This is an old family recipe and is a favorite at the Holidays!
I wonder if the glaze is supposed to make the top get a little crunchy? That's the only thing I can think of. I have a recipe called "Louisiana Crunch Cake" that is also an orange cake. It has a topping made of 2 TB flour, 3 TB brown sugar, 3 TB confectioners sugar, 1/4 tsp orange extract and 1/4 tsp orange rind. You combine the topping ingredients combine with 3/4 cup of the cake batter and pour into bottom of the Bundt pan and then top with remaining cake batter. That addition might add the crunch to this cake that people are looking for.
Read MoreOne reviewer took a star off because this cake was too boldly orange flavored for her! Quite frankly, I found barely a trace of orange flavor in this cake. I followed the recipe, except that I added a bit of pure orange extract to the syrup and I added orange juice to the batter and doubled the zest. It was wonderfully moist and light but if I was to make it again, I'll add 2 or 3 tbsp orange juice concentrate to the batter, and a touch of lemon juice to the orange juice syrup.
Read MoreI wonder if the glaze is supposed to make the top get a little crunchy? That's the only thing I can think of. I have a recipe called "Louisiana Crunch Cake" that is also an orange cake. It has a topping made of 2 TB flour, 3 TB brown sugar, 3 TB confectioners sugar, 1/4 tsp orange extract and 1/4 tsp orange rind. You combine the topping ingredients combine with 3/4 cup of the cake batter and pour into bottom of the Bundt pan and then top with remaining cake batter. That addition might add the crunch to this cake that people are looking for.
The four star rating is only because this is boldly orange flavored, a bit too much for my liking. For those that might appeal to, then this is definitely a five star cake. Given the ratio of sugar, butter and flour, I doubled the number of eggs which resulted in an incredibly moist cake. Obviously the orange syrup, which soaked into the cake, played a big part in that as well! I thought dried cherries would be a nice complement so I used those instead of the raisins. While the walnuts and raisins (or in my case cherries) are certainly a good fit for this cake, this is one occasion, probably because this cake is SO full of flavor, that I'd prefer this cake without either. Were I to make this again I would also cut the amount of orange zest in half for a more subtle orange flavor. I made this in mini Bundtlette cake pans for individual cakes.
Moist and delicious, but mine didn't really have a "crunch." It seemed done at 50 minutes so I took it out. Added 1 Tb triple sec to the glaze and it was great (highly recommend this). Used 3/4 c vanilla yogurt cuz I didn't have sour cream and added 1/4 cup fresh OJ to the cake. Used dried cranberries and 1/2 c mini choc chips. Poked with toothpick before spooning on glaze. When I turned it out after completely cool, the other side looked rather plain so next time I will make more glaze for the top. I plan on making this one for Christmas!
A great "hearty" orange cake. Family has asked for the recipe. I added half cup of orange juice to the recipe, and doubled the topping recipe for extra crunch.
One reviewer took a star off because this cake was too boldly orange flavored for her! Quite frankly, I found barely a trace of orange flavor in this cake. I followed the recipe, except that I added a bit of pure orange extract to the syrup and I added orange juice to the batter and doubled the zest. It was wonderfully moist and light but if I was to make it again, I'll add 2 or 3 tbsp orange juice concentrate to the batter, and a touch of lemon juice to the orange juice syrup.
This was a pleasant tasting cake. My husband liked it, I thought it was just okay though. It is a good way to use up those oranges in the crisper (juiced of course). Maybe this would be nicer with craisins rather than raisins. I would make this again, with a little adapting of the ingredients.
This cake is the best. It has become my husbands favorite, the only one he requests. The only modification I have made is to soak the raisins in about 3 tablespoons of orange liquer for about 30 minutes. Sometimes I do not use the frosting but just sprinkle with powdered sugar.
My friends and family really enjoyed this and asked for the recipe. I used the orange flavored craisins - it was a hit.
This cake is wonderful, and with the orange glaze is very rich. I heated up the sugar/OJ glaze in the microwave to help dissolve the sugar. I made it with dried cranberries, and used fat free yogurt instead of sour cream. Couldn't have been better.
