Best Orange Creamsicle Cake (no Jell-O or cake mix!) (2024)

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This two layer easy orange creamsicle cake is bursting with citrus and vanilla flavors! Moist, fluffy vanilla layer cake is made with fresh orange juice and orange zest to give it a wonderful sweet orange flavor then frosted in a orange vanilla frosting for even more orange flavor! If you love orange desserts, then this cake is for you! No Jello or cake mix needed!

Growing up I’ll be honest I wasn’t a fan of creamsicles. You know the frozen treat on a stick? I was more of a fudgesicle kind of girl. Or those chocolate crunchy ice-cream bars (you know the ones). Who knows maybe I could taste the artificialness going on.

But put real orange and vanilla flavors inside an easy orange layer cake, and I’m on board. And I love baking with citrus in the wintertime. Citrus is in season in the winter months, so why not embrace it!

Yes this orange creamiscle cake was a tough one to not sneak bites of when walking by. “I’ll just take one more bite” I kept saying. Mmhmm, I think you can all guess how that battle ended.

Now most orange cake recipes on the internet use orange jello that gets poured over the top of the cake, you know like an orange poke cake, and is topped with whipped topping. But I wanted a fresh orange layer cake made from scratch.

And this orange cake made from scratch and not a white cake mix is one of the best cakes I’ve ever made!

Orange creamsicle cake – 1, Me – 0. Oh well, moving on. Let me wave the white flag while I take another bite.

See Also:

• If you love cranberries, you have to try my Cranberry Cheesecake Bars! With a graham cracker crust, creamy cheesecake filling, fresh cranberry swirl, and a crumble topping, these bars are the perfect make-ahead dessert for the holidays!
• Layered with fresh strawberries and homemade whipped cream this vanilla sponge cake is a beautiful cake to make any time of year!
• If you’re looking for a showstopping cake, this Milk Bar cake is the perfect dessert to make for a birthday!
• Calling all peanut butter lovers with this super easy peanut butter cream cheese frosting to use on all your favorite cake recipes!
• This easy vanilla cupcake recipe uses melted butter so it comes together in minutes and no mixer is needed!
• When it’s summertime then you have to make these S’mores cupcakes with toasted meringue frosting and graham cracker bottom!
• Get a mixing bowl and make the easiest cake ever! This Tornado cake recipe (aka do nothing cake) made with crushed pineapple, coconut, and pecans!

Why You Will Love This Orange Creamsicle Cake

• Completely From Scratch! – No cake mix needed here! This orange creamsicle cake is made from scratch making for the fluffiest, tastiest cake ever. Most orange cakes are made from an orange cake mix, or use powdered orange gelatin.
• Lots of orange flavor! – I used orange juice and orange zest which gives lots of fresh orange flavor. I recommend using fresh orange juice, but bottled juice will work just fine.
• Makes a great make ahead dessert – Layer cakes take a lot of work! So it’s great that you can make the cake layers and frosting the day before. You can also make and frost the entire cake the day before, so it’s ready to enjoy the day of making for a perfect birthday cake!

Note: The entire recipe, with ingredient quantities and recipe directions can be found at the bottom of the page. Scroll to the bottom or click “Jump To Recipe” button at the top of the post.

Orange Cake Ingredients

Frosting Ingredients

Ingredient Notes

• Cake Flour – Cake flour has a lower protein content than regular AP flour, so you end up with a lighter, fluffier cake in the end. Lower protein = less gluten formed. And gluten is the protein that gives a cake structure. So less structure means a fluffy cake for you! If you don’t have cake flour on hand, you can make a DIY cake flour version. It won’t be exactly the same but will do in a pinch! For more recipes that use cake flour, check out my 41 cake flour recipes.
• Oil – I add some oil to this cake to help keep it moist. You want to use a neutral-tasting oil such as vegetable or canola oil.
• Orange zest – The cake has fresh orange zest grated into it to give it maximum flavor. I add the orange zest to the sugar, so it can really be worked in and have the orange oils release. You will use this in the cake and the frosting.
• Eggs – You want room temperature large eggs. Room temperature eggs will bind and emulsify better than cold ones. And they will also create more volume as well. If you add cold eggs it will also seize up the butter in the bowl as well. I place my eggs into a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes before using.
• Buttermilk – This helps to moisten the cake and give it great flavor. If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you can make a DIY buttermilk instead. Your results won’t be exactly the same, but it will come close.

How To Make This Orange Creamsicle Cake

1. Preheat and prepare pan. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans. Set aside.
2. Combine your dry ingredients. In a mixing bowl, whisk together your cake flour, baking powder, and salt.
3. Combine wet ingredients. In a second bowl add the butter, oil, sugar, and zest.
4. Cream wet ingredients. You want to cream together until light and fluffy, about 1 to 2 minutes. Your mixture may slightly curdled looking at this point due to the oil. Don’t worry this is normal!
5. Add eggs and vanilla. Once the butter is properly creamed, you can add the eggs and vanilla. Make sure to add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. You want each egg properly incorporated before adding the next. You may need to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl after each addition. Sometimes ingredients will stay unincorporated at the bottom. Then go ahead and add in the vanilla extract.

HEATHER’S BAKING TIP: For the best results I always recommