This deliciously sticky vegan orange cake is incredibly moist, made with ground almonds and yoghurt, and finished with an orange drizzle syrup.
🍴 Why you will love this recipe
A perfect vegan teatime treat, this sticky upside-down orange cake with a citrussy orange drizzle syrup is sticky, moist and totally more-ish. No-one will ever guess it is vegan!
It is very easy to make, with no fancy equipment needed. Follow my simple step-by-step photos for great results every time!
You could serve your sticky vegan orange cake with a morning coffee, for a fancy afternoon tea, or as a decadent dessert served with a scoop of dairy-free ice cream.
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📝 What you need
Ingredients
Oranges The biggest, juiciest oranges you can find are ideal! If you can only find smaller oranges you might need 3 for the orange slice layer, and the juice of 2 for the drizzle syrup.
Rapeseed Oil gives the cake a beautifully soft crumb. You can use any flavourless oil like sunflower or vegetable oil, but avoid any with a stronger flavour (coconut or olive oil).
Vegan Yoghurt Use an unsweetened dairy-free yoghurt (the cake is sweet enough already!). I use soya as it has the highest protein content so it best for baking, but an oat or nut based yoghurt will be fine too.
Ground Almonds add a rich and moist texture to the cake. If you want to make it nut-free, just swap for more self-raising flour of the same weight instead.
Equipment
There's no need for any fancy equipment to make this cake - you won't need a food mixer just a bowl and spatula will do.
However the one piece of kit that will make a big difference is a loose-based cake tin, around 23cm across. I love my loose-bottomed tins from Lakeland - pleasingly heavy, and nothing ever seems to stick.
👩🏽🍳 How to make your Vegan Orange Cake
For a full, printable recipe with ingredients and detailed instructions, scroll to the bottom of this page 👇🏼 .
Slice two oranges thinly (with skin on). Simmer the slices in a sugar and water syrup for 15 minutes then remove from the syrup and cool.
Arrange the orange slices on the bottom of a lined cake tin, starting from the centre and overlapping them slightly. For the cake, mix the flour, sugar, ground almonds, cornflour and bicarbonate of soda in a large bowl.
Add the oil, vegan yoghurt and orange zest and mix until smooth. Pour the batter carefully over the orange slices and smooth to the edges of the tin. Bake for 30 minutes.
For the drizzle syrup, mix the orange juice and icing sugar microwave for 1 minute (or simmer in a saucepan) then set aside to cool. Prick the cake all over with a skewer or cocktail stick, and pour over the orange drizzle syrup. Leave for an hour or so for the syrup to infuse through the cake, then turn out and serve.
🔪 Top Tips & FAQs
If you have time, leave the cake overnight in an airtight tin or container before serving. It makes a big difference to the texture of the cake, drawing the moisture right through the cake for a very soft and moist sponge.
Once you have mixed the cake batter together, work as quickly as you can to get the cake into the oven. The raising agents start to work straight away, and you want the bubbles to form in the oven, not whilst sitting on the side!
Frequently Asked Questions
This is a lovely moist cake, and is still delicious 3-4 days after baking, as long as it is stored in an airtight container.
You can, but the texture of the sticky orange layer isn't quite the same as when fresh so I would recommend baking from fresh if you can. If you do need to freeze the cake, you could make it without the orange layer, it would still be delicious.
🍽 If you liked that...
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📖 Recipe
Sticky Vegan Orange Cake
Ingredients
For the orange slices:
- 2 large oranges
- 200 g caster sugar
- 200 ml water
For the cake:
- 250 g self-raising flour
- ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 225 g caster sugar
- 50 g ground almonds
- 2 tablespoon cornflour
- 150 ml rapeseed or sunflower oil
- 200 g dairy-free yoghurt unsweetened
For the orange drizzle syrup:
- 1 large orange
- 75 g icing sugar
Instructions
To make the orange slices:
- Cut the oranges into slices about half a centimetre thick, removing any seeds.
- Bring the sugar and water to a simmer in a large saucepan and add the orange slices. Simmer for 15 minutes, turning occasionally to make sure they are all fully submerged.
- Remove the slices from the syrup and set aside to cool. Discard the syrup.
- Grease a 23cm loose-based cake tin and line the bottom with baking parchment.
- Arrange the orange slices in the tin, starting from the centre and working outwards, overlapping them slightly until all the slices are used up.
To make the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 180C (fan) / 350F / Gas Mark 4.
- In a large bowl combine the flour, bicarbonate of soda, caster sugar, ground almonds and cornflour.
- In a jug, mix the oil and vegan yoghurt, then add the zest of the remaining orange (you will use the juice for the orange syrup).
- Mix the wet ingredients into the dry until completely smooth.
- Pour the batter into the tin over the orange slices, and gently smooth it to the edges of the tin.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until an inserted knife or skewer comes out clean.
To make the orange drizzle syrup:
- In a small jug or bowl mix the juice of the orange with the icing sugar.
- Microwave for 1 minute on full power (or simmer in a saucepan until slightly thickened) then set aside to cool for 5 minutes.
