Glazed Orange Loaf {Paleo}

This orange loaf recipe is delicious, healthy, and easy to make. It’s packed with fresh orange flavor and is sweet and zesty at the same time. The healthy orange cake is moist and fluffy while still being paleo, gluten-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free. 

I love baking with citrus, and this time it’s the oranges that are in focus for this healthy orange loaf cake.

This orange loaf recipe is easy to make, healthy, and perfect all year round. It’s sweet, fresh, and zesty at the same time, and will make everyone go back for seconds. 

Made with clean and wholesome ingredients, this moist orange loaf cake recipe is paleo, gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, and refined usage-free. 

If you are into citrus desserts, you need to try this Limoncello Cake and this Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake as well!

But first, let’s make this paleo dessert!

Why I love this Paleo Orange Loaf

The first time I made this orange bread, I fell in love! There are so many reasons why it has become a favorite in my family, and I think yours will love it too. 

• The orange flavor
  This homemade dessert is made with freshly squeezed orange juice and orange zest making it bursting with delicious and citrusy flavor.
• Easy to make
  Desserts that come together in just a few steps are my favorite kind of baking. These is nothing at all that is complicated about this recipe.
• Healthy dessert
  This orange cake is made with wholesome ingredients that are good for you. It’s gluten-free, refined sugar-free, dairy-free, and paleo.
• Looks beautiful
  Nothing better with an easy and healthy desserts that looks like a million bucks, right!? The loaf bread looks stunning when it os topped with the two ingredient glaze.

Is this gluten-free orange loaf healthy?

The orange dessert is made with ingredients that are good for you. The orange loaf is made with gluten-free flour, no refined sugar, and coconut oil instead of butter. Yet it’s packed with flavor and moist and fluffy! 

The moist orange loaf cake gets a lot of sweetness from the fresh orange juice, therefore only a little bit of honey is added to the batter for extra sweetness. 

Orange juice is not only adding flavor and moisture to the cake but also adds a good amount of vitamin C to the cake. 

We all know that Vitamin C is an essential nutrient, so why not get some of your daily vitamin C from a dessert? 

Vitamin C is, among other things, important to the immune system. If you want to read more about the health benefits of vitamin C, you can read more about it here. 

All the ingredients are paleo-approved.

I think that makes this cake a healthy homemade dessert that won’t disappoint! 

Ingredients needed for the healthy Orange bread

This incredibly easy-to-make orange loaf is made with only eight healthy ingredients! If you are a frequent paleo and gluten-free baker, you might already have all the ingredients in your pantry.

Dry ingredients

• Almond flour, packed 
• Tapioca flour
• Baking soda

Wet ingredients

• Eggs, room temperature
• Coconut oil, melted
• Honey 
• Orange juice, freshly squeezed

Fold-in

• Orange zest

Glaze

• Powdered sugar, or keto-friendly “powdered sugar”
• Orange juice

How to make the gluten-free orange loaf

Start with preheating the oven to 350 F. 

Then, add the dry ingredients – almond flour, tapioca flour, and baking soda, into a small bowl and combine.

Now, wash, dry, and zest one large orange. Set aside. 

Juice the zested orange. Set aside.

Then, in a separate and larger bowl, combine the wet ingredients – eggs, melted coconut oil, honey, and orange juice. Whisk until everything is evenly combined. 

Then, gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients using a spatula.

Lastly, gently fold the orange zest into the orange loaf batter. 

Pour the batter into an 8×4 parchment paper-lined loaf pan.

Bake the cake for 25 – 28 min or until a toothpick comes out clean.

While the paleo orange loaf is in the oven, prepare the orange glaze. Mix the powdered sugar with orange juice. Start with 1 tablespoon and add more if you prefer a more runny icing. 

Let the cake cool down before adding the orange glaze on top.

Tips on making the best Orange loaf

1. Use fresh orange juice!
   I know it can be tempting to use store bought orange juice, or simply use the now you drink for breakfast every morning, but trust me, squeeze your own! Since you are going to need zest from one orange swell for this healthy orange loaf cake it makes total sense to use the juice from the same orange.
   
   And also, remember to zest the orange before juicing it – speaking from experience… 
   
2. Use a scale to measure
   To measure flour can be quite tricky and I do recommend using a food scale for the best accuracy. Lately, I have started to measure all my flour, not only all purpose flour, by weight rather than by cups, and it makes a big difference.
   
   However, if you don’t have a food scale, make sure you pack the almond flour firmly when you measure it. For example, 1 cup of loosely packed almond flour weighs about 96g, but a firmly packed cup of almond flour weighs between 120-130g. 
   
3. Don’t over bake the paleo orange loaf
   Over-baking the cake may result in a rubbery and/or dry texture. After 25 minutes, insert a toothpick into the middle of the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean the orange cake is done.

How to store Paleo Orange loaf

Store the moist and fluffy orange cake at room temperature for 3 days, or in the fridge in an air-tight container for 5 days. 

Yes, you can freeze it!

Store the orange loaf in an airtight container for up to 2 months in the freezer.

I would recommend not to ice the cake if you are planning to freeze it. However, if you are freezing leftovers, it won’t hurt if there is already icing on top.

Leave me a comment below when you have made it, or if you have any questions! 

I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING YOUR CREATIONS! YOU CAN USE “TRIED IT” ON PINTEREST OR SHARE ON INSTAGRAM BY TAGGING #SHUANGYSEATS

Other healthy citrus recipes to make: 

1. Healthy Orange Chicken

2. Healthy Lemon Blueberry Bread

3. Healthy Lemon Bars