Orange Tea Cake Recipe
This cake is all about the citrus. The key techniques are browning the butter to create a nutty foundation and creaming it with the sugar and citrus zest to release their fragrant oils. A simple orange juice glaze soaks into the cake while it’s still warm, making it incredibly moist.
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1 1/4 teaspoons grated lime zest
- 1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange zest
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/4 cup full-fat plain Greek yogurt
- 1/3 cup bitter orange marmalade
- 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Glaze
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 4 tablespoons fresh orange juice
Brown the Butter and Prepare the Pan
First, preheat your oven to 350F. Thoroughly grease and flour a 9×5 inch loaf pan.
Melt the butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat. Continue to cook, swirling the pan frequently, until the milk solids at the bottom turn a deep brown and the butter smells nutty, ~5-8 minutes. Immediately pour it into a large mixing bowl, scraping out all the browned bits. Let it cool for about 10 minutes.
Make the Cake Batter
In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
To the bowl with the cooled brown butter, add the granulated sugar, lime zest, and orange zest. Using an electric hand mixer, beat on medium-high speed for ~3-4 minutes, until the mixture is light and fluffy. This step is critical for releasing the oils from the zest into the fat.
Beat in the eggs one at a time, ensuring each is fully incorporated before adding the next. Beat in the Greek yogurt, marmalade, orange juice, and vanilla.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold with a rubber spatula until just combined. Be careful not to overmix.
Bake and Glaze the Cake
Scrape the batter into your prepared loaf pan and smooth the top.
Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. While it cools, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and orange juice for the glaze.
After 10 minutes, turn the warm cake out onto the wire rack. Place a baking sheet underneath the rack to catch drips. Slowly and evenly pour the glaze over the warm cake. The warmth of the cake will help it absorb the glaze.
Let the cake cool completely before slicing.
Orange Tea Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 1/2 sticks
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1 1/4 teaspoons grated lime zest
- 1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange zest
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1/4 cup full-fat plain Greek yogurt
- 1/3 cup bitter orange marmalade
- 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Glaze
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar
- 4 tablespoons fresh orange juice
Method
- Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour 9×5 inch loaf pan.
- Brown butter in light-colored saucepan over medium heat until nutty, 5-8 minutes. Pour into large bowl to cool 10 minutes.
- Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in separate bowl.
- Beat cooled brown butter with sugar and citrus zests 3-4 minutes until fluffy.
- Beat in eggs one at a time, then yogurt, marmalade, orange juice, and vanilla.
- Fold in dry ingredients until just combined.
- Pour batter into pan and bake 50-55 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool in pan 10 minutes.
- Mix confectioners’ sugar and orange juice for glaze.
- Turn cake onto wire rack with baking sheet underneath.
- Pour glaze over warm cake.
- Cool completely before slicing.
