Orange Upside Down Cake

Forget pineapple upside down cake, it’s orange upside down cake‘s time to shine. Made with a tangy orange topping and a tender olive oil cake, this orange upside down cake looks and tastes gourmet, but comes together super easily!

Orange Upside Down Cake

This probably comes as no surprise, but when I was little my sister and I were OBSESSED with our easy bake oven. And obviously our favorite thing to bake beneath its lightbulb oven was the iconic pineapple upside down cake. Thus began my love of upside down cakes. And this orange upside down cake might just be my favorite upside down cake to date. The orange topping is tangy, tart and sweet while the olive oil cake is tender and moist.

The result is a sweet, slightly bitter, perfectly balanced cake that looks and tastes gourmet, but comes together super easily! And fresh orange season’s peak is January through March so now is the perfect time to whip this cake up!

What is an orange upside down cake?

We love ALL cakes, but sometimes a multilayer cake can seem like a big undertaking–which is why I love upside down cakes. They’re equally beautiful, but so easy to make! Simply line the bottom of your pan with your topping (sliced fruit, caramel, toasted nuts, etc.), pour your cake batter over the topping, and bake! When you’re ready to serve simply turn the cake out and serve it “upside down,” and you have a gorgeous, rustic, easy cake!

I know it looks fancy, but it really is SO easy to make. If you can place oranges down in a cake pan, you can make this cake.

Ingredients for orange upside down cake

This rustic cake only calls for 9 simple ingredients–most of which are pantry staples! Because this ingredient list is so short and simple, we recommend using the highest quality ingredients because their flavors will really shine through in the finished product!

• Oranges
• Granulated Sugar
• Eggs
• Olive Oil
• Vanilla Extract
• All Purpose Flour
• Almond Flour
• Baking Powder
• Salt

Tips for making the best orange upside down cake

Seriously, guys. Don’t freak if you’ve never made an upside down cake before. They look super fancy, but they’re basically a dump cake. Some things to keep in mind when making this winter citrus cake are:

• Slice the citrus fruit with the skin on—Instead of peeling the citrus and then slicing it, slice it with the skin on and use the tip of your knife to cut off the outer layer of skin. This will ensure that the citrus fruit slices properly and doesn’t fall apart and/or lose its juice when you slice it.
• Fill in the gaps with small fruit pieces—Because you’re using circular citrus slices to top this cake, you’re bound to have gaps in the topping. You can fill in those gaps with small slices of fruit—it’ll still look nice, I promise. Don’t believe me? Take a closer look at my recipe photos and you’ll see I filled in the gaps too!
• Let cake cool completely before inverting—If you try and flip this cake while it’s still warm, the citrus topping is likely to fall apart. Let the cake cool to room temperature before attempting to flip it to avoid making a mess.
• Buy organic, if possible—At least one of your oranges should be organic, if possible, because you’ll be zesting it. Think of it this way: would you want to zest the pesticide residue of a regular orange straight into your cake? Uh-uh. So organic is best here. If you can’t find organic oranges, give your fruit a good wash under hot water before zesting it.

Alright, sunshines, that’s all for today! We hope you enjoy this orange upside down cake! Happy baking 🙂

XXX

• Author: Sofi | Broma Bakery
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 45 minutes
• Total Time: 1hr
• Yield: 16 servings
• Category: dessert
• Method: oven
• Cuisine: american

Orange Upside Down Cake

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Forget pineapple upside down cake, this orange upside down cake is the new star on the scene. Made with a tangy and tart orange topping and a tender olive oil cake, this orange upside down cake looks and tastes gourmet but comes together super easily!

• Author: Sofi | Broma Bakery
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 45 minutes
• Total Time: 1hr
• Yield: 16 servings
• Category: dessert
• Method: oven
• Cuisine: american

Units: USM

Ingredients

for the upside down orange topping

• 3 navel oranges
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup water

for the olive oil cake

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• pinch of orange zest
• 3/4 cup high-quality extra virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9 inch cake pan pan with parchment paper so that it covers the bottom and goes up the sides of the pan. Fold parchment paper so that it hugs the sides of the pan, like an upside down hat. Spray with non-stick spray.
2. With the skin still on, slice the oranges in 1/4 inch slices. Use a paring knife to carefully remove the skin from the citrus slices (like cutting off the outer ring). Doing it this way will ensure your oranges citrus stays intact and does not break apart when you slice it.
3. Microwave the sugar and water together until the sugar dissolves completely, about 45 seconds. Pour half of the sugar-water into the bottom of the prepared cake pan, then line the bottom with prepared oranges fruits. Once arranged, pour the remaining sugar-water over the oranges. Set aside.
4. In a stand mixer on medium speed, beat the sugar, orange zest, and eggs together until pale yellow, about 1 minute. If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can also do this by hand with a whisk!
5. Keeping the mixer going at a medium low speed, slowly streaming in the olive oil to emulsify. Make sure you go slowly to prevent the batter from splitting! Add in the vanilla extract and mix well.
6. Add the dry ingredients (all purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder, and salt) and stir until just combined. Do not over mix.
7. Pour the batter over the oranges into your prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes or until the cake is a lightly golden brown and a knife inserted into the middle comes out mostly clean.
8. Allow the cake to cool completely. When ready to serve, flip upside down to turn out the cake onto a large plate. Peel the parchment paper away from the oranges and serve your cake!