Did you hear? Orange zest and almond extract planned a party with a gluten-free cake, and you’re all invited. Buckle up! We’ll drive.
This perfectly sweet and moist cake is gluten-free PERFECTION and is sure to steal the show at your next brunch or gathering. Plus, just 10 ingredients and 1 bowl required. Let us show you how it’s done!
To start this lovely loaf, cane sugar combines with orange zest for BIG, zesty flavor. Next come the liquid ingredients — eggs for a perfectly fluffy yet moist result, orange juice for sweet orange flavor, and olive oil for richness. A splash of almond extract joins the party, but you can invite vanilla instead if you prefer.
Next the batter comes together with a combination of gluten-free flours for the perfect crumb texture: almond flour, potato starch, and brown rice flour. Finally, the addition of baking powder and salt ensure a fluffy loaf with balanced flavor!
After transferring the batter to its pan, a delicate (but optional) sprinkle of sugar adds a sparkly sweet touch to the final loaf.
After baking, the last (and hardest) step is to let it cool before slicing and sharing (if you have to).
We hope you LOVE this orange almond cake! It’s:
Tender
Moist
Aromatic
Perfectly sweet
& Undetectably gluten-free!
It pairs especially well with a cup of tea or some dairy-free milk. Enjoy for brunch, gatherings, as a sweet weekend treat, or to add brightness to gloomy winter days!
More Zesty Orange Recipes
- Gluten-Free Cranberry Orange Muffins (Vegan)
- Orange Cardamom Energy Bites (No-Bake!)
- Healthy Fig Newtons (GF)
- Whole Wheat Griddle Cakes with Blueberry Orange Compote
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo @minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!
Gluten-Free Orange Almond Loaf Cake
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup organic cane sugar (plus more for garnish)
- 2-3 Tbsp orange zest (~2 large oranges zested)
- 2 large eggs* (preferably pasture-raised, organic when possible // see notes if vegan)
- 1/3 cup orange juice, pulp free (~2 large oranges juiced)
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/4 tsp almond extract (or sub vanilla extract if you aren’t a fan of almond!)
- 2 cups almond flour (we like Wellbee's)
- 3/4 cup potato starch (or sub GF blend*)
- 1/3 cup brown rice flour (or sub GF blend*)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (162 C), and line a standard size loaf pan with parchment paper.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar and orange zest until well combined and fragrant. Add the eggs and whisk until well combined. Then add the orange juice, olive oil, and almond extract and whisk until smooth.
- Add the almond flour, potato starch, brown rice flour, baking powder, and salt and whisk to combine and break up any lumps of flour. The batter should be semi-thick but pourable.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan, spread it out evenly with a spatula, and top with a sprinkle of cane sugar for a sparkly sweet touch (optional).
- Bake for 55-65 minutes, or until the top is lightly golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then carefully lift from the pan with the parchment paper and let cool completely on a wire rack — about 1 hour. Once the cake is completely cooled, gently remove the parchment paper.
- Enjoy immediately with a cup of tea or some dairy-free milk! Store leftovers covered at room temperature for up to 2-3 days (we find it best within the first 1-2 days). Cake can be frozen for up to 1 month. Let thaw before slicing.
Video
Notes
*In place of eggs, you can sub flax eggs, but we tested many variations and strongly preferred eggs in this recipe. With flax eggs, it will be a little grainy and not as flavorful, and the texture will be very crumbly (best eaten on a plate with a fork vs. being handheld).
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate.
*Prep time includes cooling.
Alicia says
Just made this right now and it is very good! I didn’t have potato starch so I used half corn starch half arrowroot starch. I had mixed my sorghum flour with brown rice flour equal parts and didn’t feel like opening another package so I used that. I added in a teaspoon vanilla even though I also used the almond extract. It’s a small amount and not overpowering at all which I like. Of course, as I made this with my toddler, we also made an icing with 1 cup powdered sugar, 4 tsp orange juice, and a few drops orange extract. Toddler approves!
Yay! We’re so glad it’s toddler approved :) Thank you for sharing, Alicia! xo
Mindy says
Hello! This was the perfect recipe to use as a replacement for the cake part for strawberry 🍓 shortcake! I also swapped out the fresh orange zest for dried orange zest and did a tablespoon of dried orange zest to replace 3 tablespoons of fresh zest.
