Anytime you enter an Assyrian home, you are greeted with warm hospitality, tea, and homemade Orange Bundt Cake. A moist, and flavorful cake, loaded with raising and walnuts. And yes, there's a hole in this cake...
Replicating Mom's Recipe
Although mom was an amazing cook, I've come to realize that she wasn't really into baking. The only thing I remember her baking besides kileche and Chadeh is this cake.
Most Assyrian families have some version of this cake. Because mom was struggling with the return of her breast cancer, she couldn't remember how to make this cake when I was compiling recipes for my cookbook (Mom's Authentic Assyrian Recipes).
It took a lot of experimenting, and a lot of calories consumed until I could come up with a recipe that was similar to mom's recipe.
I was happy and somewhat surprised that mom approved of my Orange Bundt Cake recipe.
Frankly, she was not easy to please when it came to others cooking her recipes.
Mom always had to leave you with at least one suggestion: it's a little too salty "
Ingredients
- 3/4 cups unsalted butter (softened, plus extra for greasing the pan)
- 1-1/2 cups sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup milk
- zest of one orange
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 2 tsp. lemon juice
- 2 T. orange juice
- 2-1/2 cups flour (plus some to dust the pan)
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 1/2 cup raisins
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease a bundt cake with some butter, then dust with flour.
- Mix butter and sugar with an electric mixer until blended.
- Add eggs, milk, orange zest, vanilla, lemon juice, and orange juice. Mix to incorporate.
- In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Slowly pour the dry ingredients into the wet ones. Mix until thoroughly blended.
- Place walnuts and raisins in a small bowl and dust with a tablespoon of flour. This will keep the walnuts and raisins from sinking to the bottom of the cake once it's cooked.
- Fold the walnuts, and raisins into the batter. Pour the batter into the bundt cake pan.
- Bake for one hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes. To un-mold the cake, place a large, flat plate over the pan and flip the cake onto the plate. Cool for at least an hour before slicing.
Orange Cake, A Flu Remedy?
Recently we purchased our retirement home in Montana. My sister, Rosa, gave me a Kitchenaid Mixer as a house-warming gift. Generous, right? I gave some thought as to how I wanted to break it in and decided on Mom's Orange Bundt Cake.
Little did I know what a great choice that was. Scott and I ended up bed-ridden for the rest of our trip with the flu.
This meant no energy to prepare any meals. Guess what we survived on? You guessed it, Mom's Orange Cake! This cake was our sustenance during that week.
Be sure to serve Orange Bundt Cake with Middle Eastern tea the next time you have guests. I hope you get to enjoy a slice with your guests soon!
Be sure to check out these other great desserts:
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Mom's Orange Cake (Caka't Pertikaleh)
Ingredients
- 3/4 cups unsalted butter (softened, plus extra for greasing the pan)
- 1-1/2 cups sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup milk
- zest of one orange
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 2 tsp. lemon juice
- 2 T. orange juice
- 2-1/2 cups flour (plus some to dust the pan)
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 1/2 cup raisins
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease a bundt cake with some butter, then dust with flour.
- Mix butter and sugar with an electric mixer until blended.
- Add eggs, milk, orange zest, vanilla, lemon juice, and orange juice. Mix to incorporate.
- In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Slowly pour the dry ingredients into the wet ones. Mix until thoroughly blended.
- Place walnuts and raisins in a small bowl and dust with a tablespoon of flour. This will keep the walnuts and raisins from sinking to the bottom of the cake once it's cooked.
- Fold the walnuts, and raisins into the batter. Pour the batter into the bundt cake pan.
- Bake for one hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes. To un-mold the cake, place a large, flat plate over the pan and flip the cake onto the plate. Cool for at least an hour before slicing.
Katrina says
Hello Hilda,
I’m Armenian from Iran and I have been searching for this recipe for a long time. It’s a classic recipe that reminds me of the cakes from my childhood. Thank you for the work you did in putting this recipe together. It was Devine! God bless and take safe.
HildaSterner says
Hi Katrina,
Nice to meet you! Armenians and Assyrians seem to have so much in common. I remember growing up in Iraq, my mother had many Armenian friends. Many of them were able to speak Assyrian too. I'm so glad you liked the recipe and that it brought back some fond childhood memories. God bless & stay safe!
Pramane Younathan says
Oh my God Hilda! This cake is amazing! Just made it tonight and it is delicious! This is my first time making this and your directions were perfect. My husband wanted me to tell you when he ate it it reminded him of home, which is Iraq.
HildaSterner says
Hi Pramene,
Haha, so glad you both like it. I think this cake is so dangerous. When I bake it, I can't stop eating it 😬. For this reason, I only make it a few times a year... but I LOVE it!