Orange Moelleux: A Simple and Showstopping Fruit Cake

Looking for a quick-to-make cake with a big visual and delicious impact? The orange moelleux is a soft and showstopping dessert that captivates at first sight and first bite, and it is just what you need!
Its moist and soft texture combines with the intense aroma of oranges, offering a perfect balance between sweetness and freshness.
Easy to make and beautiful to serve, it is ideal to prepare during the winter season, when citrus fruits are at their best in terms of flavor and aroma.
Decorated with orange slices and mint leaves, it becomes an elegant and refined dessert, perfect to conclude a special meal or to impress guests with simplicity and taste.

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Orange Moelleux
  • Difficulty: Very easy
  • Cost: Affordable
  • Rest time: 15 Minutes
  • Preparation time: 25 Minutes
  • Portions: 8 People
  • Cooking methods: Oven
  • Cuisine: Italian
  • Seasonality: Winter

Ingredients

  • 5 oranges (untreated)
  • 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 packet baking powder
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup butter (soft)
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar (for the batter)
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar (for the syrup)

Tools

Round pan 8 inches

  • Bakeware
  • Saucepans

Instructions

  • Butter and flour an 8-inch round pan.
    Wash the oranges, then zest one fruit and juice three.
    Slice the other orange thinly, keeping the peel, and set aside.

  • In a large bowl, pour:
    10 cl of fresh orange juice
    the grated zest
    the melted cooled butter
    120 grams (1/2 cup) of sugar
    the sifted all-purpose flour
    the instant baking powder
    and mix well with a Marisa spatula.

  • Add the eggs one at a time, mixing carefully after each addition until you obtain a smooth and homogeneous batter.
    Then pour the batter into the previously buttered and floured or oiled pan.

  • Bake the orange moelleux cake for about 40 minutes at 356°F (180°C) static, or according to your oven’s characteristics, always performing the toothpick test to verify perfect baking.
    While the citrus cake is baking, prepare the syrup and candied oranges.

  • In a saucepan, put the sugar with 100 ml of water and the remaining orange juice.
    Let simmer for a few minutes and add the orange slices, cooking them briefly and keeping them whole.

  • Once out of the oven, let the cake cool for a few minutes, then immediately brush the surface with the hot syrup.
    Decorate with the orange slices overlapping them, and let cool completely before serving.

    The aroma is indescribable….

    Enjoy your meal!

    Annalisa

Important Note

The butter is intentionally generous: it may seem a lot, almost excessive, but this is what makes the cake soft, moist, and melting, in the style of classic French moelleux. Reducing the amount would result in a different cake, drier and less enveloping.

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La cucina di ASI

Asi's Kitchen is my corner of easy and tasty recipes: from Italian tradition to dishes from around the world, with a great desire to share the pleasure of good food.

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