Orange Turmeric Cake
This delicious orange turmeric cake recipe is so easy to make, colorful, and absolutely delicious, too. If you’ve found yourself with a bunch of turmeric and wondering what to do with it, why not make a cake? Believe it or not, combined with orange, it’s a tasty combination!
I love making surprising desserts. Like my vegan apple cider cake or this yummy golden turmeric latte (beverage meets dessert!).
This turmeric cake is another excellent example. If you take this to a potluck, it’s the one dessert that catches everyone’s eye. They may be wary of the bright colors at first, but once they dive in? They’re bound to want another!
Why This Recipe is a Winner
- Based on my wacky cake recipe, this cake is made with simple ingredients and it’s ready in no time
- Ground turmeric adds color and subtle flavor
- Vegan cream cheese is added to the frosting to balance out the flavors from the cake, making every bite irresistible!
Key Ingredients
You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.
Here are the ingredients you’ll need for this recipe:
- Flour — I recommend using all-purpose flour
- Turmeric — I use ground turmeric to add flavor and color to this cake.
- Orange zest — Use some of the zest from one fresh orange.
- Vegan butter — Use store-bought dairy-free butter (such as Earth Balance) or make your own vegan butter.
- Vegan cream cheese — I use Tofutti or Daiya.
How to Make Turmeric Cake
- Combine dry ingredients in a bowl, like flour, baking soda, salt, sugar, and turmeric. Stir to combine.
- Stir together wet ingredients in a separate bowl, such as water, vinegar, orange zest, and vegetable oil.
- Make the cake batter by pouring the wet mixture in with the flour mixture and stir it together until there are no more big lumps of flour.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center, comes out clean.
- Make the frosting and spread it across the top of the cooled cake before serving.
Marly’s Tips
If you don’t have any oranges or orange zest, simply use a teaspoon of orange extract. No orange extract? You can substitute vanilla, coconut, or even lemon extract.
Creamy Orange Frosting
For the Creamy Orange Turmeric Frosting:
- Cream the vegan butter and vegan cream cheese in a bowl with a mixer to blend until light and fluffy.
- Add the powdered sugar, orange zest, and turmeric.
- Continue beating with the mixer until you reach a nice, fluffy consistency. (Vegan cream cheese has a thinner consistency, so we don’t need to add soy milk to this frosting).
- Slather a thick layer of frosting on the cooled cake.
- Sprinkle the top with orange sugar crystals. I had some from a Halloween decoration, but if you don’t, it’s easy to make by stirring together some sugar with orange food coloring.
Marly’s Tips
If your frosting is too soft, add a little more powdered sugar. You can add a teaspoon of plant-based milk if it’s too thick.
Turmeric is healthy
So let’s talk seriously about turmeric. I knew I was going to make an orange cake. The Food Network magazine just about made me do it with those glorious Orange Cream Cupcakes. Adding turmeric just seemed like the way to go.
Turmeric is one of my favorite ingredients because it’s a superfood. That means for the calories; it offers lots of nutrients. Of course, so do many fruits, veggies, and spices.
I also love the orangey-yellow tint it adds to my recipes. For example, I even add it to my vegan creme brûlée to add just a bit of color.
Storage Tips
Cover the cake and store it at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the fridge for up to 7 days. It can be frozen for up to 2 months.
Vegan Frostings
Try some of these different vegan frosting recipes:
- Vegan chocolate frosting
- Vegan vanilla frosting
- Drizzling this cake with some vegan chocolate ganache would be stunning
- Vegan cream cheese frosting
Delicious Vegan Cakes
If you love easy vegan cakes, you’ll want to try these for sure:
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Orange Turmeric Cake
Ingredients
For the Orange Turmeric Cake
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons orange zest (from a fresh orange)
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
For the Creamy Orange Turmeric Frosting
- ½ cup vegan butter softened
- 3 tablespoons vegan cream cheese
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon orange extract
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- Orange Sugar Crystals combine ½ cup sugar with orange food coloring or 1 drop of red and 2 drops of yellow food coloring
Instructions
For the Turmeric Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C and spray a 9-inch square baking pan with vegetable spray.
- Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, sugar, and turmeric in a bowl. Stir to combine. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, combine the water, vinegar, orange zest, and vegetable oil. Stir to combine. Pour the water mixture into the flour mixture and stir to combine. Make sure all big lumps of flour are mixed. This might take 40 seconds to a minute at most.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 30–35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. When it's ready, remove the cake from the oven and set aside to cool completely before frosting.
For the Creamy Orange Turmeric Frosting
- Place the butter and vegan cream cheese in a bowl and use a mixer to blend until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar, orange extract, orange zest, and turmeric. Continue beating with the mixer until a nice, fluffy consistency is reached. If it's a little too soft, add a little more powdered sugar. If it's too thick, add a teaspoon of plant-based milk.
- Once the cake has cooled and the icing is ready, slather a thick layer of frosting on the cake. Prepare the Orange Sugar Crystals by combing one-half cup of sugar with food coloring. Stir until well combined and sprinkle this over the top of the cake.
Recommended Equipment
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Notes
The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
This post was originally published in 2019 and was updated to include new photos, new text, and an updated recipe in 2021.
This cake has nice color and looking very yummy
Phenomenal! Thank you so much for such a simple yet tasty cake. Concerning turmeric, is it true that it becomes more bio-available with adding black pepper? Thanks. Great recipes BTW.
Could something else be used in place of the vegan cream cheese? I really don’t use that and hate to buy it just to use 3 Tbl. Just wondering…
this looks great. turmeric is so good for you!
Yes, Dina! It’s so true. I figure it adds a little color and some boost of health too!
It makes such a vibrantly colored cake and frosting, what a great idea!
Thanks, Sylvie! I was worried it would add too much flavor, but the orange combines with it very nicely!
I love orange and citrus flavors, so I am eyeing this cake!!
Thanks, Beth!
Mmmm…I could go for some cake right now! I’m out of cream cheese, but I’ll be tucking this recipe away for when I’m feeling adventurous. And sick of being a people pleaser! 😉
I can’t tell you how many times I go to make a recipe only to have some key ingredient missing. I hope you like this cake as much as we have!