If you love your cakes to be bursting with flavor, you'll love this easy orange blueberry cake recipe which is unbelievably fruity. It takes less than 30 minutes to make and it tastes amazing.
Lemon and blueberry cakes are very common but have you ever tried an orange cake with fresh blueberries inside? The cake is topped with a thick, silky smooth buttercream. I think you'll love it!
It shares tasty attributes with my eggless sicilian orange cake loaf and vegan cranberry orange cake and the blueberries definitely add an extra 'oomph'.
Speaking of blueberries, you also need to try my vegan blueberry cobbler recipe if you haven't already. It's so juicy, homely and perfect for sharing with the family or eating alone.
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Why You Will Love This Cake
- Delectable Texture - The apple cider vinegar, leavening agents, canola oil and fresh orange juice all combine to create an amazing texture which is super moist and airy. The crumb of the cake, along with the buttercream make this treat a delight to eat.
- Wonderful Filling & Topping - The vanilla buttercream frosting is so thick and creamy. The great thing about it is that it isn't only on top of the cake but also in the center! For more recipes which use frosting just like this check out my eggless chocolate peanut butter cake loaf and eggless vanilla chocolate cake loaf.
- Easy to Make - Making this orange blueberry cake is so simple. All you need to do is fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, fold in the blueberries and pour the batter into the cake tins. Make the buttercream while the cakes are in the oven, then apply it once they've cooled.
- Allergy Friendly & Plant Based - This eggless orange blueberry cake recipe is fully vegan and dairy free.
Ingredient Notes
- Apple cider vinegar – Stir it into the soy milk to create your vegan ‘buttermilk’. Buttermilk has a high level of acidity which always gives an eggless loaf cake like this a yummy consistency like you will find in my vegan lemon poppy seed cake, vegan tres leches cake and vegan almond raspberry cake. Buttermilk also breaks down gluten.
- Freshly squeezed orange juice - Never use any artificial orange juices for this recipe or any other orange cakes. Not only will the flavors be much more subtle and less punchy, but also much less authentic too.
- Orange Zest – This has a much sharper and deeper taste than the freshly squeezed orange juice. If you love strong orange flavors, this ingredient will be your new best friend.
- Fresh blueberries - Carefully fold these into your cake batter once everything else is combined. Avoid using frozen blueberries for this recipe.
- Vegan butter block - Make sure that you use a dairy-free butter block, instead of a dairy-free margarine or spread. Those are typically much lighter and softer than a block and as a result of this, the buttercream frosting will be too thin.
See recipe card for full information on individual ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions & Variations
- If you're a big fan of orange-flavored desserts, you can add even more citrus flavors to the cake. Instead of making a vanilla buttercream frosting, you can add a couple drops of orange juice and a little zest to create an orange frosting. This gives the cake super strong orange flavors like the ones you'll find in my vegan chocolate orange cheesecake. You can still add some vanilla extract if you wish.
- You can make two separate loaf cakes if you prefer. This recipe creates one layered loaf cake but you can easily change this. Instead, simply spread the buttercream frosting over the top of the 'round side' of the two cakes, as opposed to in the center and on the top. This is totally optional.
How To Make A Vegan Orange Blueberry Loaf Cake
For the full method, please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
1: Stir your apple cider vinegar into the plant milk and leave it until it curdles.
2: Add the dry ingredients to a large bowl and mix until combined.
3: Now pour the vegan 'buttermilk' into the mixture.
4: Add the rest of the wet ingredients to the bowl. Fold to form a batter.
5: Also fold the dry ingredients into the wet. Don't mix at all. Keep folding until the mixture is combined and there are no pockets of flour.
6: Next, equally pour your cake mixture into the two greased loaf pans. Bake the cakes.
7: Take the two cakes out from the oven and let them to cool fully.
Expert Tips
Pre-heat your oven for at least 15-20 minutes - Before you begin baking your cake, it's vital that your oven is hot enough. If it's not at the correct temperature, the cake won't cook to the correct consistency. Let it preheat for at least 15 minutes.
Make vegan buttermilk instead of adding ingredients separately - Making vegan ‘buttermilk’ is super simple. All you need to do is add apple cider vinegar to soy milk, then mix. You shouldn't add the soy milk and vinegar separately as you will skip the curdling process.
Fold the batter, don't mix - When you over-mix cake batter, it gives the final cake a bad texture so I tend to not mix the batter at all. I simply fold the mixture delicately over itself until there are no pockets of flour left. Be patient and you will get the final result that you desire!
