Simple Orange Poppy Seed Cake
This tender cake is bursting with bright sunshiny flavor! It’s a wonderful dessert to serve to company, and it’s basically healthy enough for breakfast too. Leftovers will keep for at least four days if stored in an airtight container or tightly wrapped in plastic wrap in the refrigerator.
Ingredients
FOR THE CAKE
- 2 cups (240g) whole wheat pastry flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 3 tbsp (8g) orange zest (about 1 extra large orange – and see Notes!)
- 1 ½ tbsp (13g) poppy seeds
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp (14g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
- 2 large egg whites, room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup (80g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- ⅓ cup (80mL) honey
- ¼ cup (60mL) freshly squeezed orange juice
- ¼ cup (60mL) nonfat milk
FOR THE DRIZZLE (OPTIONAL)
- 10 tsp confectioners’ style erythritol
- 2 tsp nonfat milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and coat a 9”-round springform pan with nonstick cooking spray. Alternatively, line a standard 9”-round cake pan with foil, and coat with nonstick cooking spray.
- To prepare the cake, whisk together the flour, orange zest, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, egg whites, and vanilla. Stir in the Greek yogurt, mixing until no large lumps remain. Stir in the honey and 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 21-24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the center feels firm to the touch. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Just before serving, prepare the drizzle by stirring together the erythritol and milk in a small bowl. Transfer the glaze to a zip-topped bag, cut off a tiny corner, and drizzle on top of the individual slices of cake.
Notes
IMPORTANT MEASURING NOTES – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: It's very important to measure the flour correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That's the one I own!) Too much flour will make your cake dry, rather than moist and tender.
Do not use a kitchen scale to measure the ingredients with amounts given in mL (ie orange juice, honey, or milk). Use measuring cups instead.
IMPORTANT SPRINGFORM PAN NOTES – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: I prefer using a 9"-round springform pan because (a) its sides are removable, so you don't have to invert the pan to get the cake out, and (b) it has taller sides, which can help your cake rise more evenly.
If you do not have a springform pan, use a regular 9”-round cake pan instead, and line the inside with foil before coating with cooking spray. After letting the cake cool for 10 minutes, carefully lift the cake out of the pan by holding onto the foil, and transfer it to a wire rack to let it cool completely.
IMPORTANT FLAVOR NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: As written, this cake isn’t very sweet — closer to that of a snack or breakfast-style cake. For a sweeter dessert, serve with additional drizzle or vanilla ice cream. Alternatively, substitute additional honey for an equal amount of milk (ie use ⅓ cup + 2 tablespoons of honey, and reduce the milk to 2 tablespoons).
IMPORTANT ORANGE NOTES – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: For the best flavor, use oranges that are pure orange with no green spots. Measure the orange juice with measuring cups, and measure the zest with a kitchen scale or measuring spoons. Do not measure by "1 very large" orange. Not all "very large" oranges are the exact same size!
FLOUR ALTERNATIVES: White whole wheat flour, regular whole wheat flour, and all-purpose flour may all be substituted in place of the whole wheat pastry flour. If using regular whole wheat flour, the cake will have a slightly denser texture.
POPPY SEEDS NOTES: If you're not a fan of poppy seeds, you can easily omit them! Do not substitute chia seeds for the poppy seeds. Chia seeds are much more absorbent and would dry out the cake.
HONEY ALTERNATIVES: Agave may be substituted in place of the honey. Alternatively, ⅓ cup (71g) brown sugar plus an additional 3 tablespoons (45mL) of milk may be substituted instead. Pure maple syrup will produce the same cake texture, but its flavor can sometimes overwhelm the bright citrus taste.
MILK ALTERNATIVES: Any milk may be substituted for the nonfat milk.
ERYTHRITOL ALTERNATIVE: Regular powdered sugar (confectioners' style sugar) may be substituted for the confectioners’ style erythritol. If using regular powdered sugar, start with ½ teaspoon of milk because it's less absorbent than erythritol.
GLUTEN FREE OPTION: For the gluten free flour blend, use the following blend: 1 cup (120g) millet flour, ½ cup (60g) tapioca flour, ½ cup (60g) brown rice flour, and 1 ½ teaspoons xanthan gum. Other store-bought gluten free flour blends (I like this one from Bob's Red Mill) should also work, if measured like this.
HOW TO STORE: Leftover cake will keep for at least four days (if not longer!) if stored in an airtight container or tightly wrapped in plastic wrap in the refrigerator.
{gluten free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie}
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?I'd love to hear what you think of it in a comment below! If you take a picture, tag @amys.healthy.baking on Instagram or use the hashtag #amyshealthybaking.