Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Orange Cake

This dairy-free orange cake is such a tasty cake! Plus, the orange juice cake is gluten free. Enjoy it with tea or coffee this afternoon.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been stress baking a lot these past few weeks and months. I swear, never before have so many baked goods come out of my kitchen!

I bet this orange cake will become one of your favorite cake recipes.

Ingredients

You’ll need a handful of ingredients to make this gluten-free, dairy-free orange cake:

Eggs: These help bind everything together and add protein to the recipe.

Plant-based margarine: This is the easiest substitute for butter!

Gluten-free flour: You can use storebought all-purpose gluten-free flour, or you can make your own. f you’re not a gluten-free eater, you could substitute in regular flour. Note that I find that for baking, all-purpose blends work better than straight-up almond flour.

Orange: You’ll use the juice and the rind to make a zest. This is what gives the cake its delicious orange flavor.

Have you ever baked with oranges? I have, with my orange juice muffins. I love adding orange flavor to baked goods because it’s not only delicious, it adds nutrition to my recipes.

Oranges boast digestion-helping fiber, immunity-helping vitamin C, and other nutrients. Orange juice offers many nutrients, too.

For example, a cup of 100 percent orange juice is an excellent source of immune-helping vitamin C.

And it provides blood-pressure-helping potassium as well as the flavonoid hesperidin—which may help brain health by reducing inflammation and maintaining blood flow to the inner parts of your brain. 

I also love that the fruit adds natural sweetness to recipes, reducing the need for added sugar. Neither oranges or orange juice contributes any added sugar to your daily limit. 

Step-by-step instructions

I’ve been super into baking comfort foods lately, so much so that I’ve brought over extra cookies and cake slices to my neighbors! I’ve made vegan cookie dough, peanut butter cookies, and this orange cake.

They’re all delicious, but this dairy-free orange cake might just be the most loved in my house. It’s also been tested to perfection. I test all of my recipes several times.

But this one had even more trials than usual. Because it’s both gluten free and dairy free, I had to get the proportion of ingredient exactly right.

What I love most about this light and fluffy orange cake recipe is that it’s perfect for feeding guests who have dietary restrictions. This is because it’s both gluten free and dairy free!

Making this orange cake is really easy. In a medium bowl, you combine beaten eggs with gluten-free flour, baking soda, baking powder, plant-based margarine, and the juice and orange zest of one orange. You don’t need any olive oil to make this cake!

Then pour the batter into a loaf pan (or loaf pans, if you’re doubling the recipe) and let it bake. If you’d like to use cake pans and make a round cake, you can do that, too. I recommend letting the cake cool completely before slicing into it!

Cake variations

I’m all about trying different versions of my recipes. Try these easy tweaks for a fun spin on this dairy-free orange cake:

• Add 1 ½ to 2 Tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder to yield a dairy-free chocolate cake.
• Cook the cake batter in a bundt pan and drizzle with vanilla icing (you’ll need powdered sugar for this) for a spin on your favorite birthday cakes.
• Turn the vanilla icing into almond-flavored icing by grinding some almonds in a food processor and folding the ground almonds into the icing mixture.
• Swap the eggs for flax eggs (for each egg, combine 2 Tablespoons ground flax with 3 Tablespoons cold water and let the mixture sit for 10 minutes) for an egg-free and vegan cake.

My favorite way to eat this cake? With a homemade latte! I currently have almond milk and coconut milk in my fridge for dairy-free versions.

Recipe FAQ

More dairy-free desserts

If you enjoy this dairy-free orange cake, you’ll also like:

• Vegan Avocado Chocolate Mousse
• Gluten-Free Vegan Wedding Cake with Peanut Butter & Vanilla Frosting
• Vegan Linzer Cookies with Prune Jam Filling
• Chocolate Banana Nice Cream

Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Orange Cake

This dairy-free orange cake is such a tasty cake! Plus, the orange juice cake is gluten free. Enjoy it with tea or coffee this afternoon.

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 45 mins

Total Time 55 mins

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Servings 12 slices

Calories 275 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 3 eggs beaten
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 pinch kosher salt
• ⅓ cup spreadable plant-based margarine
• 2¼ cup all-purpose gluten-free flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• Juice of 1 orange
• Zest of 1 orange
• Cooking spray

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 350° F.
• In a large bowl, whisk together ingredients.
• Coat a loaf pan with cooking spray. Pour batter into pan.
• Bake for 40-50 minutes, until a toothpick or a cake tester comes out dry.

Nutrition

Calories: 275kcalCarbohydrates: 34gProtein: 10gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 226mgSodium: 311mgPotassium: 100mgFiber: 2gSugar: 18gVitamin A: 566IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 91mgIron: 2mg

Keyword Dairy Free, Gluten free, Orange cake

Did you make this recipe?Mention @amydgorin and tag #plantbasedwithamy

I’d love to hear from you! Let me know how you’re enjoying this dairy-free orange cake. What are your favorite gluten free desserts and dairy free desserts?