Sounds delicious, Mindy! Thanks so much for sharing. xo
Emma says
I’m not GF and didn’t have potato starch or brown rice flour. Just wanted to use what I already had on hand, so I subbed with 3/4 C whole wheat pastry flour and 1/3 C glutinous rice flour. I was curious how the texture would turn out, and was pleasantly surprised! It was moist, slice-able, just the right density, and couldn’t even detect a whole wheat flavor. I think the glutinous rice flour gave it a bit of “bounce” as well. Great recipe!
We’re so glad it was a success, Emma. Thank you for the lovely review and for sharing your modifications! xo
Natali says
A favorite in my family! I have made it several times but i sub the potato starch for tapioca and i have experimented with it by adding some curcuma powder and cardamom powder into the mix. It turned out even more aromatic and interesting! Next time i plan to also add some ginger powder.
Sounds lovely! We’re so glad you and your family enjoy it! Thanks so much for sharing, Natali!
Nancy says
I was already in love with that loaf cake, but tried it tonight with grapefruit instead of orange, and I totally had a blast!
Added with a orange blossom water frosting on the top, and you got some incredible cake to present!
That sounds incredible, Nancy! Thank you for sharing! xo
garry says
Made an orange sauce with a Cointreau base and served with vanilla ice cream as a desert very yummy
Wow, sounds incredible! Thank you for sharing, Garry!
Jane R. says
First of all, I love your recipes and this one definitely included. Delicious! I used maple syrup instead of the sugar and it turned out fine.
Secondly, can you consider a coconut loaf cake (gf and vegan) please?
We’re so glad you enjoy our recipes, Jane! We’ll add it to the idea list! xo
Marn says
I didn’t have cane sugar, so I subbed in granulated sugar. This was very tasty and got raves from the friends we had over for tea. Definitely going into my keeper file. Thank you!
We’re so glad to hear it, Marn! Thank you for the lovely review! xo
Blythe says
Really delicious flavor, very easy to make. Doubled the almond extract and added some oat milk to thin the batter but otherwise followed as written. Will definitely make again
Great! Thank you for sharing, Blythe!
shlomit says
um this cake is SO GOOD. First time around added craisins with the orange zest (I found 2 TBSP oj zest to be a bit too much for my taste though)
I followed the advice of other reviews and replaced the eggs with the Bob Mills egg replacer.
Second time around I swapped the OJ out for almond milk and added 2 tbsp more of sugar, plus oat milk chocolate chips, and doubled the amount of almond extract.
The consistency is soft, moist, rich, and super yummy with a cup of tea.
I used corn starch bc it was all I had and it still worked! Also split the almond flour and brown rice flour evenly
Yum! Thanks so much for the great review and for sharing your modifications!
Nancy Moll says
Very good and will make again. Will add more almond flavor and maybe oj glaze on top. Was a tad dry, but I subbed white rice flour for brown…maybe that made it a little dry. Will try again soon.
Hi Nancy, white rice flour and brown rice flour typically have different results, so that could cause some dryness. Thanks for the great review!
Karen R. says
This was so delicious that we made it 3 times in one week! We needed to pick the last of our blood oranges and they were perfect for this recipe. The moistness varied from cake to cake and I thought perhaps the size of the eggs could have made the difference. Either way we sliced it, it was a hit!! Thanks for another delicious recipe!
Woohoo! Thanks so much for the lovely review, Karen. We’re so glad you’ve enjoyed this loaf so much!
Jen says
Made this the other night. I only had 1/3 cup of potato starch so used corn starch for the rest. Its a hit with everyone and super easy to make. I might try an orange glaze next time to make it a little more fancy but it really doesn’t NEED it, its yummy the way it is.
Yay! Thanks so much for the review, Jen. So glad everyone enjoyed!
Jayee says
I LOVE THIS SO MUCH!! THANK YOU!!!
YAY! Thanks so much, Jayee!
Afroditi Manakou says
Interesting recipe, it’s quite sweet though I’d make some changes to get more the orange flavor!
