Soft and tender Orange Poppy Seed Cake topped with a luscious cream cheese frosting. This easy cake comes together in minutes and is perfect for your next celebration!
More one layer cake magic 🌟
You’re going to fall in love with this citrus wonder. A super easy Orange and Poppy Seed Cake that takes only minutes to throw together.
Topped with a thick and creamy orange cream cheese frosting. Perfection!
I’m currently on a poppy seed bender! First, came my Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf Cake and now this orange-flavoured wonder.
I’ve recently been baking more and more with oranges and I’ve fallen madly in LOVE with my buttery Orange Cookies and Chocolate Orange Brownies. But now this Orange Cake has jumped to the top of my favourite list.
It’s the perfect cake to whip out for guests. It looks like a masterpiece but honestly, it’s not hard to make. And just look at that cake to frosting ratio 😍
HOW TO MAKE ORANGE AND POPPY SEED CAKE
- This cake is incredibly easy to make. Just like my favourite Pistachio Cake, you only need a bowl and spoon – no electric mixer.
- Start by measuring out your dry ingredients, in this case, plain flour, baking powder and caster sugar. If you don’t have caster sugar, you can use granulated sugar instead.
- Then add your poppy seeds and fresh orange zest.
- Next, we add together our orange juice, eggs, oil and vanilla. I recommend using a neutral oil for this recipe. I usually use vegetable oil, but I’ve also used a light olive oil or you could use grape seed oil.
- I recommend using fresh orange juice and zest as suggested in the recipe for maximum flavour.
- The final ingredients are milk and Greek yogurt. The addition of Greek yogurt ensures your cake has a soft, light and tender crumb. You can also use sour cream instead of Greek yogurt.
- Mix until just combined and then pour into a round baking tin lined with baking or parchment paper.
- Try not to over bake this cake. Every oven is different, so start checking the loaf from about 35 minutes onwards. Insert a knife or skewer into the centre of the cake, if it comes out clean, you know the cake is ready.
TIPS FOR MAKING ORANGE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
- You will need a hand mixer or stand mixer to make this frosting. Make sure you use a full fat block of cream cheese – not a light version or the spreadable kind.
- For seriously creamy frosting, make sure both your butter and your cream cheese are at room temperature.
- Once you beat together the butter and cream cheese, you need to add 3 cups of icing sugar.
- Instead of adding milk or cream, we add a tablespoon or two of fresh orange juice – just to make that orange flavour over-the-top.
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Let’s Bake
Orange and Poppy Seed Cake
Easy one layer Orange and Poppy Seed Cake made from scratch.
Ingredients
Orange and poppy seed cake
- 210 grams (1 and 1/2 cups) plain flour or all purpose flour
- 2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 200 grams (1 cup) caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
- Zest of one orange
- 3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) Greek yogurt*
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) milk
Orange cream cheese frosting
- 115 grams (1/2 cup or 1 stick) butter, softened
- 250 grams (1 and 1/4 cup) full fat cream cheese, room temperature, roughly chopped
- 375 grams (3 cups) icing sugar or powdered sugar
- 1–2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
- Orange zest to decorate, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced. Grease and line an 8-inch round cake pan with baking or parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, add flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, poppy seeds and orange zest. Stir briefly to combine.
- In a separate bowl, add orange juice, oil, eggs and vanilla. Whisk briefly just to break up the egg yolks.
- Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, along with the yogurt and milk, and gently mix until combined – but be careful not to over mix. Spoon batter into prepared tin.
- Bake cake for approximately 35-40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Transfer cake to a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the cream cheese frosting, add butter and cream cheese to a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer for 2-3 minutes until smooth and creamy. Add sugar, 1 cup at a time, and continue to beat until smooth.
- Add orange juice and mix until frosting is creamy. Taste and add extra orange juice if needed. Generously frost the top of the cake. Scatter over fresh orange zest.
Notes
*Greek yogurt: You can use sour cream instead of Greek yogurt. This ingredient ensures a soft and tender cake.
Note for UK readers: I’ve been told that it’s hard to find blocks of cream cheese in the UK. If you use spreadable cream cheese, your frosting will be quite runny. You might want to use a buttercream frosting instead and add a squeeze of fresh orange juice.
Maisie says
This cake was to die for! I ended up making a two layered cake with the cream cheese in between the layers and around the cake. Got many compliments as it was moist and full of flavour. Thank you!
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! Love hearing that Maisie!
Andrea says
How do you think a recipe like this would fair with lemons instead of oranges?
Jessica Holmes says
It will work beautifully!
Kate says
I made this cake for my Dad for his birthday- he loved it! I did make some minor changes the next times I made it- I used a mix of butter and cream cheese instead of Greek yoghurt, and added more orange juice and poppy seeds. I also added some orange juice to the icing, so now the entire orange is used in the recipe. Also, this makes SO MUCH ICING- half is more than enough!
Jessica Holmes says
Glad you enjoyed it Kate! Thanks for the feedback!
Rebecca says
Lovely cake and easy to make. Used homegrown oranges. Will make again. 🍊
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it Rebecca!
Kirra-Lee says
i loved the cake though wasnt a big fan of the icing. very easy to make and tasty :))
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Kirra-Lee, I’m glad you enjoyed the cake.
Kimba says
Hello! I have a question about this recipe, am I able to use extra virgin olive oil instead of vegetable oil? As I really want to make this recipe for an event tomorrow, but I don’t have any vegetable oil 🙁 Please let me know & thank you xx
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Kimba, I haven’t tried myself but I think it should be fine! I just recommend using a mild tasting olive oil so it’s not too strong.
Kimba says
Thank you so much for getting back to me! I will make the cake tonight and let you know how I go 🙂
jenlou says
great recipe , easy and yummy , i added 3/4 orange marmalade, once batter in pan , swirled it through with a fork …. try it so good 😊
Jessica Holmes says
That sounds wonderful! Great idea!
Kelly says
This is a beautiful cake. What do you think about making this in a 6 inch pan?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Kelly, I think it would too much batter – maybe split into two pans?
Nighat says
The cake is but great but a dip in the middle What did I do wrong
I added sour cream instead of yogurt .
Jessica Holmes says
Hi, most often a cake dips in the middle when it is a little underbaked. Did you find the middle was slightly wet or under done? Other common reasons include, over mixing your cake batter, opening your oven door too early or perhaps your raising agent is expired.
Sharon says
I made this and used sour cream and buttermilk and olive oil ..it
turned out so fluffy and delicious my husband said it was the best cake ever!
Jessica Holmes says
Wow! Love hearing that Sharon!
Gee says
Amazing cake, fluffy moist sponge. Although I’m the same as the other UK bakers – frosting went very wrong although tasted yummy – I have a lot left over and it was very thin!
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Gee, so glad you enjoyed the cake! I hear you about the frosting. I’ve learnt that blocks of cream cheese are not readily found in the UK which is a shame. Perhaps next time, you can try a buttercream frosting instead.
Ashley Lynn says
Hi Jessica, I was wondering if this recipe bakes well in a 8 inch loaf? How would the recipe and cooking time defer? Thanks!
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Ashley, it should be ok to bake this in a loaf pan. The cooking time will vary according to the depth of the batter. You’ll know it’s ready when a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. You might also want to put a piece of foil over the top near the end of the cooking time to prevent the top from over cooking or over browning.
Kelly says
Incredible flavour and very moist. A crowd pleaser every time! Absolutely beautiful cake.
Jessica Holmes says
Love hearing that Kelly!
Shweta says
Hey there! Thanks for the awesome recipe! I loved it even though I am not a big fan of oranges. Looking forward to make more recipe from your blog. Thanks again.
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it Shweta!
Shrazzle says
Loved this cake! So simple and easy to make in one bowl and was a real crowd pleaser. I had a similar issue to some of the other commenters with the icing but I think it’s down to the UK cream cheese which is a bit different so the consistency wasn’t like the pictures. It didn’t impact the taste though – I’ll definitely be making this again!
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it! And yes, I’ve heard cream cheese in the UK isn’t quite the same as it is here in Australia,.