A light, refreshing, absolutely delicious cake! Orange cake, layered with homemade orange curd, topped with an orange buttercream frosting. Perfect for Easter, spring and summer birthdays. When citrus is in season and you need a pick-me-up from the ho-hum of late winter, this is the cake!
This pretty cake is sure to brighten someone’s special day or holiday.
This cake is layered with homemade orange curd….
Then topped with a delicious orange buttercream frosting, decorated with orange twists and fresh mint.
My sister made this fabulous cake for my nephew’s 21st birthday. My husband was lucky to be in Anchorage for work and celebrated this special day with the family. He enjoyed a big slice of this beautiful cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and hasn’t stopped raving since. He said it reminded him of an orange creamsicle – a childhood favorite.
A big warm thank you to my sister. Just like me, she loves to share. I am thrilled to have another wonderful recipe added to my recipe box here on Sweet Little Bluebird.
Orange Layer Cake
2 teaspoons lemon zest
Orange Curd: Note: Make the orange curd several hours ahead. If you have time, it’s best to make it the day before the cake so it can refrigerate overnight. If you can’t make the day before, no worries. Just be sure to refrigerate for 3 hours before layering the cake.
- Put the lemon juice in a small bowl and sprinkle gelatin over it. Let sit for about 15 minutes.
- Next, whisk together the sugar, orange juice, egg yolks, orange zest and lemon zest in a thick-bottomed saucepan. Place over medium heat and add the butter and whisk until the mixture thickens and bubbles start to appear at the edge of the pan, about 9 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the gelatin mixture. Stir/whisk the mixture until the gelatin dissolves. Transfer to to a bowl. Cover the curd with plastic wrap so that the plastic is directly on the surface of the curd so that no air touches (prevents a skin from forming) and refrigerate overnight.
- Heat the oven to 350°F. Grease two 9×1-1/2-inch cake pans and line the bottom of each with a round of kitchen parchment. Lightly flour the sides and bottom of each pan.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In a mixer, cream together the butter, shortening, and zest. Gradually add the sugar, creaming until the mixture is light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well between additions and scraping down the sides.
- Add the sifted dry ingredients alternately with the orange juice to the creamed mixture, beating well on low speed after each addition. Pour equal amounts of the batter into the two prepared cake pans.
- Bake 25-28 min, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pans for about 10 minutes. Loosen the layers by running a knife between the cake and the edge of the pan and place them on a cooling rack.
Frosting:
- Cream the butter in the mixer.
- Add the confectioners’ sugar and salt and combine thoroughly.
- Add the orange zest and mix to combine. Then add orange juice and mix until well blended, scraping down the sides as needed. Refrigerate if not using right away.
When all the components are cool, put one cake layer on a cake stand Spread the orange curd over the cake to make a 1/4-inch layer. Put the second layer on top of the first and refrigerate the cake until the filling has chilled again and firmed up, about 15 min.
Frost the Cake:
Loosen the frosting by beating with a spatula. Spread just a very thin layer of frosting over the whole cake (this is called a “crumb coat” because it secures loose crumbs). Refrigerate the cake to let the frosting firm up, about 5-10 min. Put on the final coat of frosting, taking care to work gently, as the top layer of the cake tends to slide around a bit because of the orange curd. If it slides, just push it back.
What lovely cake ! I'm making this right now for my daughter's 22nd Birthday. Thank you so much for sharing. 🙂
This is a gorgeous cake. I love the homemade orange curd in between the layers…lovely cake!
Oh my goodness! I love orange and creamy vanilla together and this cake looks absolutely delicious! I need to make one for my dad! Yummed so I can come back when I have the time!