Bursting with tangy sweetness, our easy Sour Cream Orange Cake boasts a moist, velvety coffee cake crumb and a bright, citrusy flavor.
You can’t go wrong with this super delicious Sour Cream Orange Cake recipe! Glazed with a sweet & tart powdered sugar/honey/orange icing, our citrus bundt cake is made with basic baking staples and enhanced with orange juice, orange zest, poppy seeds, and sour cream! The result is a melt-in-your-mouth, gently sweet cake that’s perfect with coffee for breakfast on the patio or after dinner with good conversation!
The Sour Cream and Poppy Seed Secret
Sour cream belongs on top of a baked potato – but in a cake? Absolutely! The texture and taste of sour cream make this citrus bundt cake magically moist! It also contributes a soft tanginess, while the poppy seeds add a subtle nutty flavor and a satisfying little crunch. These two ingredients totally set this recipe apart – you’re going to love it!
Other Recipes to Serve with Sour Cream Cake
- Serve this Orange Bundt Cake with our Bacon, Sausage and Cheddar Quiche for a spectacular breakfast or brunch!
- Instantly transform coffee cake into a delicious dessert with Homemade Cool Whip!
Ingredients
Dry Staples: Granulated sugar, cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and a little kosher salt are the dry pantry items you’ll need to start this beautiful bundt cake.
Wet Staples: Room temperature unsalted butter and extra-large eggs add lots of fluff and flavor to this recipe.
Orange: You’ll need the juice and zest from an orange to give this cake its tart citrus tang!
Sour Cream: Yep, sour cream. It adds incredible moisture and a slight tanginess that really pushes this orange cake over the top!
Seeds: We’re adding poppy seeds to this orange cake for a subtle nutty texture!
Glaze: The simple cake glaze needs powdered sugar, more orange zest and juice, and honey. It’s light, fruity, sweet, and spectacular!
How to Make Orange Poppy Seed Cake
STEP ONE: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease & flour a 10-inch bundt pan. In a small mixing bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking soda & powder, poppy seeds, and salt. Set aside.
STEP TWO: In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. One at a time, add in the eggs, mixing each one thoroughly before adding the next. Stir in the orange juice, orange zest, and sour cream.
STEP THREE: On the low setting, blend in the flour mixture until it is well combined. Spoon the batter into the bundt pan, spreading evenly.
STEP FOUR: Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the cake starts to pull away from the sides and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and transfer it to a cake plate.
STEP FIVE: While the cake is cooling, whisk together the powdered sugar, honey, orange zest, and juice until you achieve the desired consistency and sweetness. Drizzle this glaze over the cake, then cut, serve, and share!
Tips for Success
- Start this recipe with room-temperature eggs and butter. They’ll incorporate into the batter better this way.
- If you prefer not to use poppy seeds in your cake, you can omit them.
- To bring out the flavor of the orange zest, cream it together with the butter and sugar.
- If you don’t have a bundt pan, an 8×8 baking pan—round or square—will work just fine! Reduce the bake time by 5-10 minutes.
- For a lemon sour cream cake, substitute the orange juice and zest with lemon juice and zest. Fresh and yummy!
Are Bundt Cakes the Same as Coffee Cakes?
Yes…and no. “Coffee Cake” is a generic American term for cakes that are unfrosted or topped with a simple streusel topping or sweet glaze. They don’t CONTAIN coffee, but are often served WITH coffee. These cakes (like the sour cream orange bundt cake) are tender and crumbly, lightly sweet, and more like a breakfast muffin than a decadent dessert. Bundt Cakes can be almost any kind of cake that’s made in a specific ring-shaped bundt pan.
How Do You Store a Sour Cream Orange Bundt Cake?
Bundt cakes are easy to store! Because they should be served at room temperature, cover airtight and leave on the counter for up to 3 days. If you need to keep it longer, cover and store in the fridge for up to 5 days – just let it come to room temperature before serving. Finally, if you want to freeze this cake, wrap it in a layer of plastic wrap and a second layer of aluminum foil and freeze for up to a month. (Make two at Thanksgiving and freeze the 2nd one for Christmas!) Thaw completely before serving.
Other Bright, Beautiful Bundt Cake Recipes!
- Lemon Pound Cake
- Banana Coconut Bundt Cake
- Blueberry Buttermilk Coffee Cake
- Pineapple Bundt Cake
- Pina Colada Bundt Cakes
- Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake
*This post originally posted on 06/18/2013.
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 ½ cups cake flour (see note)
- 3 teaspoons poppy seeds
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 ¼ cups sour cream
- ¼ cup orange zest
- 3 tablespoons orange juice
Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10-inch bundt pan. Set aside.
- In a small mixing bowl, sift together the cake flour, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until just combined after each addition. Mix in the sour cream, orange zest, and orange juice until smooth.
- On low speed, mix in the dry ingredients until combined, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Spoon the batter into the prepared bundt pan and spread it evenly so that the top is smooth.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the cake is a light golden brown and starting to pull away from the sides. Insert a cake tester halfway between the wall of the pan and the tube. If it comes out clean, the cake is done.
- Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Carefully flip the bundt pan onto a serving platter, and remove it so the cake is now inverted.
- When the cake is almost cooled, make the glaze. Whisk the powdered sugar, orange juice, honey, and orange zest together in a medium mixing bowl. (Add more powdered sugar to thicken, or more orange juice to thin the glaze.)
- Drizzle the glaze over the top of the cake, letting it run down the sides. Cut the cake into slices and devour.
Joseph says
what is cake flour?
Aubrey Cota says
It’s a finely milled low protein flour. You can find it in the same place you would find the all purpose flour.
Christina Miranda says
I’m confused. Is there a separate recipe for the glaze? I don’t see it. Or, was I supposed to just throw those ingredients together on my own? Also, number eight in the instructions has a typo. My cakes are baking now. The batter was delicious so I have hopes! I separated the recipe batter into 4 mini loaf pans for sharing at work.
Julie Kotzbach says
Hi Christina! The ingredients for the glaze are included and the directions are in step #8. 🙂
Valerie says
The recipe for the glaze is not included. The directions to making it are. ☹
Liz says
Love this recipe and I know it’ll be delicious. Thank you.