Easy Orange Poppy Seed Bundt Cake
This Easy Orange Poppy Seed Bundt Cake is so tender and moist. Topped with an orange marmalade glaze, it makes the perfect weeknight dessert, afternoon snack, or addition to any potluck gathering.
If you’ve read our blog for any length of time you know that we love our cakes. From sheet cakes to layer cakes, icebox cakes, and everything in between, we’re all about living that cake life. Sometimes, it’s fun to make a triple-layer cake, but sometimes, you just want something that comes together quickly and is ready in a flash. That’s what you get with this delicious cake. That’s why it’s one of our favorites for cake in a pinch, and once you try it, we know it’ll be yours, too.
Orange Poppy Seed Bundt Cake
This delicious bundt cake recipe is one of the easiest you’ll ever make. From the cake itself to the marmalade glaze, the ingredients are simple as is the process. However, there’s nothing simple about the flavors in this delicious cake. This tender, moist cake is full of zesty orange and earthy poppy seed flavors along with the extra tender texture that you can only get when baking with sour cream. Every bite is an explosion of sweet citrus, and it is always welcomed wholeheartedly by everyone.
Ingredients
It only takes simple ingredients to make both the cake and the glaze. They’re all basic baking staples, so you most likely have almost all of the ingredients in your kitchen right now. The ones you don’t are easily found at your local grocery store.
For the Cake
- Bread flour
- Cake flour
- Sugar
- Egg yolks
- Egg whites
- Butter – room temperature
- Sour cream
- Poppy seeds
- Orange zest
- Vanilla extract
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Cream of tartar
- Nonstick spray (for the pan)
For the Orange Marmalade Glaze
- Orange marmalade
- Sugar
- Water
**See the recipe card at the end of the post for amounts.
Supplies
You’ll only need a few basic pieces of kitchen equipment to make this super easy recipe.
- Large bowl
- Medium bowl
- Zester
- Mixer (hand or stand)
- Bundt pan (10″), tube pan (10″), or large muffin pan
- Small sauce pot
- Sifter
Orange Poppy Seed Bundt Cake Instructions
Although there are several moving parts to this recipe, when you break it down into steps, it’s actually an incredibly easy recipe to make.
Step 1: Prep
Set out your butter to soften and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Measure out all of your ingredients. Spray your pan with nonstick spray and coat it with flour to prevent sticking.
Step 2: Combine the Dry Ingredients
Sift the bread flour, cake flour, baking powder, and baking soda together in a large bowl. Then, add the orange zest and poppy seeds to the flour mixture.
Step 3: Combine the Wet Ingredients
In a medium bowl, cream the butter and 3/4 cups of sugar. Separate the eggs and add the egg yolks to the butter and sugar mixture. Then, add the vanilla extract and mix thoroughly.
Step 4: Combine the Wet and Dry Ingredients
Combine the butter mixture with half of the flour mixture until thoroughly blended. Then, stir in the sour cream. Finally, blend in the remaining flour.
Step 5: Make the Meringue
Using a stand or hand mixer, whip the egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar on high until foamy. Then, slowly whip in the remaining sugar until stiff peaks form.
Step 6: Add Meringue to the Batter
Gently fold the meringue into the cake batter, making sure not to overmix.
Step 7: Bake
Spread the cake batter evenly around your bundt pan. Then, bake for 40 minutes or until the cake taster comes out clean.
*If you’re making muffins, prepare the muffin pans in the same way that you would the cake pan and bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes or until the cake tester comes out clean.
Step 8: Cool Completely
Allow the pan to sit on a cooling rack until it’s completely cooled. Then, run a knife gently around the edges of the pan, turn it upside down just over the cooling rack, and give the pan a hard shake to pop the cake out.
Step 9: Make the Orange Marmalade Glaze
In a small saucepot, combine the orange marmalade, water, and sugar. Then, bring it to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reduces by half.
Step 10: Complete the Cake
Remove the pan from the heat and spoon over the cake immediately.
Hint: Use a spatula to fold the meringue into the cake batter to avoid overmixing.
Orange Poppy Seed Bundt Cake Storage
You can store this cake in a covered container on the counter for about 5 days. For longer storage, you can freeze it for up to 3 months. Cut the cake into individual slices and wrap each one tightly in a double layer of plastic wrap. Then place them in an air-tight, freezer-safe container or heavy-duty freezer bag.
Tips
This cake has a few steps, but in general, it’s a very easy recipe. However, there are some tips that will ensure you make the absolute best orange poppy seed bundt cake possible.
