Fluffy and zesty vegan orange loaf cake with a simple orange drizzle icing. It's super easy to make and so delicious! Perfect for a sunday bake or afternoon treat!
Ingredients
- 300g plain flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 185g caster sugar
- 125ml rapeseed/canola oil
- 200ml unsweetened almond milk
- Juice of 2 oranges (~130ml)
- Zest of 2 oranges (~2.5 tbsp)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
Icing
- 90g/1/2 cup icing sugar
- 2 tablespoon orange juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Line and grease a 9x5" loaf tin.
- Sift flour and baking powder into a bowl. Add the sugar and and mix with a wooden spoon.
- In a separate bowl mix together the oil, milk, orange juice, orange zest and vanilla.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Pour into the loaf tin and place in the oven for 45-55 minutes. It should be starting to turn golden brown on the edges. Do the toothpick test and once it comes out clean, its ready. If it's not, leave in for a few more minutes.
- Make the icing by mixing the icing sugar and orange juice together until it forms a thick icing. Spoon onto the cake once cooled with the back of a spoon.
- Top with some extra orange zest and serve! Will make about 8-10 slices.
- Will keep in an air tight container for 3-4 days.
Notes
I used navel oranges for this, use good quality oranges such as seville, valencia or blood.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 415Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 114mgCarbohydrates: 74gFiber: 2gSugar: 48gProtein: 4g
OMG, this is the best cake ever, despite the fact it is Vegan, it tastes like a good old fashioned bakery loaf. It is super moist & has a buttery deliciousness without the butter. I used Sunflower oil as it’s all I had on hand, and it was great. A definite favourite, quick, easy & delicious!
Wow, so good! Just the right bite that I wanted!
Easy and delicious, great recipe.
Normally I wouldn’t comment if I haven’t tried the recipe yet, but I would like to know if this cake can be made in a single round pan? I’d like to make a single layer circle cake to serve with an Indian Ice Cream and sliced oranges. I imagine it would take less time in a round pan? I’m going to try this next weekend. Thank you!!!
Hi Annette, thanks for your comment - that sounds so delicious! It should be absolutely fine in a round tin, depending on the size of it I would say it may take 25-35 minutes. Just keep an eye on it and do the skewer test. Would love to know how it turns out! Tamsin xo
About to try this recipe! I love the lemon poppyseed cake. Is it possible to use this recipe for muffins? What would need to be changed (I am new to baking!)?
Hi Josey, I haven't tried it but it should work fine. Just adjust the cooking time, they probably will only take 15-20 minutes depending on the size of them. Keep an eye on them and once they've risen and a skewer comes out clean when pierced in the middle they are done 🙂 Tamsin xo
One of the best cakes I’ve ever made! This cake was so delicious. Incredibly moist, fluffy and light. I subbed rapeseed oil for light olive oil (just because the last time I used the brand of rapeseed oil I have in a cake, the taste was really overpowering) but still turned out great. Will definitely make this again!
I used avocado oil and coconut milk because that’s what I had in when I was in the mood to make it and it was delicious!
Hi Richie, thanks so much for your comment, so glad those subs worked and that is was delicious 🙂 Tamsin xo
this one was AMAZING!! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe <3<#
Despite utilising food blogs as a resource for well over a decade, I’ve never felt inclined to leave a comment on a recipe until now. I baked on a professional level for many years, and I was genuinely chuffed by the results I achieved with this recipe. The texture of the cake is reminiscent of a traditional Madeira loaf, which was something that I struggled to ‘veganise’ without yielding a gummy or chewy product. It’s sturdy, yet it has a soft and delicate ‘melt in your mouth’ crumb. The taste itself is not OVERLY sweet (I feel this would be perfect for those who don’t like overly sweet cakes, though I avoid those people on principle), but can easily be sweetened with a buttercream and/or sugar syrup.
I made a few changes to the recipe - namely, swapping the orange zest and juice for mandarin zest and juice, using soy milk instead of almond as it’s all I had on hand, adding a dash of almond extract and a pinch of salt, mixing for 30 seconds to a minute using a hand mixer on low speed, and reducing the baking temperature to 170 degrees celcius to account for my fan forced oven. After thirty minutes, the cake was no where near done in the middle, so I crafted a foil tent to place over the top and lowered the temperature to 165 degrees and set a timer for an hour, giving me a total bake time of 1 hour and thirty minutes.
Thank you so much for this brilliant recipe! It’s undoubtedly going to become a regular bake in our household.
I love reading everyone comments, its always very useful. So, I also made some changes and I gotta say, having made lots of vegan cakes this is definately the best. Great light fluffy texture that keeps well over days and great flavour.
I boiled for 40 minutes 3 small clementines that were organic and unwaxed, till skin was really tender. Halved and removed pips. I blended up to a smooth paste the whole 3 clems including skins in my blender with a pinch of salt and used that in place of the juice and zest .......... result was superb.
Also filled and frosted witha buttercream made with 3 tbls of marmalade ......
please note that you should only use organic and unwaxed fruit to try this as regular fruit has imazalil added to the skins (fungicide) which is a human carcinogen according to the WHO
Hi Sasha, thanks for your comment. I love the add ins you used! Marmalade in the frosting is a fantastic idea! Tamsin xo
Can I add ground almonds to the loaf
Hi Trupti, it would depend how much you were adding as it will effect the sponge. I would add maybe 1/4 cup and maybe reduce the flour by the same amount, but as I haven't tried it I can't say for sure. Let me know what you try! Tamsin xo
Hi
I need to make a birthday cake for a 10yr old, so will be making layers with a frosting on top. Do you think this cake is a bit crumbly /delicate for all that?
Hi Divya, it should be okay, I would chill the cakes before frosting and probably use some dowels for stability if you're using more than 2 layers! Thanks, Tamsin xo
Great cake was a hit!!! Can it be made into mini muffins? Anyone tried?
Hi, so glad you enjoyed it! I haven't tried but I am sure it would work 🙂 Tamsin xo
@Tamsin, I have make it many times into muffins, everybody loves them.