Orange Creamsicle Cake Recipe

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A moist and flavorful orange vanilla cake full of bright and zesty orange marmalade. Sunny orange cream cheese frosting makes this orange creamsicle cake simply irresistible!

slice of orange creamsicle layer cake being removed to serve

I am so excited to be refreshing this recipe for you, because since its establishment in 2016, it has been one of the most popular recipes on my entire blog.

Shortly after I published it, it went semi-viral on Pinterest and has since brought lots of people to it who are looking for an orange vanilla cake. And as you can see from the reviews, many manyyyy 5 star ratings!

The first time I made this cake was for Easter when I was pregnant with our first son. It usually gets a bump in traffic around Easter, all summer long, and again in the winter when oranges pop back up in season.

I don’t know about you, but I am a sucker for citrus desserts, especially orange. Check out my orange creamsicle cupcakes, orange creamsicle cookies, orange poppy seed scones, and orange blueberry muffins if you are, too!

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slice of orange creamsicle layer cake on a plate

You’ll love this Orange Dreamsicle Cake

Though there’s never a bad time for orange (in my opinion), this orange cake recipe usually makes me think of spring, so let’s bring on the sunshine, shall we?

Quite some time ago, I published a recipe for blueberry lemon cupcakes, which I had made for my brother-in-law’s wedding.

This orange and vanilla cake is almost identical to that cupcake base, with just a couple tweaks to involve plenty of orange and lots and lots of crannies (not these kinds of crannies) for orange zest.


Dreamsicle Cake ingredients

There are two components to this orange creamsicle cake: the orange cake and the orange cream cheese frosting.

For the orange cake, you will need:
 all-purpose flour
 baking powder
 salt
 unsalted butter
 granulated sugar
 orange marmalade
 eggs
 vanilla extract
 large navel oranges
 milk

For the orange cream cheese frosting, you will need:
 unsalted butter
 full fat block cream cheese
 powdered sugar
 large navel orange OR orange marmalade
 vanilla extract

slice of orange creamsicle layer cake on a plate

How to make Orange Creamsicle Cake

This cake is really, really easy. No fancy ingredients, nothing you can’t handle, and plenty of flavor and impressability (is that a word?) to turn you into a fabulous cake baker.

orange creamsicle layer cake batter in a baking pan

So let’s break it down:

You’ll start by creaming together butter, sugar, and some orange marmalade. Butter + sugar is a pretty standard start to a cake, but I add in the orange marmalade here to help bring out ultra orange flavor. All that creaming with the orange zest really does something fancy to that base!

ROOM TEMPERATURE INGREDIENTS ARE A MUST

Next up, 4 large eggs, at room temperature. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it a million times again: room temperature eggs are always the better choice when working with room temperature butter. They incorporate much more easily into your batter.

You’ll add each egg in separately and beat it into the creamed butter/sugar/marmalade.

A hefty dose of vanilla extract and some additional orange zest are added to the party to really amp up the orange creamsicle flavor.

aerial photo of orange creamsicle layer cake with a slice taken out of it

It’s also best to have room temperature orange marmalade as well as milk, and you can prep these by setting them out when you set out your butter to soften.

Lastly, you’re going to add your flour/baking powder/salt mixture and a milk + fresh orange juice combo.

The most important step here is to alternate additions of each. You’ll start by adding about half of the flour mixture then about half of the liquid. Repeat again until everything has been added.

WHY DO WE ALTERNATE ADDING WET AND DRY INGREDIENTS?

Great question!

Since the base of this cake is quite buttery and also contains marmalade and a whole 4 eggs, it’s quite wet. You can only add so much more liquid to this mixture before it just can’t absorb any more.

orange creamsicle layer cake batter in a baking pan

It’s likely to separate if there’s too much liquid introduced into this wet base before there’s anything there to help absorb it. If we start with a little bit of flour, we have a bit more of a vehicle for adding more liquid.

I have made this cake (and into cupcakes) several ways, and I always find the lightest crumb with my alternating additions method. This isn’t always the method when it comes to making a cake, but the ratios in this batter benefit from it.

Your cakes will only take about 30ish minutes in the oven.

Not long at all! And while we’re talking about baking those beautiful layers, I have to give a little shoutout to one of my favorite cake baking tools to ever exist: homemade cake release.

jar of homemade cake release

I have been using this stuff from day 2 of scratch cake baking. Day 1? I greased and floured. I just do not love that method.

I swear by this cake release, and I urge you to try it. Your cakes will literally fall out of your pans, leaving behind little to no crumbs.

orange creamsicle layer cake baked in a baking pan

Easy peasy removal + no chunks of cake missing? Easy release making easy orange cake even easier? Pshh, yes please!

