A soft and fragrant Italian orange cake filled with creamy homemade orange custard. Light, citrusy, and perfect with coffee or tea, this homemade cake brings together simple ingredients and classic Italian baking traditions.
Servings
12 people
Prep Time
2 hours
Difficulty
Medium
Ingredients for the Sponge
- 4 eggs
- 300 g flour 00
- 200 g sugar
- 150 g melted butter
- 100 ml orange juice
- Orange zest
- 16 g baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- Icing sugar
Equipment you’ll need
- Bawl
- Small pot
- Spatula
- Orange squeezer
- Small bawl for juices
- Wisker
- Small bawl
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C static.
- In a bowl whisk eggs, sugar, and salt until light and doubled in volume.
- Add melted butter, orange juice, and orange zest.
- Slowly fold in the flour.
- Add the baking powder and mix gently.
- Pour the mixture into a prepared cake tin.
- Bake for approximately 50 minutes until golden and fully cooked.
- Let the cake cool for around 2 hours.
- Slice in half and spread with orange custard.
- Finish with icing sugar.
Ingredients for the Custard
- 125 ml milk
- 1 egg yolk
- 10 g flour
- 5 g potato starch
- Juice of ½ orange
- Orange zest
- 2 drops vanilla essence
- 30 g sugar
Equipment you’ll need
- Hand mixer
- Bawl
- Small pot
- Spatula
- Duster
- Orange squeezer
- Small bawl for juices
- 24 cm Cake Tin
- Plate
Method
- Warm the milk with orange zest and vanilla essence. Do not boil.
- In a bowl whisk egg yolk and sugar until pale.
- Add flour, potato starch, and orange juice. Mix until smooth.
- Slowly pour the warm milk into the mixture while stirring continuously.
- Return to low heat and cook until thickened.
- Simmer gently for a few minutes, stirring constantly.
- Transfer into a bowl and cool completely before using.
For this recipe I used the following:
Tips
Allow the cake to cool completely before filling
Fresh orange zest gives the best aroma
Sprinkle sugar on the custard surface while cooling to prevent a skin forming
Variation
Replace orange with lemon or lime
Add chocolate chips for a richer version
Use mascarpone mixed with the custard for extra creaminess
Storage
Keep refrigerated and use by max 3 days