Easy Orange Chiffon Cake from Scratch

If you love the light bright flavor of orange and you’re crazy about a chiffon cake texture, this recipe is perfect for you. You’re going to be shocked at how easy it is to whip up this light, fluffy cake from scratch! 

Baking with New Ingredients

Earlier today I made a delicious Banana Berry Chiffon cake. I’ll be honest: I’d never made anything similar to an angel food cake from scratch. 

I know, I know. . .but those boxes of Angel Food Cake are just so darned easy! 

Today, however, I made this light airy banana chiffon cake and it turned out so great that I decided to substitute the liquid in the recipe with orange juice to turn that banana cake into something else altogether. . .and orange chiffon cake, rich with natural orange juice.

I just happened to have a big container of orange juice I bought at our local HEB store. It’s a local brand Calle 1836 Farms and is absolutely delicious. So, I knew it would be perfect for this cake!

How is Orange Juice Made?

This might sound like a simple question but the answer isn’t straight-forward! In fact, even as I type these words I’m having flashbacks to a particular Christmas when I was given a juicer as a gift.

I decided to make orange juice with my new gift.

One bag of oranges later, I had a couple of glasses of juice and a huge mess in my kitchen. So much for that venture! It was cheaper and easier just to buy juice in a canister at the store.

The process of turning oranges into juice involves seven steps:

Seven Steps to Perfect Orange Juice!

Step one: Harvest the oranges. They’re harvested when they reach the peak stage of ripeness. Any sooner and they won’t have that delicious flavor and won’t be as juicy.

Step two: Wash the fruit. Oranges are washed to remove dirt and debris or any chemicals from the dirt’s surface.

Step three: Sorting and grading. Did you know that oranges receive a grade? It’s true! They’re graded based on a number of things–size, ripeness, and quality.

Step four: Extract the juice: At commercial facilities juice extraction machines are used. If you have a juicer (like I did) you can perform this step yourself.

Step five: Filtering: You’ll want to get rid of the seeds, of course. And many people aren’t crazy about pulp. (I love it!) You can pass the juice through a mesh filter to get rid of the things you don’t want in your juice.

Step six: Pasteurization: In the commercial setting, orange juice is pasteurized (which means it’s heated to a point that kills off any bacteria). Then it’s rapidly cooled. If you’re making OJ at home you can skip this step.

Step seven: Packaging: Orange Juice companies then package their juice in cartons, bottles, or other containers to be sent to stores.

So, there you have it: Getting OJ to the juice stage isn’t as easy as you thought! But once you have it, it’s a delicious complement to this luscious chiffon cake. So, let’s switch gears and talk about what else you’ll need.

Orange Chiffon Cake Ingredients

You will find a full printable recipe card at the bottom of this post but here’s a quick peek at what you’ll need to make this simple and delicious dessert. These are simple ingredients you might already have in your pantry or refrigerator. 

You will find a full printable recipe card at the bottom of this post but here’s a quick peek at what you’ll need to make this cake. These are simple ingredients you might already have on hand in your pantry or refrigerator.

FOR THE CAKE:

• 5 eggs separated (large eggs are best)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 cup fresh orange juice
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons grated orange zest
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

FOR THE GLAZE:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 2 to 4 tablespoons fresh orange juice
• 1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest

How to Make this Orange Chiffon Cake

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Divide eggs and set egg whites aside. 

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. 

Whisk well.

Form a well in the center and add oil, water, and egg yolks. 

Add 3/4 cup of orange juice.

Add egg yolks and orange zest.

Mix well and set aside.

In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar for 4 minutes until they form soft peaks. (They don’t need to be stiff peaks for this cake to work.)

I used the stand mixer with whisk attachment at medium speed but you can use an electric mixer if you like. 

It’s time to combine our ingredients!

Using a silicone spatula, fold egg white mixture into the batter.

Mix well but don’t knock the air out of the cake batter. 

Pour into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan.

Place in preheated oven. (Be careful! You don’t want to open the door while this one is initially baking or it will collapse!)

Bake for a full hour or until golden brown. 

Make Your Glaze

Beat the butter until it’s light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar.

Add orange juice.

Let’s bring it all together!

Remove the cake from the oven and place tube pan on a wire rack. (You’ll want to invert your pan for this process so that all of the metal parts can cool evenly.)

Let it cool upside down for a full hour.

After an hour run a knife around the sides of the pan and pull up on the center piece to separate the bottom from the sides. 

Drizzle the glaze on top. 

Cover the top of the cake with the orange glaze but leave a little extra glaze to pour over individual slices if you like.

Slice and serve! 

This cake can be left at room temperature or stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container. 

I like my fruity cakes cold, so I refrigerated mine. 

What to Expect from this Orange Chiffon Cake

Is it an angel food cake or an orange cake? 

Truthfully, it’s both! You’ll love the light fresh orange flavor. It’s not overpowering but add a sweet tangy flavor. 

Most of all, you’re going to flip over the texture of this cake. It’s just to chiffonny! (Is that a word? If not, I just made it up!) 

I think this cake is absolutely delicious and perfect for summer! If you’re hosting a tea party or women’s Bible study event, this would be the perfect addition to your sweets table! 

This is truly the perfect chiffon cake. I can’t wait to make it for my family!

Variations on this Recipe

If you can use orange juice, I’m guessing you can use just about any juice you like. Here are some that come to mind: 

Apple juice: Use apple juice in place of water, along with a handful of diced apples. 

Lemon chiffon cake: Add a cup of prepared lemonade. 

Strawberry Lemonade Chiffon Cake: Use strawberry lemonade instead of regular. 

Other changes might include:

Chocolate Glaze: Orange and chocolate go together beautifully! Make a thin ganache and drizzle it on top in place of the orange. 

Questions People are Asking about Orange Chiffon Cake

Can I use vanilla extract of vanilla bean in my orange chiffon cake?

Yes, you can use vanilla if you like. Don’t put too much because you don’t want to overpower the flavor of the orange.

Can I use orange extract if I don’t have orange juice?

You could substitute water with extract for the OJ but it might have a bit of a manufactured flavor.

Other “Light” Cakes from Out of the Box Baking

Pink Peppermint Angel Food Cake: If you love the light, airy texture of angel food cake but you’re looking to add an extra twist, you’ve come to the right place! This doctored cake mix takes an ordinary Angel Food Cake and amps up the volume, adding peppermint and chocolate drizzle.

Banana Berry Chiffon Cake: This is one of my favorite cakes to-date!

Strawberry Lemonade Cake: This is a personal favorite. This cake has staggered layers of strawberry and lemon chiffon cakes with lemon curd and strawberry preserves between the layers. Yum!

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That’s it for this post, friends! I hope you enjoyed this fluffy orange chiffon cake recipe!

See this recipe at

Full Plate Thursday 

Weekend Potluck

The Lazy Gastronome

Busy Monday

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About the Author

Janice Thompson is an author, baker, and all-around mischief maker! She has overcome a host of baking catastrophes, including a toppled wedding cake, to learn more about the baking process. Janice has published over 150 books for the Christian market but particularly enjoys writing recipes and baking devotions. To learn more about Janice or to drop her a note, visit her About the Author page.