Why take 1 you ask? Because I have something very specific in mind and I am trying super hard to recreate it!
There was a restaurant in a hotel a couple towns over, and it served absolutely amazing food. If the food was amazing, I’m not sure what word to use for the dessert. I don’t necessarily spring for things that are orange flavored, but this orange cake was the famous thing on the dessert menu. They bring a platter around with all these fantastic desserts on it and then they ask you if you saved room for dessert. This is a brilliant marketing strategy, because even if you didn’t save room for dessert, you did.
The orange cake looked so phenomenal on that platter that we decided to try it. It became a fast favorite and my dad loved it as much as I did.
The cake was super duper moist and the orange flavor was so light and natural. The best was I can describe it is an Orange Julius baked into cake form. And the frosting…….I don’t even know how to explain the frosting and I think that was part of my downfall. It managed to be light and buttery at the same time. It was like two things that shouldn’t be able to exist together, but when they did, it was pure magic!
Sadly, the restaurant closed down about 2 years back and I have not stopped thinking about that orange cake. It was a small independent place and not a chain, so there is no way to find the “secret” recipe online. My husband asked if I could track down the owner and ask for the recipe since they are retired and won’t be selling orange cake anymore. I highly considered that, but it felt a bit stalker-ish. Although if I do get thrown in jail, it will probably be food related!
This cake was triple layer, but I decided that that would be a bit ambitious for my first trial, plus, we may not be able to finish it all before it went bad. So I decided on a smaller version along with a cake mix hack that I came up with. I am super proud to admit that I think I nailed the cake part! I felt bad doing a cake mix hack, but if it works, it works. The cake is so moist and delicious and the flavor is spot on. Go me!
The frosting however, is another matter. I tried a basic American buttercream recipe using plant based butter to make it creamier and also dairy free since I replaced the milk with orange juice and I didn’t want the acidity of the orange juice to curdle the dairy in the butter. I thought the orange juice swap would be enough to make it taste subtle orange-y but I was wrong. I could barely taste any orange at all, so I used 1/4 tsp. of Watkins Orange Extract.
Big mistake! I usually swear by Watkins products, but even this tiny amount threw the frosting off and gave the frosting an unpleasantly strong and fake orange flavor. My mom and husband both liked it fine, but knowing what I was going for, I didn’t. When I smelled the bottle of orange extract, it didn’t even smell like orange to me, which really surprised me because usually Watkins is pretty spot on. In the final recipe, I won’t be suggesting this. I will be suggesting orange zest instead since I can’t suggest something I would never buy again in good conscience.
Next time, I intend to try a Swiss buttercream and I’m going to look into some orange variations since you can find anything on Pinterest.
As you can see from the pictures, I layered the cakes well! If you have read my previous blog posts, you know I have a checkered past with layering cakes, and I admit, I shamelessly called my mom over to help me level out the bottom layer. Thanks mom! Moms are the best.
While I could have just spackled frosting on the bottom layer, it was very important to me that the frosting went on evenly to keep that bottom layer as even as possible since even layers are the secret to successfully stacking a cake. I decided to go the slightly more time intensive route and make a piping bag up so I could pipe the frosting in an even layer around the edge of the bottom layer and then fill it in and even it out before trying to put the top layer on. If you feel confident enough to spackle on a thick, even layer of frosting, be my talented guest, but if you’re new at this like me, the piping is worth the extra steps.
Once it was all assembled, I had to smile. I did pretty well and I now have a small bit of confidence in my cake layering abilities. Next time I make it, the frosting will be better and the decorations will be too. I did a simple decor on the top, but I would like to use orange slices next time and maybe something else to really amp up the wow factor.
For now, I can’t wait to go visit my family tonight and see if my dad recognizes what I was trying to recreate since I purposefully left it as a surprise for him.
If you have any tips on the frosting, please let me know!
Orange Cake Recipe
Orange cake:
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- 1/2c. oil
- 3 eggs
- 1 c. orange juice (to replace the water)
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 T. instant french vanilla pudding mix
Preheat the oven to 350
Add all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl and beat on a medium speed for two minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl partway through. Line the bottom of two 8in. round cake pans with parchment paper and spray with a nonstick baking spray. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
When the cakes come out of the oven, run a knife around the edges and allow the cakes to cool completely before turning them out and peeling the parchment paper off the bottom.
Orange Frosting:
- 1 c. (2 sticks) dairy free plant based butter (so the orange juice doesn’t curdle the dairy)
- 1/4 c. orange juice, plus more if needed
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 4 c. powdered sugar
- 1 tsp. orange zest, fresh works best
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, orange juice, vanilla, and salt. Add in the powdered sugar and beat until thoroughly combined. Beat in the orange zest, and if the frosting needs to be thinner, add in a bit more orange juice until it gets to a nice pipeable consistency.
To assemble the cake, even out the top of the bottom layer using a cake leveler or a long, slender serrated knife. Keeping this bottom layer even is important, so I decided to pipe the frosting around the edge and fill it in and then go back and spread it out with a frosting knife. You can also just spackle it on with a frosting knife if you trust yourself to be able to keep the layer perfectly even, but I definitely recommend the piping method since the top layer will crumble to pieces if it isn’t placed on a perfectly even bottom layer.
Put the top layer on the frosted bottom layer, domed side up so the layers stack evenly. You can do a crumb coat and then refrigerate it and finish frosting it, or you can go all in and place dollops of frosting all over the top and gently spread them out, continuing this on the sides of the cake.
Once it’s all frosted, you can use the small bit of leftover frosting to pipe some decorations or go wild with orange slices and other fun orange themed or colored decorations.
Keep the cake refrigerated.
This cake is delicious served with ice cream!
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