Orange Juice Cake with Honey-Orange Glaze — 🧡🍰🙌 BOLD orange flavor in this EASY, 100% from scratch, no mixer poke cake! Orange juice, orange extract, and orange zest create a bold, delicious flavor and soft texture you’ll love!
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Easy Orange Juice Cake Using Orange Juice
If you love oranges and orange-flavored foods, you’re going to be in love with this orange bomb of a cake. I worked in orange in three ways: orange juice in both the batter and glaze, orange extract in the batter, and orange zest both in the batter and sprinkled on top. Holy orange. But so delicious!
This super soft, moist, and easy poke cake is completely from scratch. I have a lot of poke cake recipes and many start with a box of cake mix, but not this one.
The orange glaze for the cake is very sweet thanks to the honey and confectioners’ sugar. On its own, it’s ridiculously sweet but the slight tartness of the orange zest and the cake itself help balance it. But if you’re a person who doesn’t have a big sweet tooth, this probably isn’t the cake for you.
After baking, poke holes all over the cake with a fork and let the glaze seep in and work its magic. It’s a great make-ahead cake because the cake tastes even better after the glaze has had a chance to seep in and set up overnight.
What Readers Are Saying:
Hi Averie-
I just made this delicious cake to bring to an Easter celebration. I admit I had to try a tiny slice while it was still warm and I know it will even be more fabulous tasting when it cools and sets. I seem to make difficult desserts so this is so easy with less time , steps and dishes, I love it. Thank you for share your recipe.
Kelly
YUMMM!!!!!!!!! SO SO good!
Keisha
What’s in Orange Juice Cake?
To make the orange juice cake recipe and the honey orange glaze, you’ll need:
- All-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Fresh oranges – You’ll need both the orange juice and orange zest. Fresh squeezed orange juice is best for a light citrus flavor. Also, be sure to wash your oranges with warm water before zesting them. You don’t want to zest anything nasty into your orange juice cake
- Egg
- Buttermilk
- Sour cream
- Canola oil
- Orange extract
- Honey
- Unsalted butter
- Confectioners’ sugar
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make This Orange Cake Recipe with Orange Juice
Making a cake from scratch might sound intimidating, but with no electric mixer required, it couldn’t be easier to do! Here’s an overview of the process:
- Whisk the dry ingredients in a large bowl, and the orange zest. In a separate bowl, whisk the wet ingredients.
- Add the wet mixture to the dry, and gently mix with a spoon until the cake batter is just combined. Be careful not to overmix! Small lumps will be present, and that’s okay.
- Pour the batter into a prepared cake pan, and bake until the center is set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. Then, use a fork or a skewer to poke holes all over the cake, and transfer it to a wire rack to cool.
- Heat the orange juice, honey, and butter for the glaze, and whisk in the powdered sugar.
- Slowly pour or drizzle the glaze over the cake. Then, zest the orange over the top, and allow the cake to cool before slicing.
Recipe FAQs
You absolutely need to use buttermilk, not another type of milk. I wouldn’t try to makeshift the DIY methods of making buttermilk that sometimes work in a pinch. I wouldn’t risk it here.
Trader Joe’s has the cheapest buttermilk in my area. And just think, you can make all those other cakes that I listed above with your leftover buttermilk.
Yes! This orange cake with orange glaze can be prepped a day in advance and enjoyed the next day. It actually tastes better after it’s had some time to rest, and it doesn’t dry out since the orange glaze seeps into the cake.
You can transfer the orange poke cake to an airtight container, and store it at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Or, wrap it tightly with plastic wrap followed by aluminum foil, and freeze for up to 6 months. Thaw in the fridge or at room temperature when you’re ready to eat.
Orange Poke Cake with Honey-Orange Glaze
Equipment
- 3 Mixing Bowls
- 1 Wire Rack
Ingredients
Orange Cake
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ⅓ cup sour cream, lite is okay or plain Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup orange juice
- ¼ cup canola or vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons orange extract, vanilla extract may be substituted
Honey-Orange Glaze
- ¼ cup orange juice
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- about 2 to 2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, or as necessary for consistency
- 1 to 3 teaspoons orange zest, or to taste
Instructions
Make the Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- To a large bowl, add the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt, and whisk to combine.
- Whisk in the orange zest; set aside.
- To a separate medium bowl, add the egg, buttermilk, sour cream, orange juice, oil, orange extract, and whisk to combine.
- Add the wet mixture to the dry, mixing lightly with a spoon or folding with a spatula until just combined. Small lumps will be present, don’t overmix or try to stir them smooth.
- Turn batter out into prepared pan and bake for about 27 to 30 minutes, or until center is set and not jiggly, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter.
- Using a fork, stab the cake about 50 times, making small holes all over the cake.