Not very often I given a 5 rating, but this cake is superb and wouldn't change a thing. Of course we love orange so the amount of zest listed is perfect. Thanks for a lovely addition to my files.
Finding that the raisins I had were stale,I used cranraisins instead. What a hit! My kids loved it. I also left out the walnuts. What I thought was a cake only the grownups would enjoy, more than pleased the kids.
Thank you thank you thank you. What a delicious cake. Moist and so flavorful. This will most definatly be a regular in my house. I made it for my Christmas Eve buffet for my family. I could barely keep from eatting it myself, it smelled delicious. I did change one thing, I took another reviewers advice and used Crainsins instead of raisins. Very festive.
This cake has become a Christmas favorite for my family! It is not too sweet and tastes delicious. This cake is great as a breakfast pastry as well.
A wonderful cake! Following the suggestion of an earlier reviewer, I increased the number of eggs to 3 and substituted craisins for raisins. I also used a little less sugar than specified and the cake was more than sufficiently sweet. An across the board hit.
Pretty good...Make sure you wait until the cake is mostly cooled before adding the glaze. I added in dried cranberries, too.
This cake is very tasty and so easy to make. My husband loved it and my children liked the orange glaze on it. A good cake for bake sales and any holiday in the year!!! Ann,TN
This cake is delicious. I omitted the icing, and orange rind. Very nice texture, not too sweet, just perfect!
The name is misleading... there is NOT a crunch to the cake, but the topping does make for a nice texture to the outside. I made this for an office gift exchange which of course means it is shared among the group. I got lots of "wonderful" comments. We decided it is the prefect dessert to have with tea and coffee. FYI... not a moist cake which why it makes a good partner for tea and coffee.
awesome! took the advice of one other cook with adding a topping, tasted great! i do not know what the others are talking abt... in regards to the crunch but my glaze added the crunch along with the nuts. used cranberries instead of the raisins. thank you . a true keeper
I'm not sure if I can rate this recipe fairly because I made a LOT of changes before I ever started. I'm a professional cake baker and I saw some problems with this recipe from the beginning; I could tell it might come out a bit dry and with not enough orange flavor. I replaced the sour cream with buttermilk (about 3/4 the amount called for) and a few tablespoons of vegetable oil. I also added half an extra egg and half a cup of orange juice. I used half white sugar and half brown sugar as well. As for the glaze, it definitely needed a lot more sugar in order to reach that "crunch" consistency it was intended to. I also added about a half a teaspoon of vanilla in order to cut the direct acidity. I didn't use any raisins or walnuts because I simply don't like them. All in all, with the changes - I acutally came out with a REALLY nice moist, flavorful cake with prominent orange flavor. This cake would be great if you used a little pineapple juice with the orange, and maybe sprinkled some shredded toasted coconut onto the glaze while it's still wet.
I made the recipe as written except substituted craisins for raisins as that is what I had available and used fresh squeezed orange juice instead of pre-made juice from the store since the type of juice wasn't specified in recipe. Wonderful orange flavor and moist. My whole family liked this and has asked for more! This recipe makes 5 mini loaves.
Everyone LOVED this cake! I used cranberries instead of raisins because it sounded like a better match (I think it was) and excluded the walnuts because I don't like walnuts. And I excluded the icing as well because I consider it needless sugar. It was moist and delicious!! I will definitely make this again!
This cake was very good- Along with the vanilla I added a touch of orange extract.The crunch topping wasnt as crunchy as i would have liked but still very good-will make again.
Everyone loved it! I cooked it in a tray of 6 small bundt cakes - I only had to cook them for 40-45mins. I made a few substitutions - like plain no fat, gelatin free yogurt instead of sour cream just for a healthier option. The next time I made it as a large cake and I added citron peel to it. Soooo good! highly recommend that ingredient. Also, I made an oopsy with my baking soda and baking powder, and even putting the wrong one in, it still amazing!
