High Altitude Orange Cake with Dried Orange Slices

Developing recipes for my series of Classic Cakes this year has been a fun (and delicious!) project to take on. And today’s classic cake is a high altitude Orange Cake.  Although winter is technically citrus season, oranges are available all year ’round, and summer just seems like the right time of year to be making all things orange and lemon, if you ask me. With their bright, sunshiny color and tart sweet flavor, oranges are perfect for summer cakes and desserts. 

Looking for more cake recipes? You’ll love this cookies and cream cake, best chocolate cake, fluffy vanilla cake, and white velvet cake.

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Why You’ll Love This Cake

Perfectly Fluffy and Moist. This cake is so light, fluffy and moist, full of wonderful fresh orange flavor, with a perfectly sweet orange buttercream and a little almond paste sprinkled between the cake layers to complement the orange.

Easy to Make. While you do need a stand mixer for the buttercream, the cake batter is simple to mix up with a bowl and whisk.

Better Than Box Mix. It’s incredibly important to me to have a thorough archive of reliable, from scratch, high-altitude tested cake recipes on my blog that people can turn to any time they need a cake for any occasion.  I want to inspire confidence in bakers that they can make a homemade cake that is just as easy, and a million times better, than using a boxed mix. And this cake does it! With fresh orange flavor and natural ingredients, you can taste the difference.

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.

Ingredients

The starting point in developing this cake recipe was my classic Vanilla Cake. It’s one of my most popular cake recipes, and I knew I would be able to adapt it into a delicious orange cake.

• Cake Flour. Cake flour is preferred for a very light and fluffy cake, but all-purpose flour can also be used.
• Sugar. What’s a cake without sugar? Not only does the sugar sweeten the cake, but it also tenderizes it and provides moisture.
• Baking Powder. Leavens the cake, making it rise and keeping it light.
• Salt. Enhances all the flavors. I always use coarse Kosher salt.
• Eggs. Provide structure, fat and richness.
• Whole Milk. For moisture, richness and flavor.
• Vegetable Oil. For moisture. An oil-based cake tends to be lighter and more moist than a butter-based cake, although butter has a superior flavor. You can substitute melted butter for half of the oil in this recipe.
• Vanilla and Orange Extracts. Flavor
• Fresh Orange Zest. More of that wonderful fresh orange flavor. For even more flavor, take the extra step of rubbing the orange zest into the sugar with your fingers before mixing up the batter.

TIP: I used 1 teaspoon orange extract in the cake batter and in the buttercream, and while I thought the orange flavor was just right, my husband thought it was a little too subtle.  If you want a stronger orange flavor, add up to 2 teaspoons extract.

Instructions

Cake

• Preheat the oven to 350F, and spray three 8-inch cake pans with non-stick spray.
• In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
• Separately, whisk together the eggs, milk, orange juice, oil, extracts and orange zest.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry and whisk well for 30-60 seconds, until well combined.
• Divide the batter between the pans.  Bake on the center oven rack for about 28-30 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean and the centers of the cakes spring back when lightly touched.
• Set the pans on a cooling rack, cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel and cool completely before frosting.

TIP: I grated about one ounce of almond paste and sprinkled it over the buttercream between the cake layers, and I thought it added a really nice complementary flavor to the orange.  This is completely optional, though, and is not included in the recipe below.

Buttercream

• In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter for 1 minute until smooth.
• With the mixer on low, gradually add the powdered sugar, meringue powder, salt, extracts and orange zest, mixing to combine.
• Increase speed to medium and whip for 4-5 minutes, scraping the bowl occasionally, until very light and fluffy, adding the milk as needed for desired consistency.
• Remove the cooled cakes from the pans.  Stack and fill the cakes, then frost all over with a thin crumb coat of buttercream.  Chill 20 minutes.  Frost with a final coat of buttercream.  Garnish with the dried orange slices.

How to Make Dried Orange Slices for Garnish

Making dried orange slices to decorate a cake is incredibly easy, and while they do have to dry in the oven for a few hours, there’s very little active prep time.  They retain a beautiful color when dried on low heat, and can be made ahead of time and stored for later, as well.  You can follow this exact process for oranges, lemons, limes and grapefruit.

• Preheat the oven to 175F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Thinly slice the oranges – about 1/8 of an inch thick is just right.
• Lay the orange slices in a single layer on the baking sheet.
• Bake on the center oven rack for 2-3 hours, turning the oranges over every 30 minutes and rotating the pan if you have hot spots in your oven, until mostly dry and still vivid in color; don’t let them get overly brown, or they won’t look as pretty.
• Turn off the oven and let them finish drying for several more hours, or overnight.
• Place the dried orange slices on the cake, using a bit of buttercream as “glue”.
• Any leftover orange slices can be stored in an airtight container for as long as they still retain their color.

Dried oranges are not the same thing as candied orange slices, and are intended only as a garnish and not to be eaten, since they will taste bitter and not sweet.  Click here for a recipe for Candied Orange Peel.

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

Is this a high altitude recipe?

Yes, I test and bake all of my recipes at Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower altitude, you can use this article to guide you on making adjustments for your own perfect results.

What kind of orange juice do you use in this cake?

You can use freshly squeezed orange juice, or bottled. I love Simply Orange pulp-free orange juice, and always have it in the refrigerator.

Should I use cake flour or all-purpose flour?

I prefer cake flour for this recipe, as it makes a very soft, light, tender cake. Cake flour has a lower percentage of protein than all-purpose flour, and you can certainly use all-purpose, but your cake won’t be quite as light, although still delicious. Be sure to “spoon and level” your flour when measuring so that you don’t pack too much into the measuring cups.

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