- Place pan on a wire rack and allow cake to cool. While cake cools, make the glaze.
Make the Glaze:
- To a medium microwave-safe bowl, add the orange juice, honey, butter, and heat for about 1 minute, or until butter has melted and mixture is just beginning to show signs of boiling.
- Add the confectioners’ sugar and whisk until smooth. If necessary, add additional sugar to reach desired glaze consistency; glaze should be easily pourable.
- Slowly and evenly pour glaze over cake (cake doesn’t have to be fully cooled), smoothing it lightly with a spatula if necessary, but glaze will likely just slide into place. Glaze will soak into the holes as time passes.
- Evenly sprinkle with the orange zest and allow cake to cool in pan uncovered for at least 1 hour (or overnight and cover with a sheet of foil) before slicing and serving so glaze can set up, although this is a soft glaze that doesn’t ever fully harden because of the honey.
Notes
- Cake will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
- Adapted from Lemon Buttermilk Cake with Lemon Glaze.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Orange Desserts:
Favorite POKE CAKE RECIPES
Orange Lemon Orangies – Like brownies, but made with orange, lemon, and white chocolate! Fast, EASY, dense, chewy, and packed with big, BOLD citrus flavor!
Orange Olive Oil Cake — A super soft and moist cake that’s made with olive oil! Orange zest, orange juice, and Gran Marnier add tons of AMAZING orange flavor to this easy, no-mixer cake that’s unique, refined, and INCREDIBLE!
Cranberry Orange Bread — The fresh cranberries in this cranberry orange bread contrast nicely with the sweet orange glaze, making it the perfect blend of sweet and tart!
I love your cake recipes! This one is perfect to top off a summer dinner. Fresh, sweet, tangy, moist.
Just what I was craving. Came out perfectly!
Thanks for the 5 star review, Kelley, and I’m so glad to know that you love my cake recipes and that this one was perfect and just what you were craving! Yay!!!
YUMMM!!!!!!!!! SO SO good! Any suggestions of changes (if any) that I should make in order to make cupcakes with this recipe (oven temp change, bake time change, ingredient tweek, etc)? Thank you!
Thanks for the 5 star review and I am glad you loved it! Normally cupcakes take about 20-ish minutes to bake cupcakes. Not sure how well the ‘poke cake’ concept will translate into cupcakes since they are individual vs. a whole pan, but it’s worth a try. Good luck!
YUMMM!!!!!!!!! SO SO good! Any suggestions of changes (if any) that I should make in order to make cupcakes with this recipe (oven temp change, bake time change, ingredient tweek, etc)? Thank you!
Hi Averie-
I just made this delicious cake to bring to an Easter celebration. I admit I had to try a tiny slice while it was still warm and I know it will even be more fabulous tasting when it cools and sets. I seem to make difficult desserts so this is so easy with less time , steps and dishes, I love it. Thank you for share your recipe. I plan on trying your Vanilla cake w/vanilla bean browned butter glaze next. ;-P
Thanks for the five star review and glad this turned out great and I’m sure everyone loved it!
The Vanilla cake w/vanilla bean browned butter glaze is to die for! LMK how it goes.
Hi Averie-
I just made this delicious cake to bring to an Easter celebration. I admit I had to try a tiny slice while it was still warm and I know it will even be more fabulous tasting when it cools and sets. I seem to make difficult desserts so this is so easy with less time , steps and dishes, I love it. Thank you for share your recipe. I plan on trying your Vanilla cake w/vanilla bean browned butter glaze next. ;-P
This was an easy recipe and turned out great! I heeded the warning about the glaze being very sweet and I don’t like to make incredibly sweet desserts so I used about 2.5 tablespoons of honey and only about 1.25 cups powdered sugar and then I thickened with a little bit of cornstarch. Got a lot of compliments at the party I brought it to.
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad you got compliments at your party!
This was an easy recipe and turned out great! I heeded the warning about the glaze being very sweet and I don’t like to make incredibly sweet desserts so I used about 2.5 tablespoons of honey and only about 1.25 cups powdered sugar and then I thickened with a little bit of cornstarch. Got a lot of compliments at the party I brought it to.
This recipe sounds fabulous, but I’m wondering why the aluminum foil versus parchment paper is used to line the pan?
I find it hard to get tight corners with parchment and for baking I generally prefer foil for that reason.
My mouth is watering thinking of the flavors in this cake!
It’s so good! A great winter citrus cake!
This cake is beyond dreamy!
Thanks my friend! :)
Oh, that glaze!! And, I like that this cake can be made without using my mixer.
I am a huge fan of no-mixer cakes and anything else!
Citrus zest is so good for adding a punch of flavor (and it is visually appealing too). This looks and sounds delicious–especially with buttermilk and yogurt in the batter!