Pretty in Pink Blood Orange Cake

- Amanda

Hello and happy Saturday. I’m excited to share this Pretty in Pink Blood Orange Cake with you in the heart of citrus season and just in time for some Valentine’s Day baking inspo.

This cake is magical. The color alone is worth adding to your January or February sweet treats menu. And guess what? That beautiful deep blush hue comes from absolutely zero enhancement from food coloring, but instead gets it’s gorgeous tone from none other than, you guessed it, blood orange juice.

The cake itself is also flavored with the juice and zest of the fabulous winter fruit giving it light yet subtly bright blood orange notes. And the texture is perfectly soft, making this the ultimate compliment to an afternoon cup of tea or coffee or a great addition to a little Valentine’s post-dinner bubbly or how ’bout keep with the theme and have a little rosé.

Either way, this bake is one I know you and your family or friend’s will love. And if you happen to have a mini treat lover who also happens to be bananas over anything the color pink, you’ll win in their book no doubt too.

How to Make this Pretty in Pink Blood Orange Cake

This cake is simple and can be done in a bowl using a hand mixer or with a stand mixer. And all the ingredients are pretty basic with the exception of the blood oranges which you can find at most grocery stores this time of year.

  1. Whisk the dry ingredients together. In this cake it’s cake flour and baking powder. (If you don’t have cake flour, you can make it by measuring 1 cup all-purpose flour, removing 2 tablespoons, and adding 2 tablespoons cornstarch. So in the case of this cake- measure 2 2 1/2 cups flour, remove 5 tablespoons flour, and add 5 tbsps cornstarch. )
  2. Cream the butter & sugar. Cream the butter, sugar, salt and zest together with an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
  3. Add the wet ingredients. With the machine running, add the eggs one at a time, followed by the yogurt until incorporated. Then add the two orange juices and mix until combined. 
  4. Bake the cake.
  5. Invert the Bundt cake onto a cooling rack after it has cooled 10 minutes in the pan. Then let the cake cool before glazing and serving.
  6. Make the glaze.  Whisk the powdered sugar with the blood orange juice until completely smooth . Drizzle onto the cake.
  7. Slice & enjoy!

I hope you’ll give this recipe a try. And if you do, as always, I would so love to hear how it goes down in the comment section below or tagged on Instagram.

(Oh, and if for some reason, you can’t get your hands on blood oranges, you can just use regular oranges, Cara Cara’s would be lovely, or even grapefruit or lemon. Whichever you do choose, I always recommend fresh juice. )

Happy baking and happy weekend to you and yours!

Print

Pretty in Pink Blood Orange Cake

Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Servings 1 9″ Bundt cake
Author Amanda – A Treat Life

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups (288g) cake flour
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 9 oz unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups (300g) granulated sugar
  • 3/4 tsp kosher salt
  • zest of 2 blood oranges
  • 4 lg eggs, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup (110g) Greek yogurt
  • 1/2 cup blood orange juice
  • 1/4 cup regular orange juice

For the Blood Orange Glaze:

  • Juice of 1 blood orange
  • 1-2 cups (125-250g) powdered sugar, sifted

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously spray a 9" Bundt pan with baking spray or grease and lightly flour the pan.

  2. In a medium bowl sift together the cake flour and baking powder and set aside.

  3. Cream the butter, sugar, salt and zest together with an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.

  4. With the machine running, add the eggs one at a time, followed by the yogurt until incorporated. Then add the two orange juices and mix until combined. 

  5. Add the dry ingredients in two batches just until almost fully combined, making sure not to overmix the batter.  Then finish mixing the batter by hand, scraping down the bottom and sides of the bowl to ensure everything is evenly combined.

  6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth over the top with a spatula and bake about 55 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean and the top springs back when lightly touched.  (Rotate the pan halfway through baking.)  Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.

  7. While the cake is cooling, whisk the powdered sugar with the orange juice until completely smooth.  Add more confectioner's sugar or orange juice as necessary to make a thick but pourable glaze (it should be a little thicker than you'd think so it doesn't drip right off the cake.)

  8. Once the cake is completely cool, drizzle the glaze over the top, letting it drip down the sides. Let it set for a few minutes.  Slice & enjoy.

Recipe Notes

*The cake will keep nicely, covered, at room temperature about 4-5 days and up to a week or more in the refrigerator.  It also freezes beautifully, though I would suggest glazing after defrosting.