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Orange Creamsicle Cake

This orange creamsicle cake tastes just like the frozen ice cream bars I used to enjoy when I was a kid. The secret is using real orange juice concentrate, orange zest and a super creamy frosting. This orange creamsicle cake recipe will be a huge hit, having you humming the ice cream truck song all day long. 
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Chilling Time 1 hour
Total Time 2 hours
Servings 8 cups
Calories 1097kcal

Equipment

  • 1 9" x 13" cake pan

Ingredients

Orange Cake Ingredients

  • 10 ounces cake flour
  • 10 ounces granulated sugar
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon citric acid optional
  • 6 ounces unsalted butter softened
  • 7 ounces orange juice concentrate defrosted at room temperature
  • 4 ounces milk warmed
  • 4 large eggs room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons orange extract
  • 1 zest orange
  • 2 ounces vegetable oil
  • 1-2 drops yellow food coloring
  • 1 drop orange food coloring

Mascarpone Frosting

  • 16 ounces mascarpone cheese softened
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
  • 2 ½ cups heavy whipping cream

Instructions

Making Orange Cake

  • Preheat your oven to 335℉ and make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature (milk, eggs, orange juice, butter). 
  • Prepare a standard rectangle 9-inch x 13-inch sheet cake pan with cake goop on the sides and parchment paper on the bottom. This recipe will also work in two 8" round cake pans.
  • In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine together the cake flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk and set aside.
  • Measure the milk, orange juice concentrate, oil, eggs, extracts, and zest in a small bowl and whisk to combine. 
  • Add the room-temperature butter to the dry ingredients in the stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until the mixture resembles coarse sand.
  • Add in ⅓ of the wet ingredients mixture, turn it up to medium speed, and mix for one full minute. The batter will look lighter in color and fluffier. Make sure to scrape the bowl.
  • Add in the drops of food color and citric acid and mix until combined.
  • Slowly pour in the remaining liquid and mix on low speed until just combined. 
  • Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and bake it for 35-40 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. 
  • Cool the cake for 10 minutes in the pan, and then flip it out onto a cooling rack. You can also leave it in the pan and serve it from there.
  • Once the cake has cooled completely, place it on a serving tray.

Making Mascarpone Frosting

  • In a medium bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer add the mascarpone cheese and cream cheese and mix with the whisk attachment or an electric mixer. 
  • Once the chunks have smoothed out, add the vanilla and powdered sugar and blend until combined. 
  • In a separate bowl, whip the cold heavy cream to medium-stiff peaks. 
  • Fold about 2 cups of whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture. Repeat with the remaining cream until it's all incorporated.

Decorating the Cake

  • Frost the top (and sides, optional) of the cool cake with a plentiful amount of fluffy mascarpone frosting. 
  • Slice fresh oranges into wedges and place them on top of the cake in a geometric pattern. 
  • Pipe some shells of frosting in a pattern on top of the cake.
  • Store this cake wrapped in plastic wrap or in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Because of the mascarpone cheese frosting, the frosted cake needs to be refrigerated if you are not serving it within 2 hours. The whipped topping can melt at warmer temperatures, so take note if it is exposed to sunlight.

Notes

  1. Weigh your ingredients to avoid cake failure. Using a kitchen scale for baking is super easy and gives you the best results every single time. 
  2. Make sure all your cold ingredients are room temperature or slightly warm (butter, milk, eggs, to create a cohesive batter. Curdled batter causes cakes to collapse.
  3. No buttermilk? You can make your own buttermilk 
  4. To prevent blueberries from sinking, I wash them (to get them wet) then roll them in flour. Then I add them to the batter halfway through baking
  5. Do not fall for the "just add cornstarch to regular flour" trick. It does not work for this recipe. Your cake will look and taste like cornbread. If you can't find cake flour, use pastry flour which isn't quite as soft as cake flour but it's better than all-purpose flour. 
  6. Make your own pan release (cake goop!) The best pan release ever! 
  7. If you're in the UK search for Shipton mills cake and pastry flour. If you're in another part of the country, search for low protein cake flour.
  8. Need more help with making your first cake? Check out my how to decorate your first cake blog post. 
  9. Mascarpone frosting is the perfect pairing, but stabilized whipped cream is a great, light combination as well.
  10. In a medium bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer add the mascarpone cheese and cream cheese and mix with the whisk attachment or an electric mixer. 
  11.  

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 1097kcal | Carbohydrates: 97g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 73g | Saturated Fat: 45g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 281mg | Sodium: 381mg | Potassium: 402mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 68g | Vitamin A: 2671IU | Vitamin C: 36mg | Calcium: 213mg | Iron: 1mg