This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy.
Blood orange season is here and we’re celebrating with the most delicious blood orange bundt cake! If you’re new to blood oranges, the flavor reminds me of sweet oranges with notes of sweet-tart raspberries. Fresh blood orange zest and juice flavor the bundt cake, and the vibrant juice creates the most beautiful pink glaze!
Fluffy and buttery with the perfect golden crumb, this light and citrusy bundt cake is divine. Drizzled with naturally pink blood orange glaze, you’ll love this cake for brunch, dessert, or with your afternoon tea.
More favorite bundt cake recipes: Easy snickerdoodle bundt cake, Meyer lemon bundt cake, red velvet bundt cake, and moist sour cream pound cake!
The Best Blood Orange Bundt Cake
Room temperature ingredients – Bring butter, eggs, and buttermilk to room temperature before beginning.
Buttermilk – If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, it’s easy to make your own buttermilk substitute: Mix 1 cup room temperature milk with 1 teaspoon acid (lemon juice or white vinegar). Stir, then let stand for 10 minutes before using.
Citrus sugar – For maximum blood orange flavor, combine blood orange zest and sugar in a food processor and pulse for 1 minute to release aromatic oils from the zest and infuse the sugar with citrus flavor. Transfer to a mixer bowl and beat citrus sugar with butter until soft and fluffy.
Almond extract – A splash of pure almond extract enhances the citrus flavor and really perfumes the cake. For an even more pronounced almond flavor, increase the almond extract to 1/2 teaspoon. If you’re not a fan of almond extract, you can omit it and use 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract.
Baking powder – Be sure to use an aluminum-free baking powder to prevent the cake and glaze from turning blue or discoloring.
Bundt pan – Use a 10-cup bundt pan for this recipe. To prevent the cake from sticking, spray the pan generously with nonstick spray (or butter and flour the pan). Spoon the batter evenly into the pan and smooth with an offset spatula, then tap the pan sharply several times to reduce air bubbles.
Bake cake – Bake cake at 350°F until golden and the top springs back to the touch, about 38 to 42 minutes. A tester inserted in the center should come out with a few crumbs attached.
Your baking time may vary depending on the shape of your bundt pan, so start testing for doneness after 35 minutes. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack. Cool completely before glazing.
Mini bundt cakes – To make individual blood orange cakes, use a mini bundt pan. Depending on the size of the pan, this recipe will make 6 to 8 mini bundt cakes. Baking time will be approximately 24 to 26 minutes.
Blood orange glaze – For the naturally pink glaze, whisk together melted butter, salt, blood orange zest and juice, and powdered sugar in a small bowl. Drizzle glaze over cake and and let set before serving.
Make ahead – This bundt cake can be made one day in advance. Let cool completely and store at room temperature overnight. Add the glaze just before serving.
How to Freeze
Let bundt cake cool completely on a wire rack. Once fully cooled, wrap in plastic wrap and then wrap again in foil or place the wrapped cake in a freezer bag and freeze up to 2 months.
The day before you plan to serve, let the cake thaw overnight in the refrigerator (still wrapped to prevent condensation), then bring to room temperature. Glaze just before serving.
More blood orange recipes to try:
- Blood Orange Lemon Cupcakes
- Blood Orange Ricotta Doughnuts
- Blood Orange Ricotta Cookies
- Almond Blood Orange Pound Cake
Did you try this Blood Orange Bundt Cake Recipe? Let me know by leaving a comment and rating below!
PrintSweet Citrusy Blood Orange Bundt Cake
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 10 to 12 servings
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
The BEST blood orange bundt cake! Simple and delicious, you’ll love this bright and buttery citrus bundt topped with naturally pink glaze!
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 tsp aluminum-free baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 3 Tbsp fresh blood orange zest
- 10 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp pure almond extract
- 1 cup low-fat buttermilk, at room temperature
- 2 Tbsp fresh blood orange juice
Glaze
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 2 tsp blood orange zest
- 2 Tbsp blood orange juice
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
- Make cake: Place sugar and blood orange zest in a food processor and pulse for 1 minute. Beat butter and blood orange-sugar in a large mixer bowl at medium speed until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and add eggs one at a time; mix in vanilla and almond extract. Combine buttermilk and blood orange juice in a small bowl. Beat in flour mixture in three additions, alternating with buttermilk mixture (begin and end with flour mixture), just until incorporated.
- Spray a 10-cup bundt pan generously with nonstick spray. Spoon batter into prepared pan and smooth with an offset spatula. Tap pan sharply to reduce air bubbles.
- Bake bundt cake for 38 to 42 minutes, until cake is golden, springs back to the touch, and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few crumbs attached. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes; carefully invert onto rack and cool completely.
- Make glaze: Whisk together melted butter, salt, blood orange zest, juice, and powdered sugar in a small bowl. Drizzle glaze over cake and let set before serving.
Notes
Baking powder: Use an aluminum-free baking powder to prevent the cake and glaze from turning blue/discoloring.
Mini bundt cakes: To make individual blood orange cakes, use a mini bundt pan. Depending on the size of the pan, this recipe will make 6 to 8 mini bundt cakes. Baking time will be approximately 24 to 26 minutes.
Make ahead: This bundt cake can be made one day in advance. Let cool completely and store at room temperature overnight. Add the blood orange glaze before serving.
Freezing instructions: Once fully cool, wrap bundt cake in plastic wrap and a freezer bag and freeze up to 2 months. The day before serving, move the cake to the refrigerator (still wrapped to prevent condensation) and defrost overnight. Bring to room temperature, remove plastic wrap, and add glaze.
SUPERB cake!! I made this yesterday for a friend’s birthday and everyone swooned over the cake. Easy to follow directions and the cake came out perfectly. Delicate crumb and moist for an all-butter cake. I agree that room temp ingredients make all the difference. I doubled the glaze because it was SO scrumptious and I could’ve tripled it b/c everyone wanted to eat it with a spoon! The color was incredible using the blood orange juice. Five stars for sure and I’m so thrilled that I found you. So often people post baking videos on social media and the product either doesn’t come out as expected or there are missing ingredients. Not the case here. I can tell you’ve tested your recipes for success. Tutti Dolce -you’ll be my go-to for recipes in the future! Thank you for such a top notch recipe!
Hi Marie, it’s so nice to hear this – thank you so much for your kind and thoughtful feedback. 🙂 I’m thrilled that this cake was a success for you, and love the idea of doubling the glaze (so yum!).
My family says this cake is the best cake I’ve ever made and I’ve had some pretty high compliments before this from them. I wanted to eat the whole thing. It’s everything. Moist, dense, sweet, tangy, fresh. I cannot say enough good things about it.
It’s also simple and quick to make so you could whip it out in a little over an hour. Thank you for this recipe!!!
Thank you so much for your feedback, Barbra! I’m so happy to hear this cake was a hit! 🙂
I haven’t made this cake yet, but I look forward to doing so. It is beautiful with the pinkish glaze and sounds delicious.
I love almond extract, but what do you think about substituting with fiori di sicilia extract? Or do you think the almond extract is a better compliment to the blood orange flavor?
Thank you, Shirley! 🙂 I’ve never baked with fiori di sicilia extract so I can’t speak personally to the flavor. From what I’ve read about it, it sounds like it would make a nice complement to the cake as well!