Portuguese Orange Cake Recipe | Foodess.com (2024)

This Portuguese Orange Cake is moist and fragrant, with the most alluring bright orange flavour.

Portuguese Orange Cake Recipe | Foodess.com (1)

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1This Portuguese Orange Cake recipe is authentic.

2Portuguese Orange Cake is moist and fragrant, with the most alluring bright flavour.

3Other Citrusy Desserts You’ll Love

4Portuguese Orange Cake

This Portuguese Orange Cake recipe is authentic.

It was shared with my by my friend Cherie who is married to a Portuguese man with a major penchant for the orange cake of his country. I realize it hasn’t even been a week since I posted a Lemon Pound Cake recipe, but I don’t often hearanyone complain about too much cake.

Cherie bakes it regularly and it’s a treat I look forward to when I pop by for play dates – our sons were born on the same day in the same hospital!

Portuguese Orange Cake Recipe | Foodess.com (2)

Portuguese Orange Cake is moist and fragrant, with the most alluring bright flavour.

Portuguese Orange Cake Recipe | Foodess.com (3)

It leans slightly more toward bitterness than the tartness you might expect from citrus desserts – this is owing to the lashings of zest beaten into the batter. Don’t worry, it’s not bitter-bitter, just enough to be intriguing.

It’s a sponge cake of sorts, with egg whites folded in at the last minute to lighten the batter, but with more moisture than the airy sponge cakes you may have had. Both the zest and juice of three oranges are involved, so it is wonderfully orange-y.

Portuguese Orange Cake Recipe | Foodess.com (4)

Make sure to bring all of your ingredients to room temperature before you bake – cold eggs or oranges will cause the butter to seize up.

Portuguese Orange Cake Recipe | Foodess.com (5)
Portuguese Orange Cake Recipe | Foodess.com (6)

Serve with a dusting of confectioners’ sugar, a fluffy dollop of whipped cream, or a scoop of softened vanilla ice cream. Leftovers freeze well!

Other Citrusy Desserts You’ll Love

  • This moist Blood Orange Cake with pretty blood orange glaze.
  • A wonderful Portuguese Orange Cake recipe – very delicious.
  • This Lemon Curd Cake is definitely a must-try for citrus lovers.
  • Lemon Curd Cookies can’t be missed either.
  • Love citrus, love chocolate? This Chocolate Orange Cake is for you.
  • This Cranberry Lemon Cake is a long-standing favorite.

Of course, can’t forget this recipe for orange pound cake with orange glaze, baked in a pretty bundt pan.

Portuguese Orange Cake Recipe | Foodess.com (7)

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Portuguese Orange Cake

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Servings 9

Dessert

Portuguese

Keyword Orange Cake, Portuguese Orange Cake

Ingredients

  • cup 150 grams butter, softened
  • 1 ¼ cups 250 grams granulated sugar
  • 4 large eggs separated, room temperature
  • 3 large oranges room temperature
  • 2 cups 9 oz/250 grams all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • Confectioners’ sugar for dusting (optional)

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Grease an 8×8″ baking dish or line with parchment paper.

  • Beat butter and sugar on medium speed of electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each. With mixer on low speed, add the zest and juice from all three oranges. The mixture will appear curdled at first – that’s ok. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat until it comes together, pausing to scrape down sides of bowl as needed.

  • In a separate bowl, whisk flour and baking powder. With mixer speed on low, gradually beat into the butter mixture until just incorporated.

  • In another bowl, whip egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold 1/3 of the whites into the cake batter to lighten it up, then gently fold in the rest. (Use a light hand so you don’t deflate the whites.) Scrape batter into prepared baking pan and bake for 35-45 minutes, until top feels springy when gently pressed and tester inserted in centre comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 382kcalCarbohydrates: 55gProtein: 6gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 109mgSodium: 185mgPotassium: 141mgFiber: 2gSugar: 32gVitamin A: 631IUVitamin C: 23mgCalcium: 63mgIron: 2mg

Keyword Orange Cake, Portuguese Orange Cake

Last Updated on February 20, 2024 by Jennifer Pallian BSc, RD

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maria

4 years ago

Portuguese Orange Cake Recipe | Foodess.com (12)
best orange recipe ever! have made this 3 times and everything is perfect. light, fluffy, full of flavour and such an easy recipe compared to others which use sooo many ingredients or sour cream or buttermilk…so glad you shared this!

