Simple Orange Cake (Haitian Gateau a L’orange)
The simplest Orange Cake made the Haitian way and with lots of love. A simple cake needs love and healthy ingredients.
A few advice about baking orange cake
I often hear people saying that you can bake a cake with any brand of flour, butter, and sugar. I can’t entirely agree. If you are used to the finest ingredients to create your baked goods, you will notice the difference right away. If you are not used to specific brands, you also see the difference.
Not all brands are the same, and not all ingredients are indeed the same. Take this aromatic cake, for example; if the “proper” ingredients are not added at the right time, the taste will not be the same.
Calling this recipe, the Simple Orange Cake fits the name. Flour, baking powder, sugar, butter, orange juice, orange zest, vanilla extract, and Rum Barbancourt are all you need. And of course an oven! I almost forgot about that one! LOL. Add your love and patience to mix the ingredients, and you have a wonderful and delicious cake.
I used an excellent flour brand, organic sugar, brown eggs, and homemade vanilla extract for this particular recipe. An excellent tip to remember is to use sifted flour. You don’t necessarily have to make it the exact way, but it is worth a try. The taste and texture are slightly different, and the cake is lighter and softer.
Although I have made this several times before, I added extra love to it; it was a huge success when I had a few friends over this past Labor Day!
One particular guest said the cake was very light and not that sweet. I guess adding organic sugar instead of regular sugar made a difference. With men, it is so interesting to see them eat and keep nodding their heads. LOL
I don’t know if it is a Haitian thing, but the guys are not very talkative when eating food they like. All they say is, “it’s good,” “what else can I say? It’s good!” And with a smile, of course! I guess I need to be satisfied with that.
Ingredients you will need to make the Orange Cake
- Unsalted butter: don’t be cheap with this. Use a good butter brand and it must be unsalted. Salted butter will add too much sodium to this cake.
- Eggs: use fresh large eggs.
- Sugar: for most of my baked goods I use organic sugar. I find the taste to be marvelous.
- Sifted flour: I use King Arthur flour and I also sift the flour so the texture is smooth and silky.
- Baking powder: usually found in the baking aisle of your local supermarket, and not specific or preferred brand to use.
- Grated orange peel: it is best to use oranges with thick skin. This way the skin of orange will be easier to grate. Use a grater that is for easier use.
- Orange juice: fresh and also fresh. You can use the juice from the oranges. It contains more flavor and is a healthier option.
- Vanilla extract: because I make my own vanilla extract I save a lot of money; and I love the flavors of homemade vanilla.
- Rum: for this ingredient you can use rum barbancourt if you find it at your favorite liqour store. This is a typical Haitian rum and is also one of the best one to use according to many chefs.
We love our rum in baked goods!
Haitian people love adding their favorite Rum Barbancourt in their desserts because of its smooth taste. Trust me; it makes a huge difference. And I am sure I have said it a few times before, even the several well-known chefs prefer to use it in their cooking.
So try it today, and please feel free to share.
Enjoy!
Simple Orange Cake (Haitian Gateau a L’orange)
Ingredients
- 2 stick unsalted butter
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 3/4 cup sifted flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 tablespoon grated orange peel
- ¾ cup orange juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon rum
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a mixer bowl, whip the butter and sugar to a cream.
- Add the eggs one at a time and missing well after each addition. Add the orange zest, then the sifted flour with the baking powder alternating with the orange juice. Add the vanilla extract and the rum. Mix well and on high speed for about 1 minute.
- Pour the cake batter into a buttered and floured 10 inch pan or 10 inch tin tube. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes or when a cake tester or a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Remove the cake from the oven, and let cool covered with a kitchen towel. Remove from pan, dust with powdered sugar and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used.
Nutrition info is automatically generated and provided as a courtesy and as an estimate only.
I am a novice baker and made this for my Haitian neighbor for a real taste test. 5 star review all around!
I am so glad. Thanks for sharing your opinion with us. Have an awesome day!
I never made this before but I made it for a class project for my daughter and people loved it! I actually made this a few days in advance and kept it in the fridge. It actually tasted better a few days later! This was delicious and my daughter has requested to make it again for our home. Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful recipe!
Oh, I did want to mention I omitted the rum. I don’t think the school would have liked me to put that in there lol. Still tasted amazing!
Hi KC! Thanks so much for your comment. I’m glad you tried the cake and loved it. Next time you make it and want to omit the rum, you can replace it with orange extract. It works great as well.