You may have no problem with the grease and flour method, and in that case, please… Carry on! Just know that this is my tried and true.

After the cake comes the creamiest, orangiest, heavenliest cream cheese frosting that ever existed.

Ohhhhh my goodness, friends.

orange cream cheese frosting in a glass bowl

I always have to stop myself from eating all of the leftover frosting. It is unreal good.

Nothing too crazy there either: a stick of butter, a block of cream cheese, some powdered sugar, orange zest or orange marmalade, and a touch of vanilla.

If you’re not so much into all that extra orange flavor (you cray!), feel free to leave out the added zest/marmalade. Whatever your tastebuds are feeling works just fine.

aerial photo of orange creamsicle layer cake

Once your cakes are completely cool, you’re ready to assemble. If you’ve never assembled a layer cake before, please do not be intimidated. It’s not as daunting as it may seem.

Tips for assembling this Orange Creamsicle Cake Recipe

I always start by leveling my cakes. You can do this with a serrated knife (not my favorite way) or a cake leveler. I have used this cake leveler since I began baking cakes.

orange creamsicle layer cake baked in a baking pan

It is adjustable, durable, and it doesn’t take up a lot of space. And it’s super inexpensive. It makes leveling cakes a cinch, and I prefer it to a knife a million times over.

Once you’re leveled, place one layer on a cake stand or serving plate, spread a decent amount of frosting evenly on top, place the second level (cut side down) on top of that, and refrigerate for about 10 minutes.

stacked orange creamsicle layer cake being covered in orange cream cheese frosting with a metal spatula

I like to chill the whole cake before I frost the entire thing because it sturdies everything up a bit. Otherwise, I find that things can start to slide and then it’s all kinds of messy.

Feel free to refrigerate for longer, especially if you have the time!

Spread the remaining frosting on the top and all around the sides, pop in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to allow everything to set, and you are ready to serve up the most delightful little orange creamsicle cake your tastebuds ever laid tastes on (what?).

orange creamsicle layer cake on a plate

If you want a 4 layer cake, simply split each layer into 2, and layer as instructed until you run out of layers.

I have made this cake several times over the years, and it is always met with people who can’t stop nibbling.

I actually had someone on this most recent round of tasting say:

That cake is impossibly perfect I cannot even put it in words. One of my favorite bites of food in my LIFE.

–Maria, 20something

Each bite of this orange creamsicle cake is filled with a burst of orange flavor, a soft, moist crumb, and surrounded by luscious cream cheese frosting that adds just the perfect amount of additional orange flavor to categorize this cake as “dreamy.”

My favorite bites are the ones with chunks of orange zest from the marmalade, because they add texture and a tangy punch of orange. The BEST!

sliced orange creamsicle layer cake on a plate with exposed layers and curled orange peel

I seriously love this cake: not too fancy, not too difficult, and sure to dazzle anyone who tries it!

This cake is perfect for spring or summer, but let’s be honest, there really is never a bad time for orange, especially when it comes in the form of cake that reminds you of that childhood popsicle you could never get enough of.

slice of orange creamsicle layer cake on a plate with a fork and a bite taken out of it

Give it a try! I can almost guarantee you’ll be impressing yourself (and your friends) in no time with your ability to make a fabulous orange creamsicle cake from scratch!

Looking for more orange recipes? Try my orange poppy seed scones or orange blueberry muffins next!

slice of orange creamsicle layer cake on a plate with a fork and a bite taken out of it
4.91 from 22 votes
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Orange Cream Cake

A moist and flavorful orange vanilla cake full of bright and zesty orange marmalade. Sunny orange cream cheese frosting makes this orange creamsicle cake simply irresistible!
Prep Time15 minutes
Bake Time26 minutes
Total Time41 minutes
Recipe Author Lynn April
Servings: 10 servings

Ingredients

ORANGE CAKE

  • 3 cups (360g) all-purpose flour be sure to measure properly
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (227g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
  • 1 and ¼ cup (250g) granulated sugar
  • ½ cup (160g) orange marmalade
  • 4 large eggs room temperature1
  • 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • zest and juice of 2 large navel oranges2
  • ¾ cup (180mL) milk room temperature1; any but whole cow preferred3

ORANGE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

  • ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
  • 8 ounces (225g) full fat block cream cheese softened to room temperature
  • 2 cups (240g) powdered sugar
  • zest of ½ a large navel orange OR 1 Tablespoon (20g) orange marmalade
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

ORANGE CAKE

  • Preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC). Grease and flour (or use homemade cake release) two 8" round baking pans. Set aside.
  • In a medium size bowl, toss together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl with a handheld mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar, and orange marmalade on medium-high speed until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add each egg, one at a time, beating on medium-high speed until fully incorporated, scraping down the sides as necessary. Add the vanilla extract and orange zest and beat again until combined.
  • Stir the orange juice into the milk. Scrape down the sides of the mixer bowl and turn the mixer speed to low. Add the flour in 2 additions, alternating with the milk/orange juice. Remove bowl from mixer and stir with a spatula until everything is completely combined.
  • Spoon batter evenly into prepared pans and bake 28-34 minutes or until lightly browned on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow cakes to cool in the pans completely on a wire rack before removing and assembling.

