Orange Upside Down Cake

Switch up your dessert routine with this Orange Upside Down Cake, a sunny, citrusy spin on the traditional pineapple favorite. This cake recipe is a breeze to bake, bringing a bright splash of orange to your table with a refreshing taste!

Course Dessert

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 45

Servings slices

Calories 259kcal

Author Pina Bresciani

Ingredients

For the upside down topping:

1 orange (approx) seedless
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
½ tablespoon granulated sugar

For the cake

200 grams whole seedless orange approximately 1 orange
2 eggs
¾ cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 cup + 2 tbsp all purpose flour
1.5 teaspoon baking powder
¼ cup unsalted butter softened
⅓ cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Prepare the upside down topping

Prepare a 9 inch springform pan by lining it with parchment paper. Grease the parchment paper with butter, and sprinkle with sugar.
With the skin still on, slice the orange in ¼ inch slices. Use a paring knife to carefully remove the skin from the citrus slices (like cutting off the outer ring). Doing it this way will ensure your orange slices stay intact and does not break apart when slicing them.
Line the prepared pan with the orange slices. Set aside.

Make the cake batter

Preheat the oven to 350F.
Cut the orange into pieces. In a food processor, process the whole orange (with skin) until almost pureed. Set aside.
Place the sugar and eggs in a large bowl and beat with a mixer until light and fluffy.
Add the baking powder to the bowl, along with half the flour. Continue mixing, then add in the rest of the flour.
Add in the softened butter and mix until completely blended.
Add the yogurt, pureed orange, and vanilla extract to the bowl. Mix one more time.
Pour the batter over the oranges.
Bake the cake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Allow the cake to cool completely. When ready to serve, flip upside down to turn out the cake onto a large plate. Peel the parchment paper away from the oranges and serve!

Video

Notes

- For the batter, it is best to weigh the oranges if you have a kitchen scale to ensure the texture of the cake comes out correctly.
- The juice of the sliced oranges may leak out of the springform pan when baking so it may be a good idea to wrap the bottom of the pan in foil, or place the pan on a baking sheet so the juice doesn't drip in the oven

- When preparing the orange slices for the topping, slice them evenly so they cook at the same rate and caramelize uniformly.

- Use room temperature ingredients, especially eggs and butter, to ensure they blend smoothly into the batter without clumping.

- Grease the sides of the pan well, but not the bottom where the sugar and orange will go, to allow for the best caramelization.

- Check the cake at the lower end of the suggested baking time to prevent over-baking, as oven temperatures can vary.

- Let the cake cool for about 10 minutes in the pan before flipping it; this lets the caramel set slightly and prevents the topping from running.

- Use a springform pan to make flipping the cake easier and to maintain the integrity of the caramelized orange topping.

- When pureeing the orange for the cake batter, remove any seeds first to avoid bitterness in your cake.

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