Healthy Orange Bundt Cake

Yields: 1 bundt cake, 16 slices

I honestly wasn’t a big fan of orange-flavored cakes until I tried this recipe… And now I’m obsessed! It’s really moist and tender with lots of bright orange flavor, and the sweet drizzle adds the perfect finishing touch. Leftovers will keep for at least three days if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

for the cake
3 ¾ cups (450g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
2 ¼ tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
4 tbsp (32g) orange zest (about 2 gigantic or 3-4 medium)
1 tbsp (14g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
4 large egg whites, room temperature
4 tsp vanilla extract
5 tsp vanilla stevia
¾ cup (180g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
¾ cup (210mL) freshly squeezed orange juice (about 2 gigantic or 3-4 medium))
1 cup (240mL) nonfat milk
for the drizzle
3 tbsp (45g) confectioners’ style erythritol
2 ½ - 2 ¾ tsp freshly squeezed orange juice

Preheat the oven to 350°F, and generously coat a 12-cup bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray or nonstick cooking spray with flour.
To prepare the cake, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Once thoroughly combined, whisk in the orange zest. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, egg whites, vanilla extract, and stevia. Stir in the Greek yogurt, mixing until no large lumps remain. Stir in the orange juice. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 3 equal parts.)
Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 350°F for 50-60 minutes or until the top feels firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring the cake to a wire rack to cool completely.
Once the cake has completely cooled to room temperature and just before serving, prepare the drizzle. Stir together the erythritol and orange juice in a small bowl. Transfer the mixture to a zip-topped plastic bag, cut off a tiny piece of one corner, and drizzle over the cooled cake.

Notes: For the gluten-free flour, use the following: 2 cups (240g) millet flour, 1 cup (120g) tapioca flour, ¾ cup (90g) brown rice flour, and 3 teaspoons xanthan gum. Most store-bought gluten-free flour blends (like this one!) will work as well, if measured like this.

Whole wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour may be substituted in place of the white whole wheat flour. Regular whole wheat flour may be substituted in a pinch, although the cake will be less tender and have a distinct wheat-y flavor.

Use oranges that are purely orange without any green spots. Make sure to use the full amount of zest because that’s what provides the majority of the orange flavor.

The cake requires 4 full egg whites. The whites contain the majority of the protein in eggs, and that protein is required to ensure the cake maintains its shape and texture while cooling. Without all 4 egg whites, the cake will collapse while cooling and turn out much denser.

I do not recommend substituting for the vanilla stevia, if at all possible. (It’s one of my favorite ingredients, and you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!) I buy mine online here because that's the best price I've found. However, if you really prefer to omit the vanilla stevia from the cake, substitute 2 cups (384g) granulated sugar and omit the milk, but the cake will no longer be clean-eating friendly. You may substitute 2 cups (384g) coconut sugar and omit the milk to keep the cake clean eating friendly, but it will be much darker in color. The baking time may vary with either of those substitutions as well. Do not substitute honey, maple syrup, or agave because the cake batter will be much too liquidy with any of those.

Any milk may be substituted in place of the nonfat milk.

Do not use an electric mixer to mix up the batter. This will result in a dense or tough cake. Use a whisk where instructed, and use a fork for everything else.

This is the bundt pan that I use. Make sure you coat your bundt pan really well with cooking spray! With so many nooks and crannies, compared to traditional round or rectangular cake pans, the batter has more chances to stick to the sides, so a generous coating of cooking spray will ensure your bundt cake slides right out of the pan.

This is the confectioners' style erythritol that I use. Regular confectioners’ style (powdered) sugar may be substituted for the confectioners’ style erythritol in the drizzle. Regular powdered sugar is much more absorbent, so start with just 1 teaspoon of orange juice.

For more drizzle (and a sweeter cake!), double the drizzle.

If you have a 6-cup bundt pan, you can make a half-recipe and bake at 350°F for 45-55 minutes instead.

{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low sugar}

Recipe by Amy's Healthy Baking at https://amyshealthybaking.com/blog/2018/04/19/healthy-orange-bundt-cake/