Every oven is different - There isn’t much you can do about inaccurate oven temperatures but be sure to know that when a skewer comes out of your cake nice and clean, it’s ready. The cake may take a little less or a little more time than recommended.
Recipe FAQs
Most of the bitterness comes from the zest of the orange. If you leave the zest out and only add the fresh orange juice, this will your the cake a little less bitter.
Toss the blueberries in a small amount of flour before adding them to the mixture. This will help them to stand firm inside the batter.
This is almost always because the cake batter has been over-mixed. Over-mixing any cake batter which contains flour will activate the gluten and therefore, cause a dense texture.
I recommend that you store this vegan orange blueberry cake inside an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days. This keeps your cake moist and fluffy. If you prefer, you can refrigerate your cake for up to 4 days (also in an airtight container). Do not freeze.
More Vegan Recipes You Will Love
If you tried this Eggless Orange Blueberry Cake loaf Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you!
Eggless Orange Blueberry Cake Loaf With Vanilla Buttercream
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 200 ml soy milk
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 200 g all-purpose flour sifted
- 150 g granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 0.5 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 50 ml canola oil rapeseed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 50 ml freshly squeezed orange juice
- Zest of 2 medium oranges
- 70 g fresh blueberries
For the vanilla buttercream frosting:
- 225 g vegan butter block* see notes
- 240 g powdered sugar* see notes
- 0.25 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
Orange Blueberry Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 177 Celsius (350 Fahrenheit). Grease two 20cm x 10cm cake loaf tins with vegan butter then set aside.
- Make your vegan buttermilk. Measure out the soy milk then add the apple cider vinegar to it. Give it a mix then set aside for 7-8 minutes until it curdles. Measure out the other ingredients while you wait.
- To a large mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda & salt. Mix well.
- Next, pour in the curdled soy milk, oil, vanilla, orange juice, orange zest & blueberries. Don't mix at all. Using a wooden spoon, fold the ingredients together by slowly scooping the mixture over itself. Keep folding the dry into the wet until there are no more pockets of flour. This takes a little longer than mixing but it results in a much better cake. Patience is key!
- Equally divide the cake batter between the two greased loaf tins and bake in the center of the preheated oven for 20 minutes. A skewer should come out clean at this point.
- Remove your cakes from the oven and let them cool in the tins for 15 minutes. Then remove the cakes from the tins and transfer them to a cooling rack to cool fully. Don't apply anything to the cakes until they have completely cooled down.
Vanilla buttercream frosting:
- Add the vegan butter block to a stand mixer or a large bowl and cream for 2 minutes.
- Next add half of the powdered sugar. Beat the buttercream mixture until it is fully combined and has began to thicken. Then add the rest of the powdered sugar. Beat again until your buttercream frosting is nice and thick.
- Now add the vanilla. Mix until it is fully combined within the buttercream.
- Spread half of your vanilla buttercream frosting in between the cake halves and spread the other half on top. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Pre-heat your oven for at least 15-20 minutes - Before you begin baking your cake, it's vital that your oven is hot enough. If it's not at the correct temperature, the cake won't cook to the correct consistency. Let it preheat for at least 15 minutes.
- Make vegan buttermilk instead of adding ingredients separately - Making vegan ‘buttermilk’ is super simple. All you need to do is add apple cider vinegar to soy milk, then mix. You shouldn't add the soy milk and vinegar separately as you will skip the curdling process.
- Fold the batter, don't mix - When you over-mix cake batter, it gives the final cake a bad texture so I tend to not mix the batter at all. I simply fold the mixture delicately over itself until there are no pockets of flour left. Be patient and you will get the final result that you desire!
- Every oven is different - There isn’t much you can do about inaccurate oven temperatures but be sure to know that when a skewer comes out of your cake nice and clean, it’s ready. The cake may take a little less or a little more time than recommended.
- Use a block of vegan butter instead of spread. I love to use the Flora plant butter block and the Naturli vegan block. These create a much thicker vegan buttercream than a spread.
- Not all powdered sugar is vegan as some brands use bone char. Be sure to check.
Anonymous says
Such an amazing loaf cake 😍
Dusanka says
I baked a vegan cake..brought it out of the oven, turned it over onto the cooling rack and it broke into pieces, blocks...ahhh.
Why?
Vegan Treats Blogger says
I'm very sorry that this happened. These cakes are very delicate and they require absolute gentleness when taken out of the tin.