Fully Softened Butter – Be sure your butter is fully softened to get the right texture when creaming it with the sugar.
Fold in the Meringue – When adding the meringue to the batter, fold it in with a spatula. Don’t stir. You want to hold on to as much of that airy texture as possible.
Don’t Skip the Flouring – When preparing your pan, don’t just hit it with nonstick spray and call it good. The flour is vital to ensuring that your cake won’t stick, especially in bundt cake pan.
PIN IT!!
More Bundt Cake Recipes
If you love bundt cakes, then we’ve got you covered. We think you’ll enjoy these cakes.
Three Ingredient Chocolate Bundt Cake
Chocolate Cream Cheese Swirl Bundt Cake
Orange Poppy Seed Bundt Cake FAQ
If you have questions about this orange poppy seed bundt cake, then we have answers. The following FAQ addresses the most commonly asked questions about this cake.
Why did my cake stick to the pan?
You probably didn’t thoroughly coat it with flour after spraying it with the nonstick spray. Bundt cake pans are notorious for holding on to the cake. Cover every nook and cranny of your pan with spray and flour.
Can eating poppy seeds make you test positive on a drug test?
Unfortunately, yes. Be sure you don’t eat this cake or anything else with poppy seeds if you have an upcoming drug test. Yet we eat them all the time in this cake on on our everything bagels! But we aren’t drug tested thankfully!
Do you have to wash poppy seeds?
Yes. Soak your poppy seeds for about 30 minutes to make the hard outer shell easier to digest and then rinse them to ensure all debris, dirt, and other nasty stuff is removed.
Why won’t my glaze stick to my cake?
If your cake is hot, the glaze will simply run off of it. Completely cool your cake so the glaze sticks.
Try This Orange Poppy Seed Bundt Cake
This delicious orange poppy seed bundt cake is super moist and tender, and it’s loaded with the flavors of orange and poppy seed. This cake tastes like a labor of love, but you’ll actually be in and out of the kitchen relatively quickly for a homemade cake. Give it a try, and we know you’ll love it as much as we do!
MORE RECIPES YOU WILL LOVE:
Baileys Strawberries and Cream Cheesecake
Cappuccino Chocolate Chip Bread
Bourbon Buttercream Sugar Cookies
Double Crumble Apple Crisp
Copycat DoubleTree Chocolate Chip Cookies
Easy Orange Poppy Seed Bundt Cake
Equipment
- large bowl
- medium bowl
- zester
- mixer (hand or standing)
- bundt pan (10”), tube pan (10”)
- small sauce pot
- sifter
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 1 1⁄4 cup bread flour
- 1 cup cake flour
- 1 1⁄2 cup sugar
- 5 egg yolks
- 6 egg whites
- 2 sticks butter, room temperature
- 6 oz. sour cream
- 2.5 oz. poppy seeds
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3⁄4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
- 1⁄4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- Spray oil (Pam)
For the Orange Marmalade Glaze:
- 1 cup orange marmalade
- 1⁄4 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup water
Instructions
Cake Instructions:
- Set the oven to 350°.
- Prepare a baking pan by spraying with oil and sprinkling flour to help prevent sticking.
- Sift together the bread flour, cake flour, baking powder and baking soda into a large bowl. Zest orange and add to bowl of flour. Add poppy seeds to the bowl.
- In a medium bowl, cream the butter and 3⁄4 cups of the sugar together.
- Separate eggs and add egg yolks to the butter and sugar mixture. Add vanilla extract. Mix thoroughly.
- Combine the butter mixture with half of the flour mixture until thoroughly blended. Stir in the sour cream. Blend in the remaining flour mixture.
- Using and stand or hand mixer, whip the egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar on high until a foam is created. Slowly whip in remaining sugar until stiff peaks form.
- Gently fold the egg white mixture into the cake batter. Do not over mix.
- Spread the cake batter evenly around the cake pan. Bake for 40 minutes or until the cake tester comes out clean.
- Allow the pan to sit out until completely cooled on a cooling rack. Use a knife gently run around the edges of the pan. Turn upside down just over the cooling rack and give it a hard shake to pop the cake out.
Orange Marmalade Glaze Instructions:
- In a small sauce pot, combine orange marmalade, water, and sugar.
- Bring to a boil, stirring continually. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to stir occasionally as the mixture reduces by half.
- Remove the pan from heat and spoon or brush over the cake.
- Top the cake with orange marmalade glaze. *I did not turn the bundt upside down as the top was so much nicer looking. There's no rules here 🙂
