Orange Tea Cake
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 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 9x5 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.
Notes
Beating zest with butter/sugar is crucial for releasing oils and maximizing citrus flavor.