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This old-fashioned Orange Juice Cake is incredibly moist and bursting with fresh citrus flavor! Best of all, the easy homemade bundt cake comes together in minutes thanks to help from a box of cake mix and vanilla pudding. It’s a simple dessert that’s perfect for any occasion!
Old Fashioned Orange Juice Cake
A little shop near our house, Yoder’s Country Market, sells the best Amish Orange Juice Cake. When I recently glanced at the label on the cake’s packaging and noticed that it was made with yellow cake mix and pudding, I realized that I could easily prepare the cake at home! I turned to my mom’s classic Lemon Bundt Cake recipe (which is very similar), but tweaked it to create an orange poke cake with orange juice. The orange bundt cake recipe is soaked in an orange glaze sauce for the most moist and flavorful cake ever!
An Orange Bundt Cake Recipe Made with Pantry Staples
We’ve all had those stressful days when we realize that we need a dessert at the last minute — whether it’s a church potluck, a school bake sale, or an impromptu family gathering — and we don’t want to run out to the grocery store. This cake comes together with just a handful of basic ingredients that you probably already have in your kitchen. Stash the cake mix and pudding mix in your pantry, and you can stir together a quick old-fashioned Orange Juice Cake whenever you need a delicious dessert…fast!
Why Add Pudding to Cake Mix?
Some bakers use orange Jello instead of the vanilla pudding, but no matter which ingredient you choose, the gelatin component makes the cake super moist. It’s the secret ingredient to make your cake more fluffy, too!
Ingredients in Amish Orange Juice Cake
- Box of yellow cake mix
- Box of instant vanilla pudding mix
- Orange juice
- Vegetable oil
- Eggs
- Orange zest
- Powdered sugar
- Butter
How to make Orange Juice Cake
This easy dessert recipe has been prepared in farmhouse kitchens and even in professional bakeries for generations because it’s absolutely delicious (and so darn simple). The cake strikes a perfect balance with a rich, moist flavor and a light, fluffy crumb. It’s not as dense as a classic sour cream pound cake, and it’s soaked in a delicious orange juice glaze for maximum flavor and moisture.
Step 1: Mix Batter
In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to combine the cake mix, dry pudding mix, orange juice, oil, eggs and orange zest.
Step 2: Bake
Transfer the batter to a greased and floured Bundt pan and bake in a 350 degree F oven for about 40 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean).
Step 3: Make Orange Juice Cake Glaze
While the cake is still hot, prepare the orange glaze sauce by boiling the powered sugar, orange juice and butter for about 2 minutes over medium heat.
Step 4: Poke Cake and Drizzle with Orange Glaze Sauce
Use a fork or toothpick to poke holes all over the top of the warm cake.
Slowly pour the hot glaze over the warm cake, pausing to allow the cake to soak up as much of the glaze as possible. Some will drip down the sides, which is fine!
Step 5: Cool
Allow the cake to cool completely before slicing and serving.
Orange Juice Loaf Cake
If you don’t have a Bundt pan, you can bake this cake in two loaf pans. The cooking time will be about the same or slightly shorter, so start checking the loaf cake at about 30 minutes.
Does the cake need to be refrigerated?
Covered loosely, this cake will keep at room temperature for about 2 days. To extend the life of your cake, store it in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Can you freeze Orange Juice Cake?
Absolutely! This old-fashioned cake freezes beautifully. I often cut the large Bundt cake in half so that we can enjoy part of it now and save the other half for later. Allow the cake to cool completely, wrap tightly, and freeze for up to 3 months.
Tips for the Best Moist Orange Cake Recipe
- Grease the Bundt pan really well by coating with butter and then dusting with flour. Alternatively, you can use a cooking spray that’s specifically made for baking (like this one). These options will ensure that your cake pops right out of the pan when it’s done!
- When zesting the oranges, be sure that you’re only scraping off the outer layer of the peel (this is where the essential oils and delicious flavor can be found). Be careful not to grate any of the white pith from the fruit, because that is bitter and definitely not what you want in your cake.
- Fresh orange juice is best if it’s available, but you can certainly use store-bought orange juice in this cake, too.
- The cake gets better as it sits, so this is a nice dessert option to prepare the day before you plan to serve it.
- For a pretty garnish, dust the cooled cake with powdered sugar just before serving.
