Name: Orange and Pomegranate Cake
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 25 min
Yield: 10
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Ingredients: 3 blood (or regular) oranges; 250g flavourless oil, such as vegetable or sunflower; 50g honey plus 2 tbsp; 300g caster sugar; 200g Self raising flour; 1 tsp baking powder; 1/4 teaspoon fine salt; 100g ground almonds; 4 large eggs, beaten; 1/2 tbsp orange blossom water; 150g Full Fat Greek yoghurt; 75g pomegranate seeds; FOR THE SYRUP:; 100g caster sugar; Juice of one blood orange; 1 teaspoon orange blossom water

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This upside-down Orange and Pomegranate Cake is unbelievably moist and delicious! Serve slices with a dollop of Greek yoghurt on the side for a fabulous, effortless dessert.

A slice of orange cake glazed with orange syrup and decorated with pomegranate seeds on a white plate. A large orange and pomegranate cake sits in the background on a large white plate.

I have such a thing for blood oranges at the moment. I’ve been eating them in salads, finding excuses to bake with them and eating them just as they are.

I’ve tried a few blood orange cakes over the years, such as this fabulous blood orange olive oil cake, but the one I’m sharing with you today is a new favourite. I found this blood orange and pomegranate cake on the BBC Good Food website. I adapted the recipe slightly, but it worked so well I’ve made it several times since and I don’t change a thing.

The honey-soaked orange slices and jewel-like pomegranate seeds that adorn the top of the cake look so beautiful. It is a cake worthy of the name showstopper but with none of the hard work.

It’s similar to Nigella Lawson’s clementine cake in that a whole cooked orange is pureed and added to the cake batter. This method produces a really moist, flavourful cake with an unusual but lovely texture.

A upside down orange cake on a white plate. The top of the cake is adorned with sliced orange, pomegranate seeds and brushed with an orange syrup.

ingredient notes for blood orange and pomegranate cake

Please scroll to the bottom of the post to find a printable recipe card with ingredient amounts and detailed instructions.

Self raising flour provides structure to the cake and gives a fluffy texture.
ground almonds make this cake extra moist.
Oil – I use a flavourless oil such as sunflower, vegetable or light olive oil. You don’t need to use anything expensive, like extra virgin olive oil. It would be wasted!
orange blossom water adds a beautiful fragrance to the cake that isn’t overwhelming. I used Nielsen Massey. This is also used in the soaking syrup.
runny honey is drizzled over the base of the cake tin before placing sliced oranges on top (for an “upside down” cake). You’ll also need a little honey for the cake batter.
sugar – caster sugar is always my first choice for cakes as it dissolves faster, but if you use granulated it won’t ruin the cake.
Greek Yoghurt – Full Fat is the best choice. I like Total Greek Yoghurt.
4 large eggs, at room temperature
4 Oranges. I used blood oranges, but you can of course use regular oranges instead. One orange is cooked and blitzed to a rough puree for the cake batter. Two are thinly sliced for the top. You’ll also need one for the orange syrup.
Pomegranate seeds, for decorating the top of the cake.

A silver bowl of flour, two white bowls of white sugar and ground almonds, a jug of oil, four eggs, three oranges, a glass dish of honey and a bottle of orange flower water.

step by step

Step 1. Cook one of the oranges in simmering water for 30-35 minutes or until soft. Drain, remove the orange and leave it to cool slightly.

Cut the orange in half and remove the pips. You can either blitz the orange in a food processor or chop it into tiny pieces using a large sharp knife or Mezzaluna (herb chopper). I chose to do the latter because I was (~~too lazy~~) not in the mood to get my processor out.

An orange in a grey saucepan filled with water.

A cooked orange finely chopped into a rough puree on a wooden chopping board with a silver mezzaluna chopper.

Step 2. Grease a 20cm round springform cake tin with butter or flavourless oil. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of honey over the base. Place sliced oranges inside the tin in whatever decorative manner you like.

Since we aren’t using baking parchment, I would strongly advise you to use a decent cake tin for this recipe. If the tin is prone to sticking, I wouldn’t use it!

A round black cake tin greased with butter with sliced blood oranges at the base.

Step 3 – Place the wet ingredients (sugar, oil, Greek yoghurt, orange blossom water, eggs and honey) in a medium bowl or jug and stir until well combined.

Step 4 – Place the dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk. Add the liquid ingredients and stir until just combined. Fold in the pureed orange.

Step 5 – Pour the batter into the cake tin. Bake in a preheated oven (180C/160 Fan/350F/Gas mark 4) for around one hour or until the cake is golden and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Leave the cake in the tin for about 10 minutes to cool slightly while you make the syrup.

