This picturesque Blood Orange Cake cake will wow everyone! It’s essentially a turmeric cake with stunning and delicious citrus on top! Cakes with turmeric make for an unexpected dessert that is packed with flavor and buttery goodness! 
Inspiration for my recipes comes from all over the place.
Inside, outside, books, magazines, mood, weather . . . .
It can be anything from the produce that’s in season and the temperature outside, to how I’m feeling, and flavors I’m craving.
It can also be pictures in magazines, aromas in the air, what’s in my pantry, and a million things in between. 
For this recipe my inspiration was color. I wanted to paint a picture, if you will — of the fiery red of blood oranges and the brilliant gold of turmeric . . . in a blood orange cake, with turmeric.
I knew the flavors would marry beautifully, and I just had to see those deep, rich colors together — in a cake! Sometimes a vision must be realized!
Cakes with Turmeric
- A gorgeous color – Cakes with Turmeric will have a stunning golden glow to them.
- A comfort food – Cakes with Turmeric are not a comfort food just because they are sweet dessert, it’s more because turmeric is a warming spice. It’s rich in astringent tannins that help tighten tissues and absorb excess water from the body, which results in “drying.” And that in turn, raises the overall body temperature. So the cake could potentially warm you up in cold weather! 😉
- A delicious flavor – Turmeric has subtle scents of orange and ginger. The overall flavor is mild, though it can be a bit bitter. In a cake all of these elements are balanced and brought out with the sugar and rich butter.
And add to all of that, blood orange cake, and oh my! Spectacular!
You will be a star when you serve this blood orange cake at your next get together. That’s a promise!
It’s beautiful inside and out!
Enjoy!
A turmeric cake with stunning and delicious citrus on top! Cakes with turmeric make for an unexpected dessert that is packed with flavor and buttery goodness!
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
- 2 to 3 blood oranges
- 1/4 cup low or full-fat milk
- 2 tablespoons fresh turmeric, freshly grated
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup unsalted butter, melted
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and adjust a rack to the center. Use a pastry brush, or a bit of the butter wrapper, to coat the bottom and sides of a 9-inch cake pan with the tablespoon of softened butter. Set aside.
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On a clean, dry surface, use a paring knife to cut about 1/2-inch off the top and bottom of each blood orange. Then to remove the skin, set them down on one of their flat surfaces and use a the knife, moving downwards, just inside the skin, cutting only slightly into the flesh. (Here's a photographic guide for cutting citrus this way.) Now, cutting horizontally into the blood oranges, create round slices that are about 1/4-inch thick. Place them on the bottom surface of the buttered cake pan, covering as much of the space as possible. The edges of the orange slices should be touching each other. Set aside.
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In a small saucepan, combine the milk with the freshly grated turmeric. (Here's How to Use Fresh Turmeric.) Place the pan over medium-high heat and bring to a strong simmer. Then turn off the heat, cover, and set aside.
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In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour with the baking powder, cardamom and salt. Set aside.
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In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk the eggs with the sugar and vanilla.
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Now strain the turmeric milk. Use the bottom of a spoon to gently press on the grated turmeric to get as much liquid out as possible. Set aside.
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Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and pour in the egg mixture and the strained turmeric milk. Once it's blended in, fold in the melted butter. Continue to fold the batter until it's smooth.
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Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan with the blood oranges and place it on a baking sheet, and then into the preheated 350 degree F oven. Bake until it's golden and set, about 30 minutes.
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Let the cake cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes, and then invert it onto a a serving plate or platter. (The cake is best served at room temperature.)
Gorgeous, Valentina! Just breath-takingly beautiful!
Aww, thanks so much Jeanne! XO
The addition of turmeric is genius! What an outstanding winter cake!
Thank you so much, Deb! It’s citrus season, after all. 🙂
Stunning.
With such a bold presence of moist ingredients I’m not sure how to convert this recipe to Gluten Free Flour and Guar Gum. I’m concerned it would become a gorgeous but leaden hockey puck. Do you have recommendations?
Hi there. I haven’t made a gluten-free version of this recipe. That said, my instinct would be to try it with a gluten-free 1 to 1 baking flour, such as this one. 1 to 1 flours typically contain blend of a few GF flours and xanthan gum. I think you’d have success with it. Thanks for visiting my site and checking out the recipe. Let me know if you try it, and I’ll let you know if I do. 🙂
Wow, the colors in this cake are unbelievably gorgeous! I don’t think I’ve ever baked with turmeric, but I’m certainly intrigued. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Thanks so much! I hadn’t baked with turmeric either — it was a very successful experiment. 🙂
In your hands winter is the most colorful season of the year! GREG
Best compliment ever. Thank you, Greg. 🙂 XO
Such a pretty cake, love the way the orange slices look on top!
Thanks so much Sylvie! 🙂
Oh you’ve achieved your goal of fire beautifully, your cake is stunning. Love the use of fresh turmeric in your cake too.
Yay! Thanks so much for checking it out.
Stunning! You’ve inspired me. I’ve got to try this combination — turmeric and blood oranges. Thank you so much!
Thank you so much for checking out my recipe. 🙂
Umm wowing guests is an understatement! This cake is gorgeous! Such awesome colours… I’d love to try this but I don’t think I could make it as beautiful as you!
You are too kind — of course you could! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
What a gorgeous cake! I love baking with turmeric it reminds me of my grandmother’s turmeric cake so warm and comforting.
Thanks so much! I love that this recipe conjured up a lovely food memory for you. 🙂
It’s like a tasty sunset on a plate!
Oh I love that analogy, David. 🙂
And it tastes great too! Thanks for a lovely recipe
SO happy you tired and enjoyed the recipe, Lea. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
So lovely! Is it possible to use ground turmeric in place of fresh?
Yes, you can use ground turmeric. I’d use approx 2 teaspoons, and then no need to strain the milk. Enjoy!
Thanks!!
Wow such beautiful colors!! I’ve never had turmeric in a cake before — have to pin this!
Thanks so much! 😀
I love the look of this cake. Do you have any idea what might work as an egg replacer, or are there too many eggs to substitute?
Hi Summer, I haven’t ever tried this with an egg substitute. I found this great “cheat sheet” for substituting eggs that I think will be really helpful. For this cake, I’d really try to stay away from substitutes with strong flavors — you don’t want to take away from the turmeric! 🙂 My instinct would be to try the flax first. Good luck!
Hi there! Does anybody have an idea with what I could substitute the blood oranges for now? They’re not in season yet around here, but I’d still love to make that cake for my mom’s birthday in early November. Would love to hear some ideas! Thanks! 🙂
Hi Julia, You can use Naval oranges — and, you might see Cara Cara’s early Nov (but could be too early) — they’re a great pinkish color. The Navals would be lovely — just a different look. Enjoy!
What a gorgeous cake! I have everything but cardamom. I really enjoy cinnamon orange tea. Can I replace cardamom with cinnamon? Want to try this tonight.
Hi Kim, I hope I got to this in time — before you started baking. YES, cinnamon would be delicious! Go for it. 🙂 I hope you enjoy it.