Orange Poppyseed Drizzle Cake Loaf

Orange poppyseed drizzle cake loaf is a perfect recipe to feature in-season oranges. It is tart and sweet with a hint of crunch, and is a lovely treat to enjoy at any time of day.

It’s coming towards the end of winter here in SoCal and that means our orange tree is ready to be harvested. Oranges to ripen mid December but, we’ve found leaving them on the tree for an extra couple months means we get sweeter and juicier oranges. This also means we are swimming in oranges, and I’m often pondering what else I can make with them all. In the past we have juiced them to enjoy at breakfast, and we always give a fair share away, but I got to thinking, what about a citrus loaf?

This loaf has it all, it’s sweet, crunchy and satisfyingly zesty. Perfect with a cup of afternoon tea, or to bring along to a friends house or a baby shower. Dress it up with some vanilla ice cream to make it more dessert like or serve it with fresh fruit and eggs at brunch.

Orange Poppyseed Drizzle Cake Loaf Ingredients:

For the cake:

Butter – Butter should be softened to room temperature so it creams nicely in the batter

Sugar – Unrefined cane sugar is our preference, but you can also substitute honey here is a reference for converting sugar to honey in recipes

Flour – all Purpose, preferably unbleached organic, can also use freshly milled hard wheat varieties

Baking powder – make sure its fresh so you get a good rise

Orange zest – use unwaxed oranges, fresher the better. Use a handy zester like this one

Poppyseeds – these will give your cake a satisfying crunch and add floral notes that balance out the tartness of the oranges.

Eggs – large eggs at room temperature, we prefer the rich dark yoke of pasture raised hens.

Pure vanilla extract – lets not mess around with the imitation stuff here shall we? It’s metallic and artificial tasting.

Whole milk – any milk will due here, just make sure its at room temperature

For the drizzle:

Cane sugar – same as above

Orange juice – use the juice of the orange you zested. One half will usually make about 1 tablespoon

How to make Orange Poppyseed Drizzle Cake:

Preheat oven to 350ºF

Grease a standard size loaf pan with butter and line with parchment paper (the parchment paper will help you lift out the loaf at the end without disturbing the drizzle glaze)

Measure all the cake ingredients into a bowl and beat for about 2 minutes until well blended. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and level the top. Thats right, this is a one bowl recipe, no need to mess around with creaming butter and sugar together. If that’s how you roll though, by all means go for it!

Bake in the oven for about 55 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Leave the cake to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before lifting out and placing on a wire rack over a tray.

While your cake is baking, make the drizzle topping. Mix the cane sugar with the orange juice and stir to combine. The consistency of the glaze should be thick but pourable, you don’t want it to be too runny or it will make your cake wet.

Use your toothpick to gently poke holes all over the surface of the cake. These will act as little channels for your topping to run into.

Pour the sugar and orange mixture all over the surface of the warm cake making sure to evenly distribute the liquid, and leave to cool completely.

Slice and serve!

Helpful Hints for Making Loaf Cakes:

• Butter, eggs and milk should be at room temperature
• Use an in oven thermometer to make sure your oven is heating to the correct temperature
• Arrange your oven rack to the middle level PRIOR to preheating your oven.
• Ensure your pan is well greased before pouring your batter in. I speak from experience when I say nothing is more disappointing than chiseling all your hard work out of the pan.
• Use a toothpick to check for doneness of your loaf. If a toothpick inserted into the centre of the loaf comes out with batter on it, it needs more time. Give it another 5-10 minutes than check again.