Orange Micro-Bundt Cakes

Ingredients

Cakes

• 110 grams unbleached all purpose flour sifted; I use Gold Medal
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt/⅛ teaspoon table salt
• ⅜ teaspoon baking powder
• 150 grams granulated sugar
• 3 grams (½ tablespoon) orange zest
• 70 grams unsalted butter room temperature
• 63 grams eggs room temperature
• ¼ teaspoon almond extract
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 53 ml buttermilk room temperature
• 15 ml orange juice

Soaking Syrup

• 11 ml orange juice
• 8 ml lemon juice
• 17 grams granulated sugar
• 7 grams unsalted butter

Glaze

• 60 grams powdered sugar sifted
• pinch salt
• 11 ml orange juice divided
• 4 ml lemon juice

Instructions

Cakes

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
2. Place the sugar in a medium-sized bowl and zest the oranges directly into the bowl on top of the sugar. Use your fingers to rub the zest and sugar together. This method better releases the oils and flavor of the orange zest into the cake batter.
3. Put the flour, baking powder and salt together in medium-sized bowl and whisk together for 30 seconds.
4. Crack the eggs into a separate bowl.
5. Whisk 15 ml of orange juice into the buttermilk.
6. Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and with the paddle attachment mix on medium speed for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
7. Add about 2 tablespoons of the orange-sugar mixture and beat on medium speed for 30 seconds. Stop the mixer, add another 2 tablespoons of the sugar mixture and beat for 30 seconds. Repeat this step until all the sugar is added, scraping down down the sides and bottom of the bowl and the paddle attachment as needed. After all the sugar is added, beat the butter and sugar for 2-3 more minutes on medium speed until the mixture is creamy and fluffy, and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.
8. Add the eggs in two portions, beating on medium speed until each portion is well incorporated, about 20 seconds.
9. Mix in the almond extract and vanilla extract on medium speed until well combined.
10. Add one-third of the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until well combined, but do not over mix. Add one-half of the buttermilk mixture and mix on medium speed until well combined. Add half of the remaining dry ingredients, then the rest of the buttermilk, mixing after each addition. Add the remaining the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix on low speed for about 30 seconds to make sure the batter in well mixed.
11. Scoop the batter into the prepared bundt pan, using about 36 grams per well.
12. Bake for about 17 minutes on rack 2. The internal temperature should be at least 203°F.
13. Remove the pan from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Slightly loosen the cakes by running an offset spatula around the edges. Cool the cakes in the pan for 8-10 minutes and then invert onto a cooling rack.
14. Brush the entire surface with the orange soaking syrup, using all the syrup. Allow the cake to completely cool before adding the glaze.

Soaking Syrup

1. As soon as the cakes come out of the oven, combine 11 ml orange juice, 8 ml lemon juice, and 17 grams of sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer. As soon as the sugar is dissolved, remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the butter until butter is melted and thoroughly combined into the glaze.
2. Once the cakes have been turned out onto the cooling rack, brush the entire surface of each with the orange soaking syrup, using all of it. Allow the cake to completely cool before adding the orange glaze, about 2 hours.

Glaze

1. Place powdered sugar and salt in small bowl and whisk to combine. Add the mixture of orange juice lemon juice, starting with a small amount. Stir together until the glaze is thoroughly combined. The glaze will be really thick at this point; add more citrus juice until the desired consistency is achieved. If desired, add citrus zest at this point, or add it over the top of the cakes once the glaze is added. Pipe or drizzle over the cakes.

Notes

20 March 2026: The quantities above are for the 12-well mini/micro bundt pan by Wilton. I was a bit afraid to use this, thinking that the cakes wouldn’t come out of the wells, but they basically did. Only one stuck a bit. I greased them with shortening and then dusted with flour before filling them, and this worked reasonably well. It seems important to let them cool at least 8 minutes before trying to invert the pan and remove them. I had to do this in stages, using a wooden spoon against the back of the pan to get the last few to release. An extra minute or two of cooling time probably would have helped. The recipe (which is one-quarter of the original, full-size bundt cake recipe) made 468 grams of batter, and I placed about 36 grams into each well. This was just about the perfect size. The batter is sticky so it was difficult to get it into the wells, but it seems to melt and level out quickly in the oven, so it’s probably not critical to get it perfect.