This lovely, healthy orange loaf cake is hearty, filling and has a lovely citrus flavor. Perfect as a healthy treat or breakfast option!
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I love to make a nice loaf cake for a Sunday brunch at home, and this is one of our favorites, especially during fall and winter. It's hearty and healthy, but moist and delicious, making it the best of both worlds in my opinion.
This loaf is made using cake batter, and no yeast, so it's really quick and easy to prepare. It only takes a total of an hour to make, including baking time!
To keep a strong orange flavor, we use freshly squeezed juice and zest from 2 oranges, as well as some orange extract. Use high quality oranges for a fantastic orange cake you'll make again and again.
Ingredients
Whole wheat flour: White whole wheat flour is more nutritious and more filling than all purpose flour, however either flour will work well!
Oranges: We use both the orange juice and the orange zest.
Honey: To sweeten the bread. You can also use agave nectar or maple syrup instead!
Baking powder and baking soda: Both of these are required to give the loaf the best rise.
Eggs: Eggs bind the other ingredients together.
Vanilla & orange extract: Extracts add flavor to the bread. These are a recommended addition, but can be omitted if you don't have them available. Keep in mind that your bread might be a little plain without!
Olive oil: Makes the bread really moist and delicious!
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 360 °F / 180 °C / 160 °C fan oven.
Zest the oranges, then cut them in half and squeeze out the juice. I like to use a fine grater like this one to zest, and this lemon juicer works perfectly to squeeze the juice!
Add the orange juice, honey, eggs, olive oil, vanilla extract and orange extract to a mixing bowl, and stir to combine.
Combine white whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and orange zest in a separate bowl, then add the dry ingredients to the wet.
Stir to incorporate all ingredients. Be careful not to over mix the batter at this point - it's perfectly okay if there are some patches of flour here and there.
Cover a loaf pan with parchment paper baking sheets, then pour in the cake batter.
Bake the cake for about 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean. Remove it from the oven, and leave it to rest in the bread pan for about 5 minutes, before you remove the pan and leave the cake to rest on a cooling rack until it's cool enough to serve.
Top tips
- Make sure to buy oranges that aren't coated in wax. The zest of waxy oranges is really bitter and not very well suited for baking. Organic oranges are typically not waxed.
- If you're unable to find unwaxed oranges, you can omit the zest and add a little extra orange extract.
Serving suggestions
You can serve slices of orange bread as a treat without any toppings, however I like to slice it and top it with some of my favorite spreads. Butter, cream cheese, blueberry jam and peanut butter all tastes great on this loaf.
As this is a healthy and filling bread, it's well suited as a breakfast alternative. I also love to serve a slice with my afternoon tea as a treat, or even as dessert. It's really versatile, and has so many possible uses.
If you want to serve the orange loaf cake as a treat, you can even add one of the add-ins suggested below. My favorite is added dark chocolate chips!
Variations
With add-ins: You can add any optional add-ins such as raisins, sultanas, chocolate chips, dried cranberries and roughly chopped nuts for a flavor variation.
Mixed citrus: Feel free to combine the juice and zest from oranges with other citrus fruits such as lemons or blood oranges.
Egg free: Use an egg replacement, or flax eggs for an egg free orange bread.
Vegan: Substitute the honey with agave nectar or maple syrup, and the egg with an egg substitute (I like this one!) to make a vegan loaf.
Leftovers
You can store leftover orange loaf in a sealed container or a paper bag in your pantry for up to 3 days. You can also freeze it for up to 6 months.
Defrost your bread in the refrigerator overnight, and serve it at room temperature, or reheat it in a microwave for a few seconds if you prefer to serve it warmed.
If you have two bread pans, you can easily double the recipe and make two orange loaves at the same time. Enjoy one immediately, and freeze the other one for later! This is a great recipe to use up a surplus of oranges.
Frequently asked questions
Orange zest is finely grated orange peel. Use a fine grater to peel the other layer of the oranges directly.
You might also like these recipes
- Healthy Banana Bread with Blueberries
- Healthy Lemon Blueberry Muffins
- Dried Orange Slices
- Healthy Banana Oat muffins with Raisins
- Blueberry Overnight Oats
- Flaxseed Oatmeal
Recipe
Healthy Orange Loaf Cake
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup white whole wheat flour (250 g)
- 2 oranges
- 3 eggs
- ½ cup honey (120 ml)
- ⅓ cup olive oil (80 ml)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon orange extract
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 360 °F / 180 °C / 160 °C fan oven.
- Zest the oranges, then cut them in half and squeeze out the juice. I like to use a fine grater like this one to zest, and this lemon juicer works perfectly to squeeze the juice!
- Add the orange juice, honey, eggs, olive oil, vanilla extract and orange extract to a mixing bowl, and stir to combine.
- Combine white whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and orange zest in a separate bowl, then add the dry ingredients to the wet.
- Stir to incorporate all ingredients. Be careful not to over mix the batter at this point - it's perfectly okay if there are some patches of flour here and there.
- Cover a loaf pan with parchment paper baking sheets, then pour in the cake batter.
- Bake the cake for about 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean. Remove it from the oven, and leave it to rest in the bread pan for about 5 minutes, before you remove the pan and leave the cake to rest on a cooling rack until it's cool enough to serve.
Video
Notes
- Make sure to buy oranges that aren’t coated in wax. The zest of waxy oranges is really bitter and not very well suited for baking. Organic oranges are typically not waxed.
- If you’re unable to find unwaxed oranges, you can omit the zest and add a little extra orange extract.
- You can store leftover orange loaf in a sealed container or a paper bag in your pantry for up to 3 days. You can also freeze it for up to 6 months.
Boni
Easy, delicious, and healthy. I made a lemon glaze with powdered sugar and lemon juice and it was a great dessert. Leftovers for breakfast.