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–+ servings
Carrot cake with orange glaze on white plates and white platter.
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5 from 2 votes

Orange carrot cake

Adding some subtle orange flavor to a traditional carrot cake brings it to a whole new level of awesomeness!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time35 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: brown sugar, butter, carrots, cinnamon, granulated sugar, orange, whole wheat flour
Servings: 12 servings
Author: Amy Sandidge

Ingredients

  • ½ cup canola oil or olive oil
  • ¼ cup softened butter Plus more for brushing on the pan.
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ cup dark brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons orange zest make sure and wash your oranges well before zesting.
  • 1 tablespoon orange juice
  • 2 tablespoons buttermilk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 ¼ cup whole wheat pastry flour
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour Plus more for dusting the pan.
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • dash nutmeg
  • ¼ teaspoon ginger
  • dash salt
  • 1 ½ cup shredded carrots

Orange cream cheese glaze

  • 1 ounces cream cheese
  • 1 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 tablespoon orange zest
  • orange juice until it reaches desired consistency

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Prepare the bundt cake pan. Brush with about 1 tablespoon of melted butter. Sprinkle in ⅓ cup of all-purpose flour and tap until it covers the whole pan. Tap out the remaining and set the pan aside.
  • Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
  • Combine oil and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla, and mix well. Next is zest, orange juice, and buttermilk. Mix only until combined. To this, add flour mixture. Again, mix only until combined. Last is carrots. Again, be careful not to overmix. 
  • Pour into your prepared bundt cake pan and move it to the oven.
  • Bake for 45-55 minutes. The toothpick you insert should come out almost completely clean.
  • Remove it from the oven and let it cool for 7 minutes.
  • Invert the pan onto your cooling rack and gently release it from the pan.
  • While it is cooling, make your glaze. You can make it as thick or thin as you like.
  • Once the cake is mostly cooled, add the orange glave to the top. I sprinkled on extra orange zest on top of the glaze. You can do this as well if you want the extra punch of flavor.

Video

Notes

  • Mix only until just combined. Overmixing and overbaking can cause a dense and dry cake. 
  • Feel free to add chopped walnuts to the batter for a bit of crunch.
  • This recipe makes a medium-sized bundt cake or 10 cupcakes. Just be sure to reduce the cooking time for cupcakes and always keep an eye on them.