Orange Mini Cakes (blood orange glaze)
This stunning and easy recipe is perfect for gatherings, baby showers or a small wedding dessert table. You can easily halve it to make a dozen cakes or bake one whole recipe in 1 large 12-cup capacity bundt cake pan.
Servings 24 mini cakes
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 9 ounces unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 cup sour cream 8 ounces, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon orange zest from about ½ orange
- 3 cups sugar
- 6 eggs at room temperature
- 3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour or cake flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup orange juice blood oranges or regular
For the glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180°C).
- Butter or spray 24 mini bundt pans. For other pan sizes, see Notes below.
- With an electric mixer beat soft 9 ounces unsalted butter and 1 cup sour cream until smooth in a large bowl, about 1 minute.
- Add 1 tablespoon orange zest and mix.
- Add 3 cups sugar gradually and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes more.
- Add 6 eggs, one at a time, incorporating well each one before adding the next.
- Mix in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and ¼ cup orange juice.
- Sift 3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour with ¼ teaspoon baking soda and ¼ teaspoon salt and add it to the butter mixture in 2 additions, beating at low speed only until well mixed. Don’t overbeat. You can sift them before or have the ingredients measured and sift them directly over the butter mixture (my choice).
- Pour into the pans, dividing evenly. Use small spoons for this as the molds are small.
- Bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden and a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean. The time will depend on the pans you use.
- Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan on a wire rack, and then unmold.
- Let cool completely on the cooling rack before glazing.
For the glaze:
- Mix 1 cup powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons orange juice until smooth. Pour slowly over the cooled cakes letting it slide to the sides.
Notes
Baking time: consider that all ovens and pans are different, even if they look similar. The baking time in my recipes is as accurate as possible, but it might take you more or less time. You can use a thermometer to check that your oven is at the right temperature. I recommend keeping track of how your oven works and what tiny details you might need to adjust.
Pan sizes: you can also use 12 mini bundt cake pans (bundtlettes), two medium loaf pans, or 1 large bundt cake pan (10-12 cup capacity). You can easily halve the recipe and make half the amount of cakes.
