Portuguese Orange Cake Recipe | Foodess.com (2025)

This Portuguese Orange Cake is moist and fragrant, with the most alluring bright orange flavour.

Portuguese Orange Cake Recipe | Foodess.com (1)

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1This Portuguese Orange Cake recipe is authentic.

2Portuguese Orange Cake is moist and fragrant, with the most alluring bright flavour.

3Other Citrusy Desserts You’ll Love

4Portuguese Orange Cake

This Portuguese Orange Cake recipe is authentic.

It was shared with my by my friend Cherie who is married to a Portuguese man with a major penchant for the orange cake of his country. I realize it hasn’t even been a week since I posted a Lemon Pound Cake recipe, but I don’t often hearanyone complain about too much cake.

Cherie bakes it regularly and it’s a treat I look forward to when I pop by for play dates – our sons were born on the same day in the same hospital!

Portuguese Orange Cake Recipe | Foodess.com (2)

Portuguese Orange Cake is moist and fragrant, with the most alluring bright flavour.

Portuguese Orange Cake Recipe | Foodess.com (3)

It leans slightly more toward bitterness than the tartness you might expect from citrus desserts – this is owing to the lashings of zest beaten into the batter. Don’t worry, it’s not bitter-bitter, just enough to be intriguing.

It’s a sponge cake of sorts, with egg whites folded in at the last minute to lighten the batter, but with more moisture than the airy sponge cakes you may have had. Both the zest and juice of three oranges are involved, so it is wonderfully orange-y.

Portuguese Orange Cake Recipe | Foodess.com (4)

Make sure to bring all of your ingredients to room temperature before you bake – cold eggs or oranges will cause the butter to seize up.

Portuguese Orange Cake Recipe | Foodess.com (5)
Portuguese Orange Cake Recipe | Foodess.com (6)

Serve with a dusting of confectioners’ sugar, a fluffy dollop of whipped cream, or a scoop of softened vanilla ice cream. Leftovers freeze well!

Other Citrusy Desserts You’ll Love

  • This moist Blood Orange Cake with pretty blood orange glaze.
  • A wonderful Portuguese Orange Cake recipe – very delicious.
  • This Lemon Curd Cake is definitely a must-try for citrus lovers.
  • Lemon Curd Cookies can’t be missed either.
  • Love citrus, love chocolate? This Chocolate Orange Cake is for you.
  • This Cranberry Lemon Cake is a long-standing favorite.

Of course, can’t forget this recipe for orange pound cake with orange glaze, baked in a pretty bundt pan.

Portuguese Orange Cake Recipe | Foodess.com (7)

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Portuguese Orange Cake

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Servings 9

Dessert

Portuguese

Keyword Orange Cake, Portuguese Orange Cake

Ingredients

  • cup 150 grams butter, softened
  • 1 ¼ cups 250 grams granulated sugar
  • 4 large eggs separated, room temperature
  • 3 large oranges room temperature
  • 2 cups 9 oz/250 grams all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • Confectioners’ sugar for dusting (optional)

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Grease an 8×8″ baking dish or line with parchment paper.

  • Beat butter and sugar on medium speed of electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each. With mixer on low speed, add the zest and juice from all three oranges. The mixture will appear curdled at first – that’s ok. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat until it comes together, pausing to scrape down sides of bowl as needed.

  • In a separate bowl, whisk flour and baking powder. With mixer speed on low, gradually beat into the butter mixture until just incorporated.

  • In another bowl, whip egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold 1/3 of the whites into the cake batter to lighten it up, then gently fold in the rest. (Use a light hand so you don’t deflate the whites.) Scrape batter into prepared baking pan and bake for 35-45 minutes, until top feels springy when gently pressed and tester inserted in centre comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 382kcalCarbohydrates: 55gProtein: 6gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 109mgSodium: 185mgPotassium: 141mgFiber: 2gSugar: 32gVitamin A: 631IUVitamin C: 23mgCalcium: 63mgIron: 2mg

Keyword Orange Cake, Portuguese Orange Cake

Last Updated on February 20, 2024 by Jennifer Pallian BSc, RD

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maria

4 years ago

Portuguese Orange Cake Recipe | Foodess.com (12)
best orange recipe ever! have made this 3 times and everything is perfect. light, fluffy, full of flavour and such an easy recipe compared to others which use sooo many ingredients or sour cream or buttermilk…so glad you shared this!

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Portuguese Orange Cake Recipe | Foodess.com (13)

Andrea

4 years ago

Portuguese Orange Cake Recipe | Foodess.com (14)
Can this be doubled? I need a bigger cake

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Portuguese Orange Cake Recipe | Foodess.com (15)

Oktavia

4 years ago

Delicious !, I love the orange flavor is coming through very well. I made in a cake form size 8,5‘x8,5‘ and it was to small. I would recommend 1-2inches bigger size than I’m using. I also just add only 200g of sugar and it’s still was to sweet. Next time i will just add only 150g should
Be enough. Because the orange I had was sweets already. Anyway So fluffy and delicious… yum yum yum ! ?

