The orange bread, or orange pancake, is an exquisite and simple dessert to prepare, well known for its aromatic citrus note. For this reason, when you cook it, the house is impregnated with its smell and invites you to enjoy it. An interesting difference to mention between orange bread, sponge cake and other similar preparations, consists of the portions: the orange bread recipe always maintains the same weight in its ingredients.
This delicious pancake is ideal for breakfast or a snack, you can accompany it with a cup of tea, coffee, hot chocolate, milk or by putting a scoop of ice cream on top. Although this dessert does not need topping, if you feel like it you can top it with chocolate ganache, icing sugar (icing), cream cheese or orange frosting, a glaze (any citrus fruit to combine it), chopped walnuts, orange zest or syrup.
Did your mouth water? Well, at UnCOMO we don’t leave you wanting to taste this delicacy and we teach you how to make easy orange bread, as well as many tricks to make it exquisite. Finally, if you don’t have an oven, don’t worry! We also tell you how to make orange bread without an oven.
10 diners
1 hour
Low difficulty
Ingredients:
Steps to follow:
1
Preheat the oven to 180 ° C. Try to do it for 10-20 minutes before adding the mixture to make this fluffy orange bread.
2
Choose a mold of about 24 cm. Grease and flour the mold, you can also cover it with greaseproof paper. Cut out a piece for the base and a ribbon for the sides.
3
Sift the flour and baking powder to avoid lumps in the batter of this fluffy orange cake. Reservation.
4
Beat the butter until you get a creamy texture. This process is called souring and they consist of introducing air into the preparation by beating. The most convenient is to use balloon-type rods. For optimal results, use room temperature butter and cut it into small cubes. Thanks to this technique, the bread will be fluffier and with a loose crumb.
If you want to make a healthier orange muffin, you can substitute butter and make orange bread with oil.
5
Add the sugar. Do it little by little until it is completely diluted, because if you throw it in suddenly, you can lose all the air introduced. In the end, you should get a smooth and homogeneous cream.
6
Add the eggs one by one, continuing to beat. Wait until each egg is fully integrated before adding the next.
7
Add the orange zest. Spread it over the preparation and integrate it very well.
8
Pour in the orange juice. Do it very slowly, in the form of a thread, this way you avoid the mixture from running down. Also, if you want to add spices or additional liquor, this is the right time to do it, also, little by little. You can use natural or purchased juice.
9
Add the sifted flour little by little. Incorporate it slowly with a spatula while performing wrapping movements. Do it in three batches and mix until all the flour is properly integrated. Remember, if you use rods, don’t overcoat or gluten will develop and make the homemade orange bread dough less fluffy.
10
Bake for 45 minutes or until cooked through. Ideally, cook the cake first with low heat (without fan) for the first few minutes and until it grows; then you can put heat on top.
Cooking with both at the same time can cause the cake to sink in the middle. During that period of time, never open the oven until 30-35 minutes.
Take your super fluffy orange bread out of the oven and enjoy! You can add any of the toppings that we suggested above or enjoy the cake as it came out of the oven, warm and very homemade!
eleven
If you don’t have an oven, but you want to know how to make orange bread without an oven, do not worry. It does not have any complications and you will love the result. Among the main cooking options without an oven are the stove (in a double boiler) and the microwave.
Disadvantages? You must be very aware of cooking, especially in the microwave, because if you overdo it, it will dry out so much that it will look like cardboard. Another detail that could perhaps be considered a disadvantage is in its external appearance, because in both cases, the cake will look pale, never golden brown as in the oven.
How to make orange bread in the microwave
If microwave cooking is easier, follow the steps below to make a quick and fluffy orange muffin:
- Grease and flour a silicone mold or any other type of special container for microwaves (glass or plastic).
- Pour in the mixture. If you use a silicone mold and it feels very soft or unstable, before pouring the preparation, put a microwave-safe plate underneath.
- Cook for 2-5 minutes. Put maximum power in the microwave and divide the time into 1 minute intervals, without opening the door. The intervals help prevent the preparation from getting too hot at one time and consequently drying out the final product. After you watch the bread grow, give it a few more seconds (not minutes), and open the door to do the toothpick test.
- Remember: according to the power of your microwave can cook for less or longer, that’s why you should know your artifact well or do some preliminary tests. In some microwaves, cooking this bread could take up to 10 minutes, while in others a little more than 2 minutes.
- Prick the bread with a toothpick. Do it in the center, if it comes out clean it is ready, if not, cook for a few more seconds.
- Let cool for a while. Now follow the same steps that we indicate in the recipe.
How to make orange bread on the bain-marie stove
With a bain-marie we can easily imitate the preparation in the oven, as the orange bread will cook evenly. Follow these steps to prepare orange bread on fire:
- Grease and flour a mold. Use a tall mold that you can comfortably fit inside a tall casserole (you should be able to cover it without problem). The best molds for cooking cakes in a bain-marie are flaneras, as they are high enough and have a lid included.
- Prepare the water bath. Boil water in a saucepan, the water should cover ¾ parts of the chosen mold.
- Pour the mixture into the mold. If the pan doesn’t have a lid, cover it with aluminum foil. It is very important that it is well closed, because if water enters it, the preparation may be damaged.
- Place the mold in the water bath. Put it carefully, so you avoid burning yourself. Also cover the casserole.
- Cook for 1 hour or until cooked. Do not open any of the lids until after 30-35 minutes or it will fall (just as it happens in the oven).
- Add water to the saucepan if necessary. As the cake cooks, the water in the bain-marie will dry up, so you must top it up very carefully, always avoiding wetting the mold. Another detail that you should consider is to place only warm water so as not to change the cooking temperature.
- Do the toothpick test. Pinch it in the center, if it comes out clean it is ready, if not, continue cooking until it comes out dry.
- Let cool for a while. From now on, follow the same steps that we indicate in the recipe.
If you want to read more articles similar to How to make orange bread, we recommend that you enter our Recipes category.
Advice
- You can add 2 tbsp of Cointreau or any other orange liqueur to the mix.
- For a strong orange liqueur flavor, make a syrup and add the liqueur. Then moisten the bread in it.
- You can add 1/2 cup of chopped or ground walnuts in the preparation. It also serves any dried fruit.
- Remember to flour the walnuts if you plan to add them chopped.
- You can substitute 1 or 1/2 cup of refined sugar for brown sugar to give it a rich flavor and make a healthier orange bread.
- If you want spiced orange bread, add: ginger, nutmeg and cloves (1 tsp each is enough)
- If you like, you can use 1 tbsp of orange blossom essence or 1 tbsp of vanilla extract.
- You can combine 1/2 tbsp orange zest with 1/2 tbsp green lemon zest and add it in the preparation.
- If you use orange blossom you intensify the citrus flavor and aroma.
- When grating the orange (or any other similar citrus fruit), try not to scrape the white part, as it is bitter.