Name: Easy orange cake with orange icing recipe
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 10
Ingredients: 125g butter, softened; 1/4 cup milk; 1/4 cup orange juice; 2 eggs; 3/4 cup caster sugar; 375.00 ml Essentials Self Raising Flour, sifted; 1 tbs orange zest, finely grated; 1/3 cup butter softened; 1 1/2 cups icing sugar sifted; 2 tbs orange juice *to taste; 1/2 tsp orange zest, finely grated

by lynn Last updated on 07/31/2025

If there’s a cake for all generations, it’s this easy orange cake with orange icing recipe. Perfect for morning or afternoon tea, this buttery yet zesty orange cake recipe is the straight-up real deal. Made with both orange juice and zest, it’s pretty as a picture and tastes even better. There’s also a sense of nostalgia in this classic recipe, baked in a loaf pan, with that gorgeous orange glaze icing. It’s filled with old-world charm.

How to make this easy orange cake recipe: key tips

When using the creaming method — as you will with this recipe — make sure you take the butter, eggs and milk out of the fridge anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour before cooking so all the ingredients blend well together. Also, always cool a cake before icing. This is sometimes hard, especially with the beautifully fragrant baking aroma in the house, but it needs to be done!

Key ingredients in our orange cake with orange icing

Both navel and Valencia oranges can be used for our one-bowl orange cake. Use a microplane or the fine side of a box grater to zest. Although bought orange juice can be used, you already have oranges on hand so you may as well squeeze them, then pour through a sieve to get rid of any pulp.

Orange provides a wonderful flavour for both sweet and savoury dishes. Check out this collection of orange desserts as well as these Chinese orange chicken and slow cooked beef recipes.

Additional recipe notes by the Australia’s Best Recipes team.

- Australia's Best Recipes Team

Ingredients

Orange Cake

125g butter, softened
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup orange juice
2 eggs
3/4 cup caster sugar
1 1/2 cups Woolworths Essentials Self Raising Flour, sifted
1 tbs orange zest, finely grated

Orange icing

1/3 cup butter softened
1 1/2 cups icing sugar sifted
2 tbs orange juice *to taste
1/2 tsp orange zest, finely grated

Method

Step 1

Combine all cake ingredients and beat thoroughly for 3 minutes.
Step 2

Pour mixture into a greased 20cm x 10cm loaf or 20cm ring tin.
Step 3

Bake in the centre of a 180C oven for 30-40 minutes.
Step 4

Turn onto a wire rack and allow to cool.
Step 5

Mix orange icing ingredients together in a bowl, then ice cake.

Recipe Notes

from Australia’s Best Recipes team

What’s the difference between icing and frosting on a cake?

In the US, the term ‘frosting’ is used to describe thick, fluffy icing, while ‘icing’ is used to describe thin, glossy, glaze-like icing. In Australia, just to make things trickier, we use the word ‘icing’ to describe both! The icing in this recipe is the thick, fluffy kind made with butter.

Is it best to use freshly squeezed orange juice in this recipe?

While we use fresh orange juice (and you’re going to be using an orange anyway, to get the zest!) you can top up with store-bought orange juice, if you like. Just be sure it’s actually made from oranges, rather than a concentrate. It’s also best to use pulp-free, if possible, for a better texture.