Out here in Southern California we have picnic weather in the middle of winter. Even if you don’t have picnic weather yet, you might be craving something deliciously bright, like this Sunshine Picnic Cake made with fresh orange juice and orange zest. The soft, moist cake is topped with a subtly tart citrus icing. It’s perfect for a spring or summer picnic, a tea party, weekend brunch or even an anytime snack. This recipe is so versatile that you can easily switch it up to make it a lemon cake if you wish.*
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- 1 1/2 cups (192g) all purpose flour, sifted
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
- Zest of 1 large orange
- 1/2 cup (111ml) vegetable oil or neutral oil of your choice
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1/4 cup (59ml) orange juice
- 1 teaspoon pure orange extract
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup (170g) sour cream room temperature
- 1 cup (120g) powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 tablespoon (14g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) lemon juice
- 1-2 tablespoons (15-30ml) orange juice
- 1 dash fine sea salt
Ingredients
Cake
Icing
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- Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line the bottom of an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper. Grease and flour the insides.
- In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until well combined.
- In a large bowl, beat the sugar, orange zest, and oil, with an electric mixer at medium speed, until smooth and well combined. Add the orange juice and the extracts and beat until combined. With the mixer on low speed or by hand, beat in the flour mixture in two additions followed by half of the sour cream after each addition. Mix just until smooth and combined.
- Transfer the batter to the baking pan. Bake until the top looks golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes. Do not over bake. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove it from the pan and transfer it to a cooling rack. Alternately, if you want to transport the cake in the pan, you can let it cool in the pan.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, butter, lemon juice, 1 tablespoon (15ml) of orange juice and the salt until well combined. Add additional orange juice as needed to achieve the desired consistency. Whisk until smooth. Spread the icing on the cooled cake, letting it drip down the sides.
*To make a lemon version of this cake, replace the orange juice with lemon juice. Replace the orange zest with the lemon zest of two medium lemons. Replace the orange extract with pure lemon extract. Reduce the vanilla extract to 1/2 teaspoon.
**To find pure orange extract, click here.