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Portuguese Orange Cake Recipe | Foodess.com (13)

Andrea

4 years ago

Portuguese Orange Cake Recipe | Foodess.com (14)
Can this be doubled? I need a bigger cake

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Portuguese Orange Cake Recipe | Foodess.com (15)

Oktavia

5 years ago

Delicious !, I love the orange flavor is coming through very well. I made in a cake form size 8,5‘x8,5‘ and it was to small. I would recommend 1-2inches bigger size than I’m using. I also just add only 200g of sugar and it’s still was to sweet. Next time i will just add only 150g should
Be enough. Because the orange I had was sweets already. Anyway So fluffy and delicious… yum yum yum ! ?

8

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Maggie

5 years ago

Can you freeze this recipe

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Portuguese Orange Cake Recipe | Foodess.com (17)

Dan Melendez

5 years ago

Just a thought, what do you mean by fold the egg whites after being whipped?

-1

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Tanya Mills

5 years ago

Hi! I’d love to try this cake out. 🙂 Just wondering how much zest to add. All the zest from the 3 oranges? Thanks!

-1

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Portuguese Orange Cake Recipe | Foodess.com (2024)

FAQs

What is the most popular cake in Portugal? ›

Pastel de nata

It's one of Portugal's most famous cakes and, not only will you find them in just about every pastelaria in Portugal, but you'll also find them in many bakeries around the the world as well.

What is orange cake made of? ›

Orange cake is made with whipped egg whites which keeps the cake fluffy and light, orange zest, and fresh orange juice that gives this cake a delicious fresh flavor. The rest of the ingredients are super simple. Flour, baking powder, vanilla extract, kosher salt, vegetable oil, and sugar!

What is the traditional cake in Portugal? ›

Pão de ló

Pão de ló is a very old Portuguese cake whose first recipe is recorded in the 16th century. It was then made in clay moulds and baked over a wood fire. Nowadays, Pão de ló is eaten all year round, but especially during Easter and Christmas.

What is Portugal's most favorite dessert? ›

Pastéis de Belém/Pastéis de Nata

Perhaps the most famous Portuguese dessert, Pastel de Nata or Pastel de Belém is a custard tart pastry with a crisp, flaky crust and a creamy custard filling. This is a true icon when it comes to dishes to try in Portugal.

What is a bomb cake? ›

WHAT IS A CAKE BOMB®? Cake Bombs® are miniature flavored cakes with the. flavor in the cake base as well as the glaze.

Why is it called Devil cake? ›

There are a few theories as to how it got its name. One, it's the decadent counterpart to angel food cake. Two, it's sinfully delicious. Finally, devil's food cake came about during a time when food that was spicy, rich, or dark was described as deviled, like deviled ham and deviled eggs.

What's in a Robert Redford cake? ›

Ingredients
  1. 1 chocolate cake (baked in a 9 x 13-inch baking pan)
  2. 3/4 cup fudge topping, slightly warmed.
  3. 3/4 cup caramel topping, or butterscotch topping, slightly warmed.
  4. 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk.
  5. 6 chocolate-covered toffee bars, such as Heath bars, divided; or 1 1/3 cups toffee and chocolate chips.
Aug 29, 2021

What is Elvis Presley cake? ›

An Elvis Presley cake is a single-layer classic yellow cake that's topped with a pineapple glaze. Much like a poke cake, the syrup and juices of the pineapple will seep into the cake through fork holes, resulting in a decadent, ultra-moist cake.

Why does my orange cake taste bitter? ›

If you purposely or accidentally used baking soda instead of baking powder without making any changes to your recipe, you'll definitely end up with a bitter taste. Remember, baking soda is an alkaline, or base, ingredient that naturally has a bitter taste. Baking powder is a multi-ingredient leavener.

Where does orange cake originate from? ›

Orange and almond cake is a traditional Sephardic Jewish Passover dessert, with origins in the Iberian peninsula. Variations of this cake can be found from Spain, throughout the Mediterranean, and further east, to Iran.

What are Portuguese cakes called? ›

Pasteis de nata, or Portuguese custard tarts, with their signature flaky crust and sweet custard filling are world-famous, and incredibly delicious.

What is the traditional cake in Lisbon? ›

Since its introduction at the end of the 19th century, the bolo-rei has become hugely popular not only in Lisbon but all over the country. Many other pastelarias followed Balthazar's lead and began baking this ring cake for Christmas.

What is the Speciality of Lisbon cake? ›

The archetypal Portuguese pastry is the pastel de nata, a custard tart with hints of lemon, cinnamon and vanilla, often sprinkled with powdered sugar and easily consumed in a few bites. It resembles a tiny pie, and the baked, creamy egg custard is cupped in the centre.

What pastry is famous in Lisbon? ›

A specialty all over Lisbon, pasteis de nata are the famous Portuguese egg tart pastries. They have a flaky crust with a custard filling and are best enjoyed topped with a dusting of powdered sugar & cinnamon!

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