- Use a cocktail stick or skewer to prick the cake all over (whilst it is still in the tin), then spoon over the orange syrup, reserving about 1 tablespoon of syrup.
- When the cake is completely cool, turn it out onto a serving plate. Remove the baking parchment and brush the orange slices with the remaining orange syrup.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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N says
Are you able to use another type of sugar ?
Sue S says
Fabulous! So tasty and no one guessed it was vegan.
Took longer to cook, almost an hour, but worth the wait!
Sabine says
This cake is absolutely amazing! I baked it in a 26 cm pan (instead of 23 cm) and left it in the oven about six minutes less — it came out perfect! Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful recipe.
Sue says
This cake is delicious and has been enjoyed by everyone who has managed to get a slice! I have made it several times and always make it a day ahead. It’s a fabulous dessert for special occasions.
Rupali Taneja says
I’m going to bake it for my husband’s bday. Please suggest alternatives for self raising flour.
Basia says
Just use all purpose flour and mix in a teaspoon of baking powder per 100g (so here 2-2.5 tsp for the 250 of flour) and a 1/4 tsp salt.
shane says
Love this recipe - have made it twice so far and it has been much enjoyed! I could only find natural coconut yoghurt but it didn't result in a moticeably coconutty taste.
B says
As a non-vegan I cooked this for a dinner party due to having vegan guests. I used 175g caster sugar and still found cake a bit sweet but the texture of the oranges and the cake were beautiful! Would definitely make again thank you so much for posting! X
Julie says
I loved the cake when cooked but I tweaked the recipe a little. I tasted the peel after I poached it for the recommended time and thought the skin was a little too hard. I cooked it for a bit longer to soften it. My cake didn’t bake in 30 minutes. I cooked it for a further 20 minutes to get the clean skewer. Overall it was delicious and my guests loved it especially served with Alpro cream x
George says
What can I substitute for self raising flour , as this doesn't exist in my country. Normally I use plain flour and baking powder with bicarb of soda and vinegar? Orange upside down cake fab!
Kathy says
I made the orange cake today and it’s lovely. I’m newly vegan, so I’m tenuously feeling my way with baking . The texture of the mixture was much thicker than expected and almost resembled a soft bread dough. It left the bowl cleanly , so I dashed it into the oven, thinking I’d made an error of some kind , but it was well risen and just as I hoped it would be . I don’t have a loose bottom tin of the correct size , so I used a paper tin liner and it worked perfectly. My family, vegan and none vegan , loved it .., Thankyou
Kate Ford says
This is great to hear, thanks Kathy!
Gigi says
Made this for my sister and it turned out beautifully. It looks so fabulous and tastes delicious. She loved it! Defo one to make again (& make me look like a competent cook!!!).
Kate Ford says
That's great to hear, thanks Gigi!
Naomi Nguyen says
Unfortunately this recipe turned out not so tasty. Very dense and too sweet. The texture was horrendous, mushy. The flavour was off and it tasted too almond-y, corny and just not it.
Kate Ford says
Sorry to hear this Naomi. You'll see from the comments that lots of other readers have really enjoyed this recipe, so sorry it wasn't your cup of tea!
Nina says
Can you eat the or Angel slices on the top of the cake or are they tough me bitter? Thanks for fab recipe…
Kate Ford says
Hi Nina, they are edible - the initial simmering softens them up quite a bit. Enjoy!
sophie wood says
Beautiful cake, recipe simple and easy to follow. Everyone loved it vegans and non vegans alike. Thanks so much!
Kate Ford says
That's lovely to hear, thanks Sophie! X
Christina says
Hi there, I was wondering if this cake can be made with a passionfruit infusion? I had the cobo fusion at a restaurant recently and I was just in heaven!
TIA
Sandra Davies says
I haven't cooked this yet but just wanted to ask that presumably you take the orange off the top of the cake before eating? This will be my first vegan cake so not sure.
Louise says
I took this cake to a dinner party at the weekend and it was a hit. Has a great texture and balance of tart and sweet. Recipe worked perfectly although NB my cake tin is 20cm so I made 1.25x the batter and made two smaller, shallower cakes. Thanks for taking the time to develop and post it. Will definitely make again.
Kate Ford says
That's great to hear, thanks Louise!
Frances says
Can you freeze this please?
Kate Ford says
Hi Frances, have a look at the FAQs above, 'Can I freeze this cake?'. The sticky orange layer doesn't freeze so well so if you do need to freeze it you could make it without the orange layer. Kate
Michelle says
I can't believe how much vibrant orange flavor this cake is infused with!
Ieva says
What a delightful cake! I love how you added almonds to the batter - it really made the cake extra moist! But, of course, the star of the show was the orange with its bitter undernotes! Absolutely loved it!
Kathryn says
This cake was so flavorful and gorgeous! I can't wait to make this again. This was the perfect summer dessert, so glad I tried your recipe!
Toni says
This is seriously AMAZING!! One of the best vegan cake I've tried!
Beth says
Such a pretty-looking orange cake. Loving the glossy top!