This Boozy Orange Drizzle Cake is bright, zesty and bursting with flavour! The cake is moist and tender, brushed with a boozy simple-syrup to lock in moisture and flavour and then finished off with an orangey icing glaze. Make sure to check out the recipe notes for how to make this cake in a loaf pan instead! | Gluten Free + Dairy Free Option

Taking a quick break from all things pumpkin and gingerbread today to make this Boozy Orange Drizzle Cake!

How to Make this Boozy Orange Drizzle Cake

Preparing this cake can broken down into three main stages:

1. Prepare the cake: Whisk together the dry ingredients then add the zest. Whisk in the remaining wet ingredients until a thick, smooth batter forms and then bake.
2. Make the simple syrup: While the cake bakes, dissolve some sugar in a pan with a little bit of water and wine until a syrup forms. While still warm, spoon/brush the syrup into the cake to lock in moisture and flavour.
3. Finish with a glaze: Finally, once the cake has cooled, whisk together orange juice and icing sugar to create a simple glaze to drizzle over the finished cake.

SUBSTITUTIONS AND FAQ’S

What type of gluten free flour blend should I use?

• Most gluten free all purpose flour blends should work with this recipe.
• If you’d like specific recommendations: When I’m not using my homemade gluten free flour blend I like using Dove’s Gluten Free Plain Flour (available in the UK) or Bob’s Red Milll 1:1 gluten free all purpose flour blend.

Can I use another type of flour here?

• I have only tested this recipe using a basic gluten free flour blend so I can’t make any recommendations for substitutions here.
• If you’re interested in making a grain free citrus cake you might prefer my Almond Flour Lemon Loaf or Paleo Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins instead.

Why make a simple syrup and a glaze?

• The syrup and glaze do different things in this recipe:
  • The simple syrup locks in moisture and infuses this cake with extra flavour (from the dessert wine/cointreau) .
  • The glaze finishes everything off with a final layer of sweetness. Also – what’s a cake without frosting or glaze?

Why use buttermilk over regular milk?

• Buttermilk is an acidic element that works together with the baking soda to do a couple of things:
  • Baking soda is a leavening agent that needs an acid like buttermilk to make baked goods rise.
  • Buttermilk makes for lighter, more tender cakes. This is always a plus when it comes to gluten free baked goods.

Use any citrus!

• If you’re not crazy about oranges, feel free to use lemons, grapefruit or even limes.

What is dessert wine?

• Basically, a dessert wine is just a sweet wine. In the UK they are often referred to as pudding wines as they are often served with dessert. There is no simple definition of dessert wine, so when you’re looking to buy a dessert wine for the purpose of this recipe, just look for a wine that’s described as sweet (as opposed to dry) and ideally look for wines with strong citrus notes.

Dessert Wine substitutes

• I made this recipe based off a request to make a drizzle cake using dessert wine. If I wasn’t using dessert wine I would absolutely use cointreau, limoncello or another citrusy liquor to infuse more flavour in to this cake.

Enjoy!

Other gluten free cakes you might enjoy:

Gluten Free Victoria Sponge Cake Recipe

Gluten Free Chocolate Cake

Gluten Free Carrot Cake

Poppy Seed Almond Lemon Loaf

Yield: 10-12 slices

Boozy Orange Drizzle Cake

4.9 Stars (8 Reviews)

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

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This Boozy Orange Drizzle Cake is bright, zesty and bursting with flavour! The cake is moist and tender, brushed with a boozy simple-syrup to lock in moisture and flavour and then finished off with an orange-y icing glaze. Make sure to check out the recipe notes for how to make this cake in loaf pan instead! | Gluten Free + Dairy Free Option

Ingredients

• 2 cups (270 g) gluten free flour blend
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum (only add if your GF flour blend doesn't already contain xanthan)
• 3/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (125 g) white caster sugar
• Zest from one large orange, about 2-3 tablespoons
• 3/4 cup (180 ml) buttermilk, dairy or non dairy
• 2 tablespoons white dessert wine (like Moscato), Cointreau or limoncello
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (113 g) melted butter or oil (non dairy butter will also work)

Simple Syrup

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• 1/2 cup white caster sugar (100g)
• 2 tablespoons water (30 ml)
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) white dessert wine, Cointreau, or limoncello

Glaze

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• 1 cup icing/powdered sugar (125 g)
• 2-3 tablespoons juice from an orange (30-45 ml)

Need help converting to weights? Check out my cups to grams Conversion Guide.

Instructions

Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350F /170°C. Grease a 9x3 inch (9 cups or 23cm x 8 cm) bundt tin*. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, xanthan gum, baking soda, salt and sugar until well combined. Mix in the orange zest.
3. Add the buttermilk, dessert wine or Cointreau, eggs, vanilla, and butter/oil. Mix until a thick, smooth batter forms.
4. Pour the batter in to your prepared cake tin. Place in the middle of the oven and bake for 45-50 minutes  or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Simple Syrup

1. In a small sauce pot, combine the sugar, dessert wine or Cointreau and water. Warm on a low heat and stir until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat.
2. Place a wire cooling rack over a baking sheet. Let the cake cool for about 5 minutes, then carefully transfer to the wire cooling rack
3. Spoon or brush the syrup over the top of the cake while it's still warm. Let the cake cool completely.

Glaze

1. Whisk the icing/powdered sugar and orange juice together in a small bowl until combined. Add more orange juice for a thinner glaze and more icing sugar for a thicker glaze. Once the cake has cooled completely drizzle the icing over the top of the cake - don't feel like you need to use up all of the glaze. Slice and enjoy.

Notes

• You can also make this cake using a 9x5 inch ( 8 cup or 23cm x 13cm) loaf tin. The cook time will still be about 45-50 minutes.

How to Make Dairy Free Buttermilk:

• Combine 3/4 cups (180 ml) non dairy milk with 2 teaspoons lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. Mix and let stand at least 5 minutes. When your milk looks a little bit curdled it's ready to go.

What is dessert wine?

• Basically, a dessert wine is just a sweet wine. In the UK they are often referred to as pudding wines as they are often served with dessert. There is no simple definition of dessert wine, so when you're looking to buy a dessert wine for the purpose of this recipe, just look for a wine that's described as sweet (as opposed to dry) and ideally look for wines with strong citrus notes.
• Instead dessert wine you can use Cointreau or limoncello or another citrusy liquid instead.

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.

© A Saucy Kitchen, Sarah Nevins

Course: Desserts Cuisine: Gluten Free