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.
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Recipe highlights
- So Simple: Upside down cakes are much easier than layered ones—no frosting, no stacking, no stress. Just grab a cast iron skillet and let the oven do the magic.
- Tender Texture: Yogurt gives the vanilla cake a wonderfully tender crumb and keeps it incredibly moist. It’s a dreamy base that pairs beautifully with seasonal fruit.
- Bright Citrus Flavor: Caramelized oranges melt into a sweet, sticky syrup that soaks into the orange-infused cake, making each bite a burst of sunshine.
- Versatile & Lovely: Serve it warm for a dinner party dessert or enjoy a slice with a cozy cup of tea and your favorite book—it’s elegant, yet unfussy.
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
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- 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.
- Combine sugar with wet ingredients. In a large bowl, mix together sugar, yogurt, orange juice, orange zest, olive oil and eggs until combined.
- Add dry ingredients. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. In batches, mix flour mixture into yogurt mixture and stir until combined.
- 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.
- 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.
Storing/Freezing Instructions
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.
This is the trickiest part of baking. You want to start the inverting process about 10 minutes after removing the cake from the oven. The cake should still be warm. Run a knife along the edges of your cake and then flip it over onto a serving dish. Let it sit with the cake pan (or cast iron pan) still attached and do not remove it until the cake falls onto the plate. This can take up to 10 minutes. Tap along the bottom of the pan using a knife handle to help detach the cake.
I personally do not line my cakes pans when baking an upside down cake. I want the butter and brown sugar to caramelized first, which adds color and flavor to the fruit lining the pan. By adding the right proportion of sugar and butter as well as inverting the cake while it is warm helps prevents the cake and fruit from sticking to the pan.
Upside Down Orange Cake
Ingredients
- 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
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
Nutrition
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.
PS If you try this recipe, why not leave a star rating in the recipe card right below and/or a review in the comment section further down the page? I always appreciate your feedback.
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Written by Laura Bashar
Hi, I’m Laura, a certified professional cook and cookbook author living in San Diego. I have been sharing my family’s favorite recipes inspired from all over the world since 2008. Let’s cook up something fun!
awesome!!! i simply cant take my eyes off the pic!! the cake must have been delicious!.. glad i dropped in your blog.. Such beuatiful space you have :)..
please do drop in at my small world of cooking space too and would be glad if you add yourself to my friend list 🙂
http://neetzkitchen.blogspot.com/
Now this is my kind of cake! I wouldn't be able to resist eating the whole thing. Thanks for participating in the YBR 🙂
Both your cake and photos are amazing!!! YUM!
Absolutely stunning – your photos are incredible!
Since we live ib central Florida, and it's the peak of orange season, it's nice to know that they aren't just for juice anymore.
Yum!
Beautiful cake, and beautiful photography!
What a lovely cake! I think I'll have to try this one. Thanks for sharing
Stunning cake! I LOVE orange in baked goods!
Looks delicious! 🙂
What a pretty upside down! Amazing clicks.
Oh wow, this looks amazing…gorgeous cake!
I love extracting the juice of Valencia oranges, among all varieties because I believe they are the juiciest. I am sure the exquisite citrus flavor will be shared with this cake after caramelization. Lovely recipe! Great post!
Omg this cake looks fabulous! I love the orange idea. Will have to try your recipe soon.
What a beautiful cake. That orange is perfectly caramelized and I'm sure taste more than great!