This dreamy, creamy, high altitude orange creamsicle cake features three layers of soft vanilla cake, filled with homemade orange curd, and frosted with fluffy cream cheese whipped cream. You can make this summery orange and cream cake as a layer cake, or see the recipe variations section in today’s post to make an orange creamsicle sheet cake.
You might also love these orange creamsicle cupcakes, blueberry jam and cream chantilly cake, and limoncello cream cake.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Tastes Like a Creamsicle. Creamsicles (or dreamsicles, if you like) have always been one of my favorite summer treats. The flavors of orange, cream and vanilla are perfect for the hot weather.
Made From Scratch. From the cake, to the orange curd and the whipped cream, everything in this orange creamsicle cake is homemade, with no boxed cake mix and no cool whip.
High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
Orange Curd
Making the orange curd is very similar to making lemon curd, with sugar, egg yolks, orange juice (instead of lemon juice) and butter. Although with orange curd, you’ll use a lower ratio of added sugar, since the orange juice is already sweet. You’ll also be adding corn starch as a thickener, to ensure the orange curd is thick and stable enough to use as a cake filling. For the best orange flavor, I suggest using freshly squeezed navel oranges, or a good quality orange juice such as Simply Orange.
Vanilla Cake
For the vanilla cake, I used my reliable and always delicious High Altitude Vanilla Cake. It’s easy to make, and consistently soft, fluffy and moist. Since this is a refrigerated cake, brushing the cake layers with a little milk will help to ensure it stays moist and soft in the refrigerator.
Whipped Cream
For the whipped cream frosting, I made a variation of my stabilized whipped cream recipe, which uses cream cheese (to add body and stability), powdered sugar, vanilla extract and heavy whipping cream. It’s stable enough to hold its shape without deflating on the frosted cake.
Instructions
Orange Curd
- In a saucepan, combine the granulated sugar and corn starch. Add the egg yolks and orange juice, and whisk until smooth.
- Cook the mixture over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly with a silicone spatula, until it becomes thick like pudding.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the butter until melted.
- Chill the orange curd for several hours, until well chilled, before assembling your cake. You can prepare the orange curd up to one day in advance, and refrigerate overnight.
Vanilla Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, position a rack in the center of the oven, and spray the bottoms of three 8-inch cake pans with non-stick baking spray.
- Prepare and bake the vanilla cake as instructed. Let the cake layers cool in the pans for 15 minutes, then remove the cakes from the pans and set them on a large cutting board lined with wax paper so they don’t stick.
- Use a sharp knife to level a small portion of the domed tops off the cakes. Brush or drizzle the milk/cream over the cakes. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least an hour, until completely cooled.
Whipped Cream
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cold cream cheese with the powdered sugar for about 1 minute, until smooth.
- Add the vanilla and a small amount of the cream, scrape the bowl down, and beat again until smooth. Add the rest of the cream. Beat on medium high speed for several minutes, until thick and fluffy enough to hold its shape.
Assembly
- Place one of the cooled cake layers on a cake board or serving plate. Spread with some of the chilled orange curd, spreading it about 1/4 inch thick. Repeat with the second layer of cake, more orange curd, and then the third layer of cake. You should still have some orange curd leftover.
- Frost the cake all over with the whipped cream, using a small offset icing spatula to create swirls all over the cake. Dab some of the orange curd onto the cake, and swirl it into the whipped cream. You should still have some whipped cream leftover.Note: Take care during this step, as the cake layers can be slippery.
- Fit a disposable 16-inch piping bag with tip 1M. Lightly fold a few tablespoons of the remaining orange curd into the rest of the whipped cream so there are visible streaks of orange curd throughout, and spoon it into the piping bag. Pipe swirls of whipped cream on top of the cake.
- Refrigerate the cake in an airtight container until ready to serve.
Recipe Variations
6-Inch Layer Cake
For a smaller 6-inch layer cake (as shown in today’s post), make half the cake recipe, and bake it in three 6-inch cake pans. You can also scale down the whipped cream recipe to 2/3.
Sheet Cake
Since this cake is frosted with whipped cream and filled with orange curd, the layers tend to be a bit more slippery than a cake frosted with buttercream. I’ve had years of cake decorating experience, and it was still a challenge to me to keep the layers from sliding as I frosted my cake. So if you’re an inexperienced baker, or if you plan on transporting the cake in your car to a summer party or bbq, I strongly recommend you make this as a sheet cake instead of a layer cake.