Recipe Variations
- Orange Juice Cake with Jello: use a 4-serving box of orange jello mix instead of the vanilla pudding mix. If you use orange jello, you can omit the orange zest in the cake since you’ll have plenty of orange flavor from the jello.
- Use a box of white cake mix instead of yellow cake mix.
- For extra citrus flavor, use lemon pudding instead of vanilla pudding.
- Orange Drizzle Cake Recipe: once the cake has completely cooled, drizzle a simple frosting over top. To make an orange juice frosting, whisk together 2 cups of powdered sugar, ¼ cup of orange juice, and ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract until smooth. Thin with small amounts of orange juice, if necessary. Drizzle over the cooled cake and let the glaze harden for at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
- Orange Juice Cake with Pecans: add 1 cup of chopped pecans to the batter.
More cake recipes that you might enjoy:
Orange Juice Cake
Ingredients
FOR THE CAKE:
- 1 (15.25 oz) box yellow cake mix
- 1 (3.4 oz) box instant vanilla pudding mix
- 1 cup orange juice
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon orange zest (from about 2 large oranges)
FOR THE GLAZE:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- ¾ cup orange juice
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a Bundt cake pan.
- In a large bowl, use an electric mixer on medium-high speed to beat together the cake mix, dry pudding mix, orange juice, oil, eggs and orange zest for about 2 minutes.
- Pour into prepared pan and bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool for 10 minutes in pan. While the cake is in the pan, prepare the glaze.
- To make the glaze, combine powdered sugar, orange juice and butter in a saucepan. Boil over medium heat, whisking constantly, for about 2 minutes.
- Invert the cake onto a wire cooling rack set over a foil-lined baking sheet. Use a toothpick or fork to poke holes all over the top of the cake. Slowly drizzle the warm glaze all over the hot cake, pausing to allow the glaze to soak into the cake before adding more. The warm cake will absorb a lot of the glaze, while some more glaze will also drip down the side.
- Allow the cake to cool completely before slicing and serving.
Notes
- Grease the Bundt pan really well by coating with butter and then dusting with flour. Alternatively, you can use a cooking spray that’s specifically made for baking (like this one). These options will ensure that your cake pops right out of the pan when it’s done!
- When zesting the oranges, be sure that you’re only scraping off the outer layer of the peel (this is where the essential oils and delicious flavor can be found). Be careful not to grate any of the white pith from the fruit, because that is bitter and definitely not what you want in your cake.
- Orange Juice Cake with Jello: use a 4-serving box of orange jello mix instead of the vanilla pudding mix. If you use orange jello, you can omit the orange zest in the cake since you’ll have plenty of orange flavor from the jello.
- Use a box of white cake mix instead of yellow cake mix.
- For extra citrus flavor, use lemon pudding instead of vanilla pudding.
- Orange Drizzle Cake Recipe: once the cake has completely cooled, drizzle a simple frosting over top. To make an orange juice frosting, whisk together 2 cups of powdered sugar, ¼ cup of orange juice, and ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract until smooth. Thin with small amounts of orange juice, if necessary. Drizzle over the cooled cake and let the glaze harden for at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
- Orange Juice Cake with Pecans: add 1 cup of chopped pecans to the batter.
I’m wondering if I still need to use orange or vanilla pudding if I’m using the Lemon pudding?
Hi, Gwendolyn! You can substitute lemon pudding for the vanilla pudding called for in the recipe — no problem. Hope you enjoy!
Instead of Bundt pan can you use a baking dish
Hi, Mary! I’m not sure if it would work in a regular cake pan. It’s such a dense, moist batter, so the texture might be different. You can definitely bake the batter in two separate loaf pans, though. Just reduce the cooking time slightly for the smaller loaves.
Do you use the lemon pudding and orange jello? And with a yellow or white mix?
Hi, Sarah! You can see the full list of ingredients and instructions in the recipe box at the bottom of the post. You’ll need a package of vanilla instant pudding mix (no Jell-O in this recipe), and a box of yellow cake mix (although white cake mix would work, too).
I used a lemon cake mix, I followed the rest of recipe as is. I did use less powdered sugar and butter in the glaze. The cake was a huge hit with everyone.
Thank you for the feedback, Ellen! We’re so happy you enjoyed it!