Thanks for sharing, Afroditi!
Tina says
I made this recipe last night and all I can say is WOW! Such a lovely treat. I didn’t have any rice flour, but I did have King Authur’s gluten free flour blend and used that in place of the potato starch and the brown rice flour. It is a lot more dense, but still delicious. The orange flavor really pops! However, I think in the future, I’ll use more almond flavoring. With just 1/4 teaspoon, I’m not tasting the almond as much as I’d like. Love these simple and delicious recipes. Thank you!
Yay! Thanks so much for the great review and for sharing your modifications, Tina!
Linsey says
I followed the recipe exactly, but this just was a miss for me. The texture was dense but suuuuuuper crumbly, and somehow both moist AND dry?? I think the dense-ness lended to the moist feel but the crumbly-ness lended to the dry feel. It sounds weird but I didn’t like how it felt in my mouth.
The flavor was good but I could’ve gone for a deeper orange flavor (I used two oranges worth of zest and measured out the OJ from regular orange juice). I liked it better cold the next day after being in the fridge overnight compared to room temp after cooling.
Overall I didn’t hate it but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I would want to when eating a dessert type bread.
Sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy this loaf cake, Linsey. Was either your almond flour or brown rice flour “super fine”? We have found that super fine flours are more absorbent and can make things more crumbly, so we’re just curious. Thanks for sharing your honest feedback!
Kat says
A couple things you could try that might help is letting your batter rest for 15 to 20 minutes before you bake it. It allows the flours to hydrate better before the baking process changes them. Also crumbly could do with another egg or reduce your flour slightly.
Gf flours really differ from brand to brand and sometimes package to package. It is why i try to findcand use recipes in metric with a scalefor more consistent results. Your almond flour might not be as fine too which can make a big difference.
Brionna says
I would love to make this recipe, but we have a deathly nut allergy in our house. Any ideas for what to sub the almond flour with? Thank you!
Hi Brionna, if you can have all-purpose flour you could try 2 cups all purpose in place of all three flours. If using all purpose flour, the batter should be thinner than what’s shown in the video. Hope that helps!
Brionna says
Thank you! I made the recipe with your suggested substitution of 2 cups of gluten free all purpose flour (used your DIY recipe) and I also used coconut sugar instead of cane and it was divine!
Ooo yay! Thanks for the great review, Brionna!
Kat says
I have heard sunflower flour works well as substitute for almond flour
Dana says
I made this last night using 1:1 flour for the rice/potato starch, because it’s what I had on hand. It is delicious! I didn’t measure the juice of my oranges but felt it could use more orange flavor and may opt for OJ vs squeezing the zested oranges next time. May consider even adding some orange zest to the top. Mine has more almond than orange flavor—but absolutely delicious, moist and dense! We’re not a GF household, but it was a hit! Will make again!
Amazing! Thanks so much for the lovely review and for sharing your modifications, Dana!
Marie Biddix says
VEGAN substitute option that works, was tender and not crumbly! YAY. This was so good and I was able to make it vegan with SUCCESS! I used white chia seeds. Two tablespoons of chia seeds with 3 tablespoons of coconut milk and 2 tablespoons of water. I let the mixture soak for quite a while, then add the sugar, orange juice and orange zest. I added everything to a blender and then realized I probably could have blended the chia seeds first. Either way it worked beautifully. I turned them into 12 muffins and we only have 1 left just 36 hours later! You all are so special to me, thank you for being here with the best recipes!
Thanks for sharing your modifications, Marie! We’re so glad you enjoyed it. Thank you so much for your kind words and support!
Danielle says
Amazing! I had to make some substitutions based on what I had and it still turned out fantastic. I used half almond flour and half oat flour bc I didn’t have enough almond flour, a gf flour blend instead of potato starch and rice flour, and 2 egg plus 1/4 c applesauce bc I ran out of eggs. After I took it out of the oven I poured a glaze over the top and I feel like that really elevated the taste (oj, powdered sugar, vanilla). Perfect texture and flavor!
Danielle says
My mistake, 1 egg plus 1/4 c applesauce.
Amazing! Thanks so much for the lovely review and for sharing your modifications, Danielle!
