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Cakes & Loaves

Orange Buttermilk Bundt Cake

A bundt cake built entirely around orange: zest rubbed straight into the sugar, buttermilk for a tender crumb, and an orange glaze adding the finishing touches.

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Prep
30 min
Bake
60 - 70 min
Makes
1 bundt cake

Ingredients

For the cake
all-purpose flour390 g
baking powder12 g
fine sea salt2 tsp
granulated sugar300 g
orange zest, finely grated5 tsp
unsalted butter, softened225 g
eggs4 large
buttermilk240 ml
For the orange glaze
powdered sugar150 g
vanilla extract1 tsp
whole milk or heavy cream1 tbsp, plus more to loosen
orange zest, finely grated2 tsp
fine sea saltpinch

Method

01

Heat the oven to 180°C and butter and flour a bundt pan generously, working it into every crevice, then tap out the excess.

02

Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together and set aside.

03

Rub the orange zest into the sugar by hand until fragrant — this releases the oils and does more for the flavour than zest scattered in later.

04

Cream the butter with the orange sugar until light and fluffy, scraping down the bowl as you go.

05

Add the eggs one at a time, beating each in fully before the next.

06

With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk — start and end with flour, and stop the moment it's combined. Overmixing is what makes bundt cakes tough.

07

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and level the top. Bake for 60–70 minutes, until the cake springs back to the touch and a skewer comes out clean.

08

Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack and let it cool completely before glazing.

09

Whisk the powdered sugar, vanilla, milk, orange zest and a pinch of salt together until smooth, loosening with a little more milk if it's too thick to pour.

10

Once the cake is fully cool, drizzle the glaze over the top and let it run down the sides and into the grooves.

Pearl's note

Rub the zest into the sugar with your fingertips rather than just stirring it in — you'll smell the difference before you even taste it.