Copycat Trader Joe’s Blood Orange Cake

Copycat Trader Joe’s Blood Orange Cake! We recreated this boxed mix using all gluten-free and dairy-free ingredients. Topped with a powdered sugar glaze.

THIS RECIPE IS ONE OF MY FAVORITES! Flag this, save it, screen shot it – do whatever you do when you know you’ll be making something real good.

I was in Trader Joe’s recently and saw they came out with this new blood orange cake mix. Jordan loves blood oranges so I immediately was intrigued. But he is also gluten-free and wasn’t able to eat the ingredients in the mix. So instead we decided to make our own blood orange loaf cake. And let me just say – it turned out SO good.

This blood orange cake has golden eggs and a fluffy cakey center. And it is just the perfect amount of “moist”. I know we all hate that word – but it truly is so good!!

I also made a powdered sugar glaze to put on top just like the TJ’s mix. This is of course optional but I recommend adding it as it adds the best subtle sweetness on top and it hardens and reminded me of a glazed donut – YUM.

What ingredients are in this gluten-free blood orange cake:

• Eggs – I haven’t tested flax eggs here yet but it should work too.
• Maple syrup – you could also use honey in this recipe, but I prefer the maple syrup flavor in this.
• Coconut sugar – I love the mix of a grainy sugar here and also the maple syrup together taste amazing.
• Avocado oil – such an underrated oil to bake with! Doesn’t have an overpowering flavor at all so if you don’t love coconut oil, this is a great option. But you can use any liquid oil here like coconut or olive too.
• Gluten-free oat flour – you can also use spelt flour if not gluten-free.
• Blood orange juice – we squeeze fresh blood orange to make the juice for this recipe. And some orange zest of course.
• Powdered sugar – you will need this for the glaze on top
• Non-dairy milk – same with the milk. You can use any milk you prefer but I prefer flaxseed – code RACHL for 15% off.

FAQs about making blood orange cake:

1. Can I use a regular orange instead of blood orange? Absolutely! Naval orange works well too here. We love blood oranges in our family so we tend to lean more towards buying them in our weekly haul.
2. What is the difference between a blood orange and naval orange? A blood orange is less acidic and sweeter! We use them in cocktails (well Jordan does) and they almost have hints of strawberry in them? You will notice they’re darker as well.
3. What is a blood orange cake? This was a mix I found at Trader Joe’s recently. And was so intrigued to try. But the ingredients were pretty lame so decided to make my own!
4. How long does blood orange cake stay good for? I personally like to leave this in the fridge and consume within 5 days! I reheat in microwave or the toaster and add some yogurt or butter on top – SO GOOD!

A few other delicious and healthy gluten-free cake and bread recipes to make:

The Best Healthy Apple Bread Ever (vegan + gluten-free)

Delicious Gluten-free Lemon Olive Oil Pound Cake

Healthy Gluten-free Olive Oil Banana Bread

Vegan Salted Caramel Banana Bread (gluten-free)