Megan says
This recipe looks amazing! Do you think adding chocolate chips would be a fun flavor addition? Or would it be too overwhelming?
Hi Megan! We think that might be delicious. If your worried about the almond flavor competing you could leave the almond extract out!
Atara Dahan says
1. can this be made into muffins?
2. what can i sub instead of oil?
3. can i leave out the extract totally?
4. will it come out the same if doubled or halved?
Hi Atara, one reader has had success making this into muffins! We haven’t tried it without oil, but you could try applesauce or yogurt. You could leave the extract out but it won’t taste almondy. It should come out the same if doubled or halved as long as the bake time is correct for the amount of batter.
Samantha says
I made this subbing the potato starch and brown rice flour with all purpose flour and used Bob’s Red Mill egg replacer and it turned out SO GOOD! The batter was a little thicker than the description so I was nervous, but it was still pourable with a little help from a spatula and it turned great! So excited to make this again in the future to share with others.
Amazing! Thanks so much for the lovely review and for sharing your modifications, Samantha!
Jennifer says
Yum! I just made this- used white rice flour since I didn’t have brown, and there’s just a hint of grittiness, but still delicious and very nice consistency overall. Thanks so much!!
We also find white rice flour to be a bit gritty as well! We’re so glad you enjoyed it though, Jennifer! Thanks so much for sharing! xo
Steve Winslow says
I made the recipe this morning for breakfast. I made them in a muffin tin and they baked in less than 25 minutes. Great recipe. The only modification was I used zest from a lemon and lime and added OJ for the liquid.
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Steve! Thanks so much for sharing! xo
Zu says
Hi.. can I use white rice flour instead of brown rice flour?
We haven’t tried it, but it might work. The texture will be slightly different!
Sara Dugan says
I am vegan so eggs aren’t an option. Would applesauce or aquafaba be a better substitute than flax eggs ?
Hi Sara, we haven’t tried it with those egg replacements, however we do have a vegan lemon loaf cake that you can use as a guide!
Carla says
Could I substitute the sugar for honey or maple syrup? Thanks
Hi Carla, we haven’t tested it, but we suspect it would contribute too much liquid. Honey would probably work better than maple syrup, but you may want to start with just 1/2 cup since it’s sweeter. Let us know if you try it!
Alle says
This looks amazing! I have a question: do you think substituting coconut sugar for cane sugar would work? I also have monk fruit sugar. I’m not sure whether either would affect the structure.
Hi Alle, We haven’t tried coconut sugar, but it would make the loaf darker in color and it might not be as fluffy because cane sugar helps the loaf rise properly. Monk fruit sugar that’s a 1-1 replacement for cane sugar could work, but we haven’t experimented much with it, so we’re not sure how it would turn out. Let us know if you try it!
Madison says
Do you think I’d be able to use coconut sugar?
Hi Madison, We haven’t tried it, but it would make the loaf darker in color and it might not be as fluffy because cane sugar helps the loaf rise properly. Let us know if you try it!
Lisa says
Did you try using coconut sugar in this recipe?
Hi Lisa, We haven’t tried it, but it would make the loaf darker in color and it might not be as fluffy because cane sugar helps the loaf rise properly. Let us know if you try it!
Anonymous says
can I use Measure to measure GF flour. and if so what do i eliminate. thank you for any help you can provide. would appreciate my name eliminated if posting question
Hi, you can try subbing it in place of the potato starch and brown rice flour, but it likely won’t be quite as fluffy. Let us know if you try it!
Susan says
Hi. I’d like to try this with AP flour or white ww flour. Would I use 2 1/3 cup (to replace the almond and brown rice flour) or do I need to also take into account the potato starch? Thank you!
Hi Susan, you would also need to take the potato starch into account. However, almond is going to be less absorbent than all purpose flour, so you won’t need as much all purpose. For best results and to keep the cake moist, we’d suggest keeping the almond flour and replacing the brown rice flour and potato starch with an equal amount of all purpose flour. Or, if that’s not possible, you could try 2 cups all purpose in place of all three flours. If using all purpose flour, the batter should be thinner than what’s shown in the video. Hope that helps!