ORANGE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

  • In a medium size bowl with a handheld mixer or in the bowl of stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese on medium speed until no lumps remain (about 3 minutes).
  • Decrease mixer speed to low. Add powdered sugar, orange zest or orange marmalade, and vanilla extract. Increase mixer speed to to high and beat until completely combined (approximately 2-3 minutes).
  • For more buttercream troubleshooting tips, see my book, The Home Baker's Guide to Basic Buttercream.

ASSEMBLE CAKE

  • For a 2 layer cake: trim cooled cake layers to create a flat surface. You can do this with a large serrated knife or a cake leveler. Place one layer on a plate or cake stand and cover the top with cream cheese frosting. Spread evenly with an offset spatula. For a 4 layer cake: split each layer into two even layers and proceed with step 2, alternating cake and frosting.
  • Place second layer on top, cut surface down. For a sturdier cake, refrigerate at this point for about 10 minutes. When cake is slightly chilled, remove from refrigerator and spread more frosting on the top and around the sides. Refrigerate frosted cake at least 30 minutes before cutting so cake and frosting can set completely. Leftovers stay fresh, covered tightly, at room temperature up to 3 days and in the refrigerator up to 5 days.
  • Make ahead: prepare cakes and frosting up to 1 day in advance. Cover cakes tightly and keep at room temperature or in the refrigerator until ready to assemble. Refrigerate prepared frosting in an airtight container until ready to use. Unfrosted cake layers may be frozen, wrapped tightly, up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before assembling. Frosted cake can be frozen, wrapped tightly, up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before serving.

Notes

  1. Room temperature ingredients: these incorporate into batter much more easily than cold ingredients. Allow to sit at room temperature for 45 minutes. You can place eggs in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes or until ready to use.
  2. Orange juice: approximately ¼ cup juice from each orange, for a total of about ½ cup for the entire cake batter recipe. Do not exceed ½ cup of juice.
  3. Milk: a higher fat milk brings the best texture to this cake.
  4. Make in a bundt pan: this recipe also fits in a bundt pan. Bake time is approximately 40 minutes. Top with a simple glaze or half the recipe of the orange cream cheese buttercream.
Did you make this recipe?Mention @freshaprilflours on Instagram or tag #freshaprilflours!

Nutrition Disclosure

All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.

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121 Comments

  1. Ooh, Lynn…this cake is GORGEOUS!! I am getting hungry RIGHT. NOW. First of all….cream cheese frosting? Yum. Then fluffy white cake with orange? Double yum. Oh, my word, I almost wish I wasn’t going to chorus tonight so that I could make this!

    1. Haha, thanks, Aria! I have to say, you MUST try this one if you’re into orange and cream cheese frosting. It was so so hard not to eat all of it before our Easter brunch guests arrived. Have fun at chorus 🙂

  2. This cake is AMAZING! I so know what you mean about bad photos, I cringe at most of my photos as it is but when I go back to the start – sheez! There sure are some yellow ones! But seriously this cake looks heavenly girl, you have got the cake skills – pinned!

    1. Hahaha, I’m so glad you feel me on the bad pics! But I always love your photos, so don’t even think the current ones aren’t GORG! It’s a good thing we’ve all come a long way, for sure! Thanks for your sweet comment, friend! 🙂

  3. Yummy! I am a sucker for anything orange 🙂 I love that you used marmalade to boost the orange flavour – what a great idea! And cream cheese frosting is always the devil – the sweetest, sweetest devil. Your co-workers sure are lucky people Miss Lynn. And thanks for sharing the baking nerd-dom – you know I love it 😉

    1. Haha, you are my fellow baking nerd lover! I loved using the marmalade because of the HUGE chunks of orange zest. Totally necessary between little bites of moist and fluffy cake!

