Orange Bundt Cake — No Refined Sugar

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), your body will also love this treat!

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

Full of flavor and oh so moist.

3.23 from 22 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Servings: 6 Servings

Calories: 371kcal

Author: Amy

Ingredients

• ½ C orange juice fresh is best
• ¼ C vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• ¼ C honey or agave
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoon orange zest
• 1 ½ C all-purpose flour or gluten free flour substitute
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ C coconut sugar optional

For the Icing (if using)

• 1 C 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.

Notes

*If you're using 1 large bundt pan, just double the recipe and increase baking time to 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

**To keep this recipe completely free of refined sugar, you can skip the icing, or there is now a powdered sugar version of swerve that I've seen at health food stores. I haven't tried it yet, but if you do, let me know how it goes!

Nutrition

Calories: 371kcal | Carbohydrates: 65g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 55mg | Sodium: 142mg | Potassium: 116mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 38g | Vitamin A: 139IU | Vitamin C: 16mg | Calcium: 80mg | Iron: 2mg