High Altitude Orange Creamsicle Cake
This dreamy, creamy orange creamsicle cake features three layers of soft vanilla cake, filled with homemade orange curd, and frosted with fluffy cream cheese whipped cream.
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
- ⅓ 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.
Notes
Store leftover cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
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