  4. I’m totally cake obsessed right now! I’ve got a whole list of layer cakes I want to try and now orange is on the list! This is SO gorgeous, Lynn 🙂

  5. After seeing that I pinned two of your recipes, I thought that I should just sign up on your blog.

    I baked this cake the other day in a 9×13. I followed the instructions to the tee except I needed to increase the baking time. I even let all ingredients come to room temperature. The only problem I had was the cake sunk in the middle. I’m wondering if you have any suggestions on how to prevent this from happening again?

    I really love the tips you give with your recipes. Baking Bootcamp #1 was very helpful. Can’t wait to see what’s next.

    1. Hi Ellen– thanks for following my blog and pinning my recipes! I’m sorry to hear your cake sunk in the middle, but sometimes, cake recipes aren’t meant to be baked in that large of a baking pan. This cake is pretty moist, and perhaps just isn’t proper for baking in a 9×13. The only other thing I could assume is that your baking powder wasn’t powerful enough. If it’s new or less than 6 months old, it should be fine, and I would say the culprit is making the baking pan bigger.

    2. Well I guess that makes sense. My baking soda was purchased at Christmas time. It still tasted fabulous. I spread the frosting thicker there and nobody was the wiser.

  6. 4 stars
    Hi Lynn, I made this cake recently and it was delicious. The frosting was exceptional, really tasted just like an orange creamsicle! I had a question about the cake itself. The texture of my cake was very moist and dense, it didn’t have the light and airy crumb that I see in your photos. I’m wondering if this could be because I added too much orange juice, the two oranges I juiced were really large. Would you be able to provide an exact measurement for how much orange juice to add to the cake batter?

    thanks!

    1. Hi, Jill! Thanks for the feedback and for giving my cake a try! Unfortunately, in the world of recipes, your orange may not give the same amount of juice as my orange. That said, a general rule of thumb is about 4-6 Tablespoons of juice per orange. What I wrote on my recipe at home is that I had about 1/2 cup TOTAL of orange juice, meaning I got about 4 Tablespoons (1/4 cup) per orange. There’s a good chance that if you added a ton more than this that your cake could have been denser. If you’d like to give it another go, yes, I would recommend using 1/2 cup TOTAL for the cake batter. Hope that helps!

  7. Thanks for the quick reply! Yes, I probably added at least 1 cup of orange juice! I’ll definitely be making this cake again with the correct amount. 🙂

    1. Hi Bertina, you can absolutely make this cake ahead of time. It should be fine at room temp, unless it is warm where you are. In that case, keep it in the fridge until about an hour before serving.

    1. It might. It’s always best to stick to the recipe, especially when it comes to the flour. If you have to make the substitution, know that 1 cup of cake flour is equivalent to 1 cup of all purpose flour minus 2 Tablespoons. Enjoy!

    1. Hi Rosalie– I’m sure that it can, although I am unsure of baking time. Maybe about 40 minutes? I would try 32 minutes or so and go from there. Let me know if you try it!

    2. 5 stars
      I tried this in a buntl pan ! This is a wonderful cake with just a orange glaze on top! Turned out beautiful and is very good! Cooked at 350 for Approx 40 to 45 min !

    3. I’m so glad you came back to let me know! Thanks so much, Rosali. I will add a note to the recipe about the bundt pan.

  8. Hi Lynn,
    I made tha cake last night, I haven’t ice it yet because my party is not until 5pm.
    Can I ice the cake and keep it in the fridge until 5pm?
    Would it get hardish?
    Thanks.
    Monica.

    1. Hi Monica– just now seeing this! It would have been fine to leave it in the fridge. Just set it out for about an hour before you want to serve it.

    1. Haha, Laura, I would love to make everyone I know my carrot cake. I hope you try this orange cake– it quickly became a favorite here!

  9. Absolutely stunning, and the flavors sound divine! As for the cake release, the one you pictured is the one my MIL swears by, but I recently discovered the Pam baking nonstick spray which has butter and flour in it and it’s awesome! I’ll be pinning this beautiful cake 🙂

    1. Thanks, Valentina! I LOVE that cake release– I’ll have to look out for the Pam kind. I won’t ever go back to grease/flour ever again!

  10. Awesome, thanks for the reply! And early congrats on baby to be ???? He’s a lucky little guy!

    1. Thanks, Suzanne! If my cake got together with your cupcakes, that would be one solid dessert spread!!

    1. HI Katelyn– so glad you enjoyed the cake! I would follow the baking times and yield based on my triple lemon cupcakes recipe (https://freshaprilflours.com/2016/06/01/triple-lemon-cupcakes/). That recipe is half of this orange cake recipe and the lemon icing might be better/sturdier for cupcakes than the one in this orange recipe. Just replace the lemon curd with orange juice or zest, if you’d like. I hope that makes sense! Let me know if you have any other questions.