Orange Cake (Gluten Free)

This gluten free orange cake is moist, tender and so easy to make. It's topped with a fresh orange buttercream frosting and is a total crowd pleasing recipe. Plus, you can easily make it dairy free.

Wet:
4 eggs, at room temperature
1½ cups fine white sugar
⅓ cup oil, any plain oil will work
⅓ cup butter, melted
⅔ cup milk, room temperature
1 cup orange juice, freshly squeezed, at room temperature
2 Tbsp. orange zest, freshly grated
1-2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1-2 tsp. pure orange extract

Dry:
2¾ cup all-purpose gluten-free flour blend
1 cup almond flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. sea salt

Buttercream:
2 sticks butter
5 cups confectioners' sugar
¼ cup orange juice, freshly squeezed
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. orange zest, freshly grated

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C/160°C fan, Gas Mark 4). Grease and line two 8 or 9“ round cake pans or three 6” cake pans and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all wet ingredients.

Add in the dry ingredients, making sure to spoon and level the flours, don't scoop right from the bag. Whisk until smooth.

Give a quick taste and add more orange zest or extract as desired. Do not add more orange juice.

Transfer to your prepared cake pans, trying to fill each as evenly as possible.

For 8 or 9“ pans, bake for 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean, for 6” pans, bake for 40-45 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool completely.

To make the buttercream, add your softened butter to a bowl or bowl of a stand mixer and beat for 2-3 minutes.

Add in the powdered sugar in 2-3 batches, beating until smooth and creamy.

Add in the orange juice, zest and vanilla and beat until smooth and creamy.

If it is too thin, add more sugar, if it's too thick add in more orange juice or a splash of milk. For a stronger orange flavour, add in more zest or some orange extract.

Once the cake has cooled completely, frost and enjoy.

Makes 16 servings.

Cook’s Notes:

• You can use regular butter or dairy free butter. If using dairy free, I suggest Earth Balance sticks.
  If you need to make it nut free, you can sub the almond flour with an additional ½ cup of GF all purpose flour, so use 3¼ cups total.
• Be sure the eggs, milk and OJ are at room temperature or the cake can get clumpy when you mix the butter and eggs.
• If you do not have orange extract, you can sub for more orange zest, but the flavour may not be as strong.

Serving: 1 slice / Calories: 488kcal / Carbohydrates: 68g / Protein: 6g / Fat: 22g / Cholesterol: 42mg / Fiber: 3g / Sugar: 49g