I absolutely love orange flavored desserts. And let's face it, making anything miniature really ups the cuteness factor, right? These mini Orange Bundt Cakes are an amazing combination of cuteness and flavor. So mix up your dessert tonight and try something new! And with no refined sugar (just sweetened with honey)—a total treat for your tastebuds and your body!
Citrus desserts are perfect for dreary winter days
Citrus flavored desserts just might be my favorite. Especially in the winter time. It must be my body's way of avoiding Seasonal Affective Disorder... or scurvy. We all go a little bit nuts with the snow everywhere and all that time spent indoors, right?
This recipe was a labor of love and went through many tests and revisions. I'm learning to become comfortable figuring out how to substitute natural sugars for refined sugar and truthfully I think it often tastes better. Because the sugar is still in a natural state, our bodies digest it slower and we don't have spikes and crashes. So these little orange bundt cakes have become my favorite afternoon treat, and they will be yours too!
Orange Bundt Cakes — Citrus Heaven
The smell while these orange bundt's are baking is phenomenal. So light, fluffy and so orange-y. I really like these because you can really TASTE the orange. And when it's cold outside, that citrus taste is just heaven. I think my body wants that fresh tasting afternoon treat to go with my tea. Since these cakes use just honey or agave as sweetener, you can eat a whole little cake and still feel great!
How to keep your bundt cake from sticking to the pan
Be sure to butter and flour your pan really well. It's never easy to get cake out of a bundt pan, so do yourself a favor and prep your pan! This recipe makes 6 little orange bundt cakes. I'm working on recipe conversion to make one large bundt cake, too! I absolutely LOVE my mini bundt pan made by Nordic Ware.
Orange Bundt Cake
Ingredients
- ½ cup orange juice
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons orange zest
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour or gluten free flour blend substitute
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ cup coconut sugar or granulated white sugar
For the Icing (if using)
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 Tablespoon orange juice
- 1 Tablespoon orange zest optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Grease (with butter or oil) and flour your mini bundt pan or 1 large bundt pan*(see notes) very well, careful to get into all the crevices.
- Combine orange juice, vegetable oil, eggs, honey, vanilla extract and orange zest in a large bowl. Stir until combined.
- Add the flour, baking powder and sugar to the wet mixture and mix just until combined.
- Pour cakes evenly into pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until they spring back when touched.
- Let cakes cool in pan for 10 minutes, then carefully remove and place on cooling rack. You may have to run a knife down the edges carefully to loosen.
Icing
- Sift powdered sugar in a small bowl. Stir in orange juice until you have a smooth syrup.
- Pour icing evenly over cake(s) and top with more orange zest.
Fatima
Hi there!
What a great recipe!
I don't have bundt pans so I made cupcakes. They rose beautifully and smelt amazing, even without the orange zest, which I forgot to add. I blended mandarin segments for the juice. This is such an easy recipe to make, needing just 1 bowl and a which. Thank you!
Amy
So glad you enjoyed it!
Fatima
Oops I meant a whisk
Laura Parker
Hi! I love this recipe and I used it last year for my child’s birthday cake.. this year he wants purple frosting so I’m thinking blueberry… you think blueberry cream would go with orange?? Or any way I could do like blue berry juice you think? Or does the citrus make this recipe work?? Or even lemon?? But I’d have to use honey to cancel super tartness.. what do you think? I don’t usually use ANY added sugars..
Amy
Blueberry icing sounds delicious and I think it would be great! Try this recipe where the frosting is only sweetened with honey. https://www.isavea2z.com/homemade-blueberry-frosting-recipe/#recipe
Mary
The title says no refined sugar, although the icing asks for 1 cup of powdered sugar - which is well, refined. 😏
Amy
Hi Mary! You're right! The cake is free of refined sugar, and the icing is optional. However, now there is a powdered sugar substitute I've seen that is made by Swerve (I believe). I updated the recipe to make this clearer. Sorry for the confusion!
Alice
Is it baking soda or baking powder? The ingredients say baking powder but the instructions say baking soda.
Amy
Baking powder. Thank you so much for your question! I've updated the recipe with the correction. Enjoy!
Lily
This sounds delicious! I've always wanted to make an orange cake, can't wait to try this! If the coconut sugar is optional, can it be omitted entirely, or should it be replaced by granulated sugar?
Amy
Great question! It can be omitted entirely. It's sweet enough without it, but if you like it really sweet, the coconut sugar is just the right touch.