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Dessert

Orange Bundt Cake

A bundt cake flavored with orange zest, juice, and buttermilk.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 12 ingredients
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Why it works: Orange and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,371 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓

Orange Bundt Cake

Oven350 °F
Time50–55 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Preheat oven to 350 °F and spray a 10‑cup bundt pan with baking spray.

  2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Make the batter

  1. Add the butter and sugar to your stand mixer on medium speed until lightened in color and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

  2. Add in the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla extract and orange zest.

  3. In a bowl, combine orange juice and buttermilk.

  4. Add in half of the orange juice mixture, then half the flour.

  5. Add in the remaining orange juice mixture and the remaining flour until just combined.

Bake and cool

  1. Pour the batter into your bundt cake pan and bake 50–55 minutes.

  2. Let cake cool at least 20 minutes before removing from bundt pan.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

907Calories
29 gProtein
26 gFat
136 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Orange1 medium (131g)62
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Vanilla1 tsp extract (4ml)12
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Orange + vanillatop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,371 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  2. Flour + buttermilktop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,721 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  3. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  4. Sugar + buttermilktop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,973 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  5. Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together124,287 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Flour
Provides the structure that holds the cake's crumb together as it bakes.
Butter
Creaming with sugar traps air and adds tenderness and rich flavor.
Sugar
Sweetens the cake and helps create a light, fluffy texture when creamed.
Eggs
Add structure, richness, and moisture, and help bind the batter.
Buttermilk
Adds moisture and tang, and tenderizes the crumb.
Baking soda
Reacts with the acidic buttermilk and orange juice to lift the cake.

The step that matters

Adding the flour and liquid in alternating portions. Alternating keeps the batter emulsified and smooth. Mixing only until just combined prevents extra gluten development, which would make the cake tough.

Swap the orange

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, buttermilk):

  1. Raisinfits better
  2. Figfits better
  3. Blueberryfits better
  4. Orangethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against flour, butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, buttermilk. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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