7

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Maggie

4 years ago

Can you freeze this recipe

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Portuguese Orange Cake Recipe | Foodess.com (17)

Dan Melendez

5 years ago

Just a thought, what do you mean by fold the egg whites after being whipped?

-1

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Tanya Mills

5 years ago

Hi! I’d love to try this cake out. 🙂 Just wondering how much zest to add. All the zest from the 3 oranges? Thanks!

-1

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Portuguese Orange Cake Recipe | Foodess.com (2025)

FAQs

What cake is Portugal famous for? ›

Pastel de Nata (cream tart) is Portugal's most famous pastry cake. These small custard delicacies are available everywhere and have small differences in the cream and puff pastry used as a shell.

What are the origins of orange cake? ›

Clementine cake is probably related to a Sephardic orange cake. Sephardic Jews popularized citrus cultivation in the Mediterranean region in the 15th century and popularized the use of orange in baked goods. In addition to its Iberian flavors, the cake also has North African and Spanish roots.

Why is my orange cake dry? ›

A dry cake is usually the result of one of the following pitfalls: using the wrong ingredients, making mistakes while measuring or mixing the batter, or baking the cake too long or at too high a temperature.

What is Greek orange cake made of? ›

Portokalopita is an old-fashioned Greek orange cake made with orange zest, Greek yogurt, and dried crumbled phyllo folded into the cake batter. It's known for its zesty orange flavor as well as its sticky sweet texture thanks to the orange syrup poured over the baked cake.

What is the most famous dessert in Portugal? ›

Perhaps the most famous Portuguese dessert, Pastel de Nata or Pastel de Belém is a custard tart pastry with a crisp, flaky crust and a creamy custard filling. This is a true icon when it comes to dishes to try in Portugal.

What is the witches cake? ›

A bizarre form of counter-magic, the witch cake was a supernatural dessert used to identify suspected evildoers. In cases of mysterious illness or possession, witch-hunters would take a sample of the victim's urine, mix it with rye meal and ashes and bake it into a cake.

What is orange cake made of? ›

For the Cake:

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In another large bowl, combine sugar and orange zest. Rub the zest into the sugar with your fingers until the sugar is a light orange color. Add the oil, eggs, orange juice, and vanilla, and whisk until combined.

Does anyone make an orange cake mix? ›

Create a delicious dessert with Duncan Hines Signature Perfectly Moist Orange Supreme Cake Mix. Flavor from real orange juice fills each bite of this soft, moist cake.

How do you get rid of bitterness in orange cake? ›

Method 1: Add some acid. One way to fix a bitter cake is to add a small amount of an acidic component, which is highly recommended especially when you toss in too much baking soda.

Can I use orange juice instead of milk in a cake? ›

Any liquid can be substituted for the milk in a recipe with a 1:1 ratio. Choose the best liquid for your recipe: Is your recipe sweet or savory? You may choose between a fruit juice, water or broth, depending on if your recipe's flavors.

What makes a cake moist and fluffy? ›

Try switching out any water in your recipe for full-fat milk or buttermilk for a moist, decadent texture. Another ingredient that can enhance the moisture of your cake is mayonnaise. Adding a dollop of mayonnaise to your batter can help make your freshly baked cake softer with an added boost of moisture.

What are Elvis cakes? ›

An Elvis Presley cake is a single-layer classic yellow cake that's topped with a pineapple glaze. Much like a poke cake, the syrup and juices of the pineapple will seep into the cake through fork holes, resulting in a decadent, ultra-moist cake.

What is funeral cake made of? ›

Technically, funeral cake is a chocolate sheet cake with fudge icing and topped with crunchy pecans and big enough to feed a crowd—which you may recognize as Texas Sheet Cake.

What is a Mary Jane cake? ›

noun. a small, round sponge cake, usually with a circular indentation on top, for topping with fruit, whipped cream, etc., and served as an individual portion.

What is the typical cake in Lisbon? ›

Pastel de nata

It's one of Portugal's most famous cakes and, not only will you find them in just about every pastelaria in Portugal, but you'll also find them in many bakeries around the the world as well.

What pastries is Portugal known for? ›

Other than the most famous Portuguese egg custard pastry, Pastel de Nata, some popular pastries also include French-inspired Palmiers, Napoleões (Napoleans) and Croissants (albeit more brioche in style), as well as interestingly-named pastries like Pao de Deu (Bread of God), Jesuita (Jesuit) and Pata de Veado (Deer ...

Why is it called Madeira cake? ›

It is sometimes mistakenly thought to originate from the Madeira Islands but was in fact named after Madeira wine from the islands, popular in England in the mid-1800s and often served with the cake. Madeirans produce their own traditional cake – bolo de mel, dark, spicy and honey flavoured – which is very different.

Why is Madeira cake so good? ›

My mother and I always liked the buttery, faintly lemony aromas wafting through the kitchen as it baked. Since it's baked in a deep tin, it takes longer to bake than a layer cake. The firm but tender texture makes beautiful slices for teatime, lunchbox or in trifle and other desserts.

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