The Best Orange Cake Recipe | Simple. Tasty. Good. (2024)

FAQs

How do you make an orange cake less bitter? ›

So – we like rind for flavour. But we don't like the pith – the white part underneath the skin – because it's bitter. Solution: boil the oranges. This removes the bitterness as well as softening the oranges to make them “jammy”, which makes the cake damp and sticky inside.

Enhance With Extracts

Pure vanilla extract and pure almond extract are great options, but you could also try lemon extract or orange extract paired with fresh citrus zest. Although more expensive, vanilla bean paste or fresh vanilla beans will provide even richer flavor to a boxed mix.

Adding extra eggs when baking a cake brings out a lighter and richer flavor, making your dessert even more delicious! Baking tip #6: Adding a touch of vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon to be exact, is all it takes to make your box cake taste better, even homemade.

Any liquid can be substituted for the milk in a recipe with a 1:1 ratio. Choose the best liquid for your recipe: Is your recipe sweet or savory? You may choose between a fruit juice, water or broth, depending on if your recipe's flavors.

Burnt Ingredients: If any of the ingredients, especially fats like butter or oil, are overcooked or burnt during the baking process, they can impart a bitter taste to the cake. Overmixing: Overmixing the batter can lead to the development of gluten, which can result in a dense and tough texture.

Method 1: Add some acid.

One way to fix a bitter cake is to add a small amount of an acidic component, which is highly recommended especially when you toss in too much baking soda.

Why are eggs so important in a cake? Eggs, much like soy are emulsifiers and they help to hold the rest of the ingredients together. This creates more structure in your cake or baked goods. Adding an extra yolk will only help to hold the batter together better.

Step 1: Look at the directions on the cake mix. Step 2: Add one more egg (or add 2 if you want it to be very rich). Step 3: Use melted butter instead of oil and double the amount. Step 4: Instead of water, use whole milk.

Why is my orange cake dense? ›

Your cake is too dense A cake that is overly dense typically has too much liquid, too much sugar or too little leavening (not excess flour, as is commonly thought).

Milk's fat and protein add tenderness, structure, and flavor to a cake — all great attributes you want in your baking!

One of the main roles of milk in baking is to provide moisture. It can help to keep baked goods from becoming too dry and crumbly, and can also add tenderness to the texture. In addition to adding moisture, milk can also help to create a softer crumb in breads and cakes.

Since it's nearly impossible to remove the pith completely, the best way to get the bitter out is blanching the zest three times, by dropping it into boiling water to release the bitterness, then shocking it with ice water to stop the cooking (and repeat, and repeat).

Bitterness in oranges is primarily concentrated in the white pith, which is the layer between the skin and the flesh of the orange. The bitterness comes from compounds called limonoids. Boiling oranges can help to soften the pith, making it easier to peel and reduce the amount of bitterness in the fruit.

Add some sweetness.

If you find your orange juice could use a bit more sweetness, feel free to use sugar, honey or a sweetener of your choice. If you don't mind salt, you can also try adding a pinch of it to the orange juice. The salt should help to bring out the orange juice sweetness.