Upside Down Orange Cake

This Upside Down Orange Cake is a breeze to make in a cast iron skillet, where juicy Valencia oranges caramelize into a glossy, citrusy topping—peel and all! Bright, beautiful, and bursting with flavor, it’s the kind of rustic dessert that feels special without the fuss.

Find more olive oil cake recipes here.

I love summer time. I love the sunshine. I do not enjoy winter time or the very short days we have. When it gets dark at 4pm, my body seems to think it’s time to crawl into bed at 7pm.

The one thing that takes these winter blues away is the knowledge that it is citrus season. The family fruit bowl is filled to the brim with oranges, tangerines and grapefruits. Those happy fruits put a smile on my face and brighten our short days.

I have a weakness for desserts, especially cakes and cookies. I totally go ga-ga for fruity desserts (although chocolate isn’t too far behind). I am still plowing through my endless supply of Valencia oranges from our visit to an orange grove, and an upside down orange cake was calling my name.

Ingredients you need

• Oranges: Orange slices line the bottom of the pan. If you use Valencia oranges you can leave the peel on as it has very little pith (white part), which tastes bitter. If you are using a thick skinned orange, remove the skin and pith from your rounds. The batter also uses orange juice and orange zest, so bring on the oranges!
• Extra virgin olive oil: You should also taste your olive oil alone to make sure it isn’t rancid. Olive oils come in a range of flavor profiles, from pungent to mild. I suggest choosing a mild or buttery olive oil for this cake. I share my tips on how bake with olive oil here.
• Butter: The cake is baked with olive oil, but I use butter for the bottom of the pan to caramelize the brown sugar and orange slices.
• Greek yogurt: I love baking with yogurt because it makes my cakes so tender, fluffy and moist. You can also use sour cream instead.
• Eggs: Large eggs are the standard in baking.
• Pantry staples: Brown sugar (light or dark), granulated sugar, all purpose flour, baking powder, salt.

Step-by-step directions

1. Prepare fruit layer. Melt the butter then stir in brown sugar. Cook until sugar has dissolved then spread mixture evenly across the bottom of the pan. Arrange thinly sliced oranges over the brown sugar into desired pattern and set aside.
2. Combine sugar with wet ingredients. In a large bowl, mix together sugar, yogurt, orange juice, orange zest, olive oil and eggs until combined.
3. Add dry ingredients. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. In batches, mix flour mixture into yogurt mixture and stir until combined.

4. Bake the cake. Pour cake batter evenly over the orange slices in your cast iron pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
5. Invert cake. Allow cake to cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Run a knife along the sides of the cake. Place serving plate over the skillet and flip it over. Keep the skillet on the plate until the cake falls into the plate. Allow cake to cool to room temperature before serving.

Recipe tips and FAQs

Upside down cakes are a great way to showcase fresh fruit in season. I have made many different varieties of upside down cakes, like kumquat upside down cake and grape upside down cake.

All are easy to whip up and bursting with fruit flavor.

I am still plowing through my endless supply of Valencia oranges from our visit to an orange grove. If you want some more orange recipes, try my orange jam (orange marmalade), orange vodka (orangecello) or my pulled pork with orange juice.

Upside Down Orange Cake

Laura Bashar | Family Spice

Looking for an easy citrus dessert? This Upside Down Orange Cake is made right in a cast iron skillet, where Valencia oranges caramelize into a golden, sticky topping. Moist, lightly sweet, and full of fresh orange flavor—it’s the perfect winter-meets-spring treat.

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Additional Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 40 minutes mins

Course Cakes

Cuisine American

Servings 10

Calories 297 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoon light brown sugar packed
• 2 Valencia oranges
• 1 ½ cup all purpose flour
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup thick plain Greek yogurt
• ¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• 2 tablespoon orange zest
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 large eggs

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Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350ºF.
• Using a 9-inch cast iron skillet, heat over medium-high heat and melt butter. When butter is bubbling and just starts to brown, stir in brown sugar.
• Cook until sugar has dissolved into the butter and starts to melt, then remove from heat. Spread sugar mixture evenly across the bottom of the pan.
• Remove pan from heat.
• Thinly slice oranges and arrange orange slices over the brown sugar into desired pattern and set aside.
• In a medium-sized bowl whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
• In a large bowl, mix together sugar, yogurt, orange juice, orange zest, olive oil and eggs until combined.
• In batches, mix flour mixture into yogurt mixture and stir until combined.
• Pour cake batter evenly over the orange slices in your cast iron pan.
• Place cake in the oven and cook for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
• Allow cake to cool for 10 minutes in the pan.
• Run a knife blade along the sides of the cake to insure a clean removal.
• Place serving plate over the cast iron skillet and carefully invert the cake. Keep the skillet on the plate until the cake falls into the plate.
• Remove skillet and allow cake to cool to room temperature, about 1 hour before serving.

Notes

Cooking Tips: Thick Greek yogurt, like the Fage brand, is used in this recipe. If you do can not find thick yogurt, drain your regular yogurt with a cheese cloth or coffee filter until it becomes thick like sour cream.

TO STORE: Because the cake has fruit in it, I prefer to cover it and store it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

TO FREEZE: You can also freeze leftovers. Transfer to a resealable bag or freezer safe container and freeze for up to 4 months.

Nutrition

Serving: 1sliceCalories: 297kcalCarbohydrates: 37gProtein: 5gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 62mgSodium: 128mgFiber: 1gSugar: 20g

Keyword orange cake, upside down orange cake

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Nutrition Disclaimer

Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.

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