A silver bowl of cake mixture with a wooden spatula.

Step 6 – Make the orange syrup by simmering the juice of one orange, 100g sugar and 1 teaspoon of orange blossom water until the mixture is almost reduced by half and looks…syrupy! This will take about 5 minutes.

Step 7 – Place a serving plate on top of the cake tin and invert, then slowly release the clip and carefully lift the base of the tin away. If any of the orange slices are stuck to the tin, simply remove with a spatula and place back on top of the cake.

Step 8 – Pour most the orange syrup over the cake (I like to save a little for drizzling over slices later) and decorate with pomegranate seeds.

An upside down orange cake on a white plate. Sliced oranges adorn the top of the cake. Orange syrup has been brushed over the cake for an attractive glazed appearance.

serving

This cake is simply stunning with thick Greek yoghurt and a little extra orange syrup drizzled (and more pomegranate seeds) on top. In fact, I would recommend DOUBLING the ingredients for the syrup so you’ll have plenty leftover for later. Leftover syrup can easily be warmed up for a few minutes on the hob.

A slice of orange cake on a white plate. The cake is adorned with orange slices, pomegranate seeds and drizzled with orange syrup. A silver fork with a yellow handle is resting against the plate. A small dish of pomegranate seeds, a wooden bowl of oranges and an upside down orange cake sprinkled with pomegranate seeds.

storing

This cake will be fine in an airtight tin for up to 3-4 days. It’s one of those cakes that gets even moister and damper after a couple of days, so it’s a great one to make ahead of time for a dinner party or special occasion.

A slice of upside down orange cake on a white plate. The top of the cake is decorated with orange slices, pomegranate seeds and drizzled with an orange syrup that's running down the sides of the cake. A fork with a yellow handle is resting against the plate.

Want to see more recipes that use blood oranges?

Blood Orange Cheesecake

Blood Orange Curd

An upside down orange cake on a white plate. The top of the cake is decorated with sliced blood oranges, pomegranate seeds and brushed with orange syrup for a pretty shiny appearance.

Orange and Pomegranate Cake

Yield: 10 slices

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes

Adapted from "Blood orange blossom and pomegranate cake" by BBC Good Food Magazine February 2015, this orange and pomegranate cake is made incredibly moist and delicious by adding a whole cooked orange to the batter.

Ingredients

3 blood (or regular) oranges
250g flavourless oil, such as vegetable or sunflower
50g honey plus 2 tbsp
300g caster sugar
200g Self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
100g ground almonds
4 large eggs, beaten
1/2 tbsp orange blossom water
150g Full Fat Greek yoghurt
75g pomegranate seeds
FOR THE SYRUP:
100g caster sugar
Juice of one blood orange
1 teaspoon orange blossom water

Instructions

Place one of the oranges in a pan and cover with water. Bring to the boil, turn down the heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until the orange is very soft.
Remove from the oven and once it has cooled a little, cut in half and remove the seeds.
Preheat the oven to 180C/160F/350Fan/Gas mark 4.
Grease a deep 20cm round springform cake tin with butter, making sure the sides get a good coating.
Drizzle 2 tbsp of honey over the base of the tin, then slice the remaining two oranges quite thinly and arrange in the tin.
Puree the cooked orange in a food processor, or finely chop until the orange peel is in tiny pieces.
Place the flour, baking powder, salt and ground almonds in a large bowl. Stir to combine.
Place the oil, sugar, eggs, orange blossom water and Greek yoghurt in a medium bowl or measuring jug. Stir until well combined.
Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
Stir in the pureed orange and pour the orange flecked batter into the tin, being careful not to dislodge the orange slices.
Bake for 55-60 minutes until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool the cake in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn it upside down on a plate.
For the syrup, place the caster sugar, orange juice and orange blossom water in a small pan. Slowly bring to the boil, turn down the heat and allow the mixture to bubble for a few minutes until it becomes syrupy.
Pour around half of the syrup over the cake but save the rest for serving later with Greek Yoghurt or vanilla ice cream. Generously sprinkle the pomegranate seeds all over the cake.

Notes

Storing: This orange cake will keep in an airtight container for 3-4 days.

I often make double the amount of syrup so I have plenty for serving with slices of cake later!

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 590Total Fat: 33gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 28gCholesterol: 75mgSodium: 449mgCarbohydrates: 69gFiber: 3gSugar: 50gProtein: 8g

Calories and nutritional information are provided by a third party application and should be viewed as indicative figures only.