This delicious orange sour cream bundt cake is simplicity itself. Add a pretty glaze or dust with icing sugar – perfect with a cup of tea. Decorate with candied blood orange slices for added wow factor.
I have been buying blood oranges for a few weeks now, intending to bake with them and then running out of time. Most of the blood oranges ended up in my cocktails, like this blood orange margarita, which is not a bad way to make use of them!
But this weekend, I finally found the time to make this simple – but utterly delightful – orange and sour cream bundt cake. It can be made with any type of citrus – zesty lemon or tangerines even grapefruit – and you add some loose leaf tea (like Earl Grey) for extra flavour.
One of the things blood oranges have going for them is that their juice will naturally turn the glaze the prettiest shade of blush pink. I also made some candied blood orange slices to decorate the cake with but, in the end, I preferred it plain and mostly unadorned.
By the way, not all blood oranges are created equal – it is so disappointing to slice into one and find just a plain orange! Look for the ‘moro’ variety which has a reddish/blush tint on the peel. The darker the exterior of the blood orange, the darker and more colourful the flesh, in my experience.
I baked this cake in a plain ring-shaped tin* – a tin usually used for savarin (a yeasted cake that’s soaked in syrup). I love using this tin as it bakes evenly and the cakes always come out perfect – something that you can’t always count on when using intricately shaped bundt tins.
You could make the cake simply by adding all the ingredients in a bowl and then beating them together until batter is smooth. I don’t like this method as it is easy to over-beat the batter, resulting in a tough cake. I prefer to beat the butter and sugar together first until light and fluffy, then add the eggs and finally alternate mixing the flour and sour cream into the batter.
I served my orange and sour cream bundt cream cake on Mothering Sunday and it was very well received by everyone in the family – including my husband who doesn’t ‘do’ cakes. I call that an unqualified success!
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Orange and sour cream bundt cake
Ingredients
For the cake
- 125 g (4oz) unsalted butter, softened
- 220 g (1 cup) caster sugar
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten
- 225 g (1 1/2) cups plain flour
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 125 g (1/2 cup) sour cream
- 1 blood orange, zest only (or any type of citrus)
For the glaze
- 150 g (1 1/2 cups) icing sugar
- 1 blood orange, strained juice
Candied blood orange slices (optional)
- 240 g (1 cup + 2 tbsp) caster sugar
- 220 ml (scant 1 cup) water
- 1 blood orange, strained juice
- 2 blood oranges, sliced thinly
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and spray a 22cm /9in ring tin with cake release.
- Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Mix the orange zest with the sour cream.
- Put the butter and sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat for several minutes, scraping the bowl midway, until fluffy and light.
- Gradually add the eggs, adding 1 tbsp of flour to avoid curdling.
- Alternate adding the flour and sour cream, beating briefly on medium-low speed between each addition. Scrape the bowl as needed to make sure everything is well blended.
- Transfer the batter into the prepared tin, levelling it with a palette knife.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the cake is golden, springy and coming away from the edges of the tin.
- Cool in the tin for 10 minutes then carefully turn out onto a cooling rack.
- To make the candied oranges, put all the ingredients in a saucepan and heat until the sugar dissolves. Add the orange slices and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the rind is softened. Place the slices on a cooling rack set over a tray (to catch any drips) and leave them to cool.
- Mix the icing sugar with enough orange juice to make a thick but pourable glaze.
- Spoon the glaze over the cooled cake, letting it drip prettily down the sides.
- Decorate the cake with the candied blood orange slices if you like.
Notes
Kate - Gluten Free Alchemist says
That’s so pretty Lucy. I love blood orange season, but I think you are right….. the extra red ones are usually more reliable for red flesh too x
Karly says
This looks so gorgeous! Very springy!