Make the vanilla cake batter and bake it in a 9×13 inch baking pan, as instructed in this vanilla sheet cake recipe. After cooling the cake for 15 minutes, brush with the milk, and let cool completely. Spread the orange curd over the cake, reserving a few tablespoons. Spread with the whipped cream, and swirl the remaining orange curd into the whipped cream.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common questions with cake making, so that you can be successful in your own baking! I also suggest reading these comprehensive posts on making Perfect American Buttercream, How to Stack, Fill, Crumb Coat and Frost Layer Cakes and How to Use Piping Bags.
Frequently Asked Questions
Store leftover cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days to keep it moist and fresh.
You can, but your cake will be lighter and softer with cake flour.
You Might Also Like
Please check out my Amazon Shop for a curated collection of some of my favorite cake pans from trusted brands, baking tools, ingredients, pretty things and fashion finds. I recommend products that I buy and use every day!
Did you love today’s recipe? Please rate the recipe and let me know in the comments what you thought! Also, be sure to follow Curly Girl Kitchen on Instagram, and tag me when you try one of my recipes so I can see all your delicious creations!
High Altitude Orange Creamsicle Cake
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment
- 3 8-inch round cake pans
Ingredients
Orange Curd
- â…“ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp corn starch
- 3 large egg yolks
- ¾ cup orange juice (use freshly squeezed navel oranges, or a good quality brand of juice, such as Simply Orange)
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter
Vanilla Cake
- 1 recipe High Altitude Vanilla Cake
- 6 tbsp milk or cream, for brushing onto the baked cake
Whipped Cream
- 6 oz block cream cheese, cold
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cups cold heavy whipping cream
Instructions
Orange Curd
- In a saucepan, combine the granulated sugar and corn starch. Add the egg yolks and orange juice, and whisk until smooth.
- Cook the mixture over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly with a silicone spatula, until it becomes thick like pudding.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the butter until melted.
- Chill the orange curd for several hours, until well chilled, before assembling your cake. You can prepare the orange curd up to one day in advance, and refrigerate overnight.
Vanilla Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, position a rack in the center of the oven, and spray the bottoms of three 8-inch cake pans with non-stick baking spray. For a smaller 6-inch cake (as shown in today's post), make half the cake recipe, and bake it in three 6-inch cake pans.
- Prepare and bake the vanilla cake as instructed. Let the cake layers cool in the pans for 15 minutes, then remove the cakes from the pans and set them on a large cutting board lined with wax paper so they don't stick.
- Use a sharp knife to level a small portion of the domed tops off the cakes. Brush or drizzle the milk/cream over the cakes. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least an hour, until completely cooled.
Whipped Cream
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cold cream cheese with the powdered sugar for about 1 minute, until smooth.
- Add the vanilla and a small amount of the cream, scrape the bowl down, and beat again until smooth. Add the rest of the cream. Beat on medium high speed for several minutes, until thick and fluffy enough to hold its shape.
Assembly
- Place one of the cooled cake layers on a cake board or serving plate. Spread with some of the chilled orange curd, spreading it about 1/4 inch thick. Repeat with the second layer of cake, more orange curd, and then the third layer of cake. You should still have some orange curd leftover.
- Frost the cake all over with the whipped cream, using a small offset icing spatula to create swirls all over the cake. Dab some of the orange curd onto the cake, and swirl it into the whipped cream. You should still have some whipped cream leftover.Note: Take care during this step, as the cake layers can be slippery.
- Fit a disposable 16-inch piping bag with tip 1M. Lightly fold a few tablespoons of the remaining orange curd into the rest of the whipped cream so there are visible streaks of orange curd throughout, and spoon it into the piping bag. Pipe swirls of whipped cream on top of the cake.
- Refrigerate the cake in an airtight container until ready to serve.
I hope you love this recipe as much as we do!
The cake was wonderful and the frosting was delicious, but I didn’t care for the orange curd. I’ve made lemon curd lots of times and you get a strong lemon flavor. The orange curd did not taste like orange at all to me and I had my husband try it and he didn’t know what flavor it was supposed to be. I tried it again only the second time I reduced the orange juice by half to get the required amount and it was a little better. I had Tropicana OJ, not a no name brand that may have been watered down. Or I even wondered if frozen concentrate would be better?
Lemons are far more acidic and have a stronger flavor than oranges, so yes, lemon curd will taste more lemony, while orange curd will have a softer flavor. I use Simply Orange orange juice, which has a wonderful flavor, and my orange curd was very flavorful, with a distinct orange flavor. I have read discussions online that Tropicana is from concentrate, as well as watered down, despite their claims that it’s not, but brands will certainly vary in flavor.