Here is a moist, fragrant, and incredibly flavorful Orange Cake made with freshly squeezed orange juice and lots of orange zest. This is the kind of cake that tastes like sunshine—bright, citrusy, and buttery!

🍊 Best Fresh Orange Cake (with Fresh Juice & Zest)

Ingredients (1 standard 9×5 loaf or 8-inch round cake)

For the Cake

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• ⅓ cup fresh orange juice (from about 1 large orange)
• 2–3 tbsp fresh orange zest (zest from 1–2 oranges)
• ½ cup milk (whole or 2%)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Optional Orange Glaze

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2–3 tbsp fresh orange juice
• Extra orange zest for topping

🍰 Instructions

1. Prep

• Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
• Grease and flour a loaf pan or line with parchment.

2. Mix Dry Ingredients

In a bowl, whisk together:

• flour
• baking powder
• salt

Set aside.

3. Cream Butter & Sugar

• In a mixing bowl, beat butter + sugar for 3–4 minutes until pale and fluffy.
• Add eggs one at a time, mixing well.
• Beat in orange zest and vanilla.

4. Add Wet Ingredients

• Mix in the fresh orange juice.
  (The mixture may look slightly curdled — totally normal!)

5. Combine

• Add the dry ingredients alternately with the milk, starting and ending with the dry mix.
• Mix until just combined — don’t overmix.

6. Bake

• Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
• Bake 40–50 minutes (loaf pan) or 30–35 minutes (round pan), until a toothpick comes out clean.

7. Make the Glaze (optional but amazing)

Whisk powdered sugar with fresh orange juice until it’s pourable.
Adjust consistency with more juice or more powdered sugar.

8. Finish

• Let the cake cool 10–15 minutes.
• Drizzle glaze over the warm cake.
• Sprinkle with fresh zest.

✨ Tips for the BEST Orange Flavor

• Use freshly squeezed juice — bottled juice can taste dull or bitter.
• Zest oranges before juicing.
• Add extra zest for an even bolder aroma.
• Substitute part of the milk with extra orange juice for extra citrus punch.

🍊 Variations

• Orange Almond Cake: Add ½ tsp almond extract + ¼ cup almond flour.
• Olive Oil Orange Cake: Replace half the butter with olive oil.
• Orange Poppy Seed Cake: Add 2 tbsp poppy seeds.
• Orange Creamsicle: Add ¼ cup sour cream for extra moistness.

If you want, I can also give you a super-moist bakery-style version, a Greek Portokalopita (orange phyllo cake), or a flourless orange cake using whole boiled oranges!