An easy, high altitude recipe for a simple and moist orange poppy seed loaf cake. This orange cake is flavored with fresh orange zest and nutty poppy seeds in the cake batter and drizzled with sweet orange icing.
You might also like these high altitude loaf cake recipes for blueberry lemon loaf cake, chocolate chip sour cream loaf cake, chocolate loaf cake, and cardamom almond loaf cake.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Easy to Make. You don’t need a mixer for today’s recipe, just a bowl and whisk.
Fresh Orange Flavor. I didn’t use any orange extract in my orange poppy seed cake, just fresh orange zest and juice from navel oranges.
High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
- Sugar. Granulated sugar adds sweetness and moisture to the cake.
- Orange Zest. By rubbing fresh orange zest into the sugar, you can add more orange flavor to the cake than if you simply mixed the zest into the batter.
- Cake Flour. Gives the cake structure and a soft, fluffy texture.
- Baking Powder. Leavening agent, so the cake rises as it bakes.
- Salt. Balances the sweetness and enhances the flavors.
- Poppy Seeds. Adds pretty black specks in the cake and a nutty flavor to complement the orange.
- Eggs. Add richness, moisture and strength.
- Whole Milk + Butter. Moisture and richness.
- Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
- Powdered Sugar. Sweetens and thickens the icing.
- Orange Juice. Thins the icing to a drizzly consistency.
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 325 F. Line a standard sized loaf pan with a sheet of non-stick baking paper or parchment paper, so that the paper hangs over two sides. The paper serves as a “sling”, making it easy to lift the cake out of the pan. Lightly spray with non-stick baking spray.
- In a bowl, zest the orange over the sugar, then use your fingers to rub the zest into the sugar until moist and fragrant.
- Add the flour, baking powder, salt and poppy seeds and whisk everything together until evenly distributed.
- Add the eggs, milk, melted butter and vanilla, and whisk for about 15 seconds, until smooth.
- Pour the batter into the pan. Bake the cake on the center oven rack for about 37-40 minutes, until a cake tester or sharp knife comes out clean. The top of the cake should be domed, golden brown and cracked down the middle.
- Cool the cake in the pan for 20 minutes, then gently lift the cake out (using the paper) and set on a cooling rack. Cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel, and cool completely for several hours before drizzling with icing.
Icing
- When the cake is cool, set it on a serving plate.
- In a bowl, whisk together all of the icing ingredients until smooth. It will be thick, but drizzly, and should be thicker than you think it should be, or it will just run off the cake.
- Spoon the icing over the cake, letting it cover the top and drip over the sides. The icing will set in about 15-20 minutes.
- Note: If you like less icing, or want it thinner and less opaque, make half the icing recipe and increase the milk slightly.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use any type of oranges?
I used navel oranges, but you could use other varieties, such as blood oranges, cara cara oranges or even tangelos.
Will this recipe work as an orange bundt cake instead?
Yes, you can double this recipe and bake your orange poppy seed loaf cake in a 12-cup bundt pan.
What loaf pan did you use?
I used the USA 1-lb Bread Loaf Pan.
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High Altitude Orange Poppy Seed Loaf Cake
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Standard-Sized Loaf Pan (9×5 inches)
Ingredients
Cake
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- fresh zest of 1 navel orange
- 1 ½ cups + 2 tbsp cake flour, fluffed, spooned, leveled and sifted
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 tbsp poppy seeds
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- ¾ cup whole milk
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Icing
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 2 ½ tbsp orange juice (you can juice the same navel orange that you used for the zest)
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 325 F. Line a standard sized loaf pan with a sheet of non-stick baking paper or parchment paper, so that the paper hangs over two sides. The paper serves as a "sling", making it easy to lift the cake out of the pan. Lightly spray with non-stick baking spray.
- In a bowl, zest the orange over the sugar, then use your fingers to rub the zest into the sugar until moist and fragrant.
- Add the flour, baking powder, salt and poppy seeds and whisk everything together until evenly distributed.
- Add the eggs, milk, melted butter and vanilla, and whisk for about 15 seconds, until smooth.
- Pour the batter into the pan. Bake the cake on the center oven rack for about 37-40 minutes, until a cake tester or sharp knife comes out clean. The top of the cake should be domed, golden brown and cracked down the middle.
- Cool the cake in the pan for 20 minutes, then gently lift the cake out (using the paper) and set on a cooling rack. Cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel, and cool completely for several hours before drizzling with icing.
Icing
- When the cake is cool, set it on a serving plate.
- In a bowl, whisk together all of the icing ingredients until smooth. It will be thick, but drizzly, and should be thicker than you think it should be, or it will just run off the cake.
- Spoon the icing over the cake, letting it cover the top and drip over the sides. The icing will set in about 15-20 minutes.
- Note: If you like less icing, or want it thinner and less opaque, make half the icing recipe and increase the milk slightly.
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