The Best Easy Orange Drizzle Cake

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This easy orange drizzle cake is made up of a light and fluffy buttery sponge with lots of orange zest, soaked in orange syrup with a bright orange drizzle to top it all off. It's a fresh and light loaf cake perfect for weekend baking.

You'll also love my lemon drizzle, blueberry lemon drizzle, and chocolate banana loaf.

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⭐️ Why this recipe works
🧾 Ingredients overview
👩🏻‍🍳 Here's how to make it
Soaking syrup
📖 Variations
💡 Chef's Guide: Expert Tips
🍯 Storing and reheating leftovers
❓Recipe FAQ's
The Best Easy Orange Drizzle Cake

⭐️ Why this recipe works

Moist Texture: The combination of butter and vegetable oil ensures the cake stays moist and tender.
Citrus Flavor: Fresh orange zest and juice provide a vibrant and refreshing citrus flavor.
Balanced Sweetness: The soaking syrup adds sweetness without making the cake overly sugary.
Simple Ingredients: Uses common pantry ingredients, making it easy to prepare.
Versatile Icing: The orange icing with a hint of yoghurt adds a creamy finish that complements the cake perfectly.

🧾 Ingredients overview

Aldi ingredients for orange drizzle cake

Butter: Adds richness and moisture to the cake.
Caster Sugar: Provides sweetness and helps to aerate the batter when creamed with butter.
Eggs: Bind the ingredients together and add structure.
Vegetable Oil: Ensures the cake remains moist and soft.
Plain Flour (all-purpose): Forms the base structure of the cake.
Baking Powder: Leavens the cake, making it rise and become fluffy.
Orange Zest: Infuses the batter with a concentrated citrus flavor.
Orange Juice: Adds tanginess and moistness, especially in the soaking syrup.
Icing Sugar: Used in the icing to add sweetness and a smooth texture.
Yoghurt: Adds a slight tang and creaminess to the icing.

For precise measurements and additional ingredients, refer to the recipe card at the bottom of the page.

👩🏻‍🍳 Here's how to make it

Easy Orange Drizzle Cake recipe step-by-step

orange loaf batter with and without the eggs added

*Like all good baking start by preheating the oven and lining your baking tin. It's so important to make sure these things are ready before your start as the chemistry of baking is very precise.

Start by creaming the butter and sugar together until they're light and fluffy. Use a stand mixer or an electric hand whisk. All the recipes on SB are made with an electric hand whisk but if you have a stand mixer then please use it. I just don't have one.
Add in the eggs one at a time whisking after each addition and scraping down the sides as required.

orange drizzle cake batter in a bowl with Aldi ingredients

Once the eggs have been added you should have a very light and fluffy cake batter. If it feels a little bit stiff (this can happen if the eggs are a little small or the butter is a little colder) add in a tablespoon or two of milk. Not much more than that, otherwise the ratio of the batter gets thrown off.
Gently mix in the orange zest with a wooden spoon or spatula. Using the hand whisk at this point will over mix the cake batter. Also at this point, if the batter looks slightly split, don't worry. It comes together once the flour is added.

Orange drizzle cake in the loaf pan before and after baking

Sift the flour and baking powder into the bowl and gently stir to combine. Smooth the batter into the prepared baking tin and bake in the preheated oven.
Once the loaf cake is baked the top with be slightly domed with that crack down the centre. The colour will be a deep golden brown and a toothpick will come out with a few moist crumbs sticking to it.

Soaking syrup

Once the cake is out of the oven and before it has cooled use the toothpick to poke holes in the cake and pour the soaking syrup over. Wrap in plastic wrap for about 2 hours.
The soaking syrup is simply fresh-squeezed orange juice and caster or granulated sugar whisked together in a bowl. No need to heat them to dissolve or anything. Just whisk together, pour over the cake and cover for a few hours while the syrup sinks in and the cake cools.

📖 Variations

Gluten free - you can use a gluten free flour blend. Aldi doesn't sell gluten free flour, but something like Dove's Farm would work.
Citrus - if you find straight up orange drizzle a little too sweet and you love the bite from a lemon drizzle feel free to add some lemon into the mix. Or even try a lemon lime drizzle cake. You can also use tangerines, clementines or satsumas if you like.
Dairy free - you can make this orange drizzle using soft margarine instead of butter if you're dairy free and skip the yogurt in the glaze.

💡 Chef's Guide: Expert Tips

Drawing on a decade of experience in Michelin-starred kitchens and Cordon Bleu training, I have compiled my top tips for recipe success.

Creaming Technique: Cream butter and sugar for at least 3-5 minutes to incorporate air and achieve a light texture.
Prevent Overmixing: Fold in dry ingredients gently to avoid a dense cake.
Glazing Consistency: Adjust the icing consistency by adding more orange juice or icing sugar as needed.

🍯 Storing and reheating leftovers

Fridge: Store the cooled orange drizzle cake in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 8 days.
Freezer: For longer storage, place the cake in a freezer-safe bag or container and freeze for up to 6 months.
Reheat: To refresh the cake, allow it to come to room temperature, or warm individual slices in the microwave for 10-15 seconds.

❓Recipe FAQ's

What if my eggs and butter are cold?

You can warm up eggs by placing them in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes and letting them warm up. Be sure the water isn't too hot.
For the butter, you can gently warm in the microwave on a low setting until it starts to soften and warm up. You can also place a bowl of butter over a pan of warm water. This has the potential to melt the butter so you need to keep an eye on it.

How do I know when this orange drizzle cake is done?

The best way to see if any cake is baked is to use a thermometer. The second best is to look for all the visual clues.
1. The top of the cake looks set and has a golden brown colour.
2. Cake is gently and slightly starting to pull away from the sides of the pan.
3. A toothpick comes out with only a few moist crumbs.

Can I skip the soaking syrup?

You sure can! I like the soaking syrup because it creates a very moist sticky style of cake. But if you prefer a crumb that is more light and tender, then, by all means, skip the syrup.

Looking for other easy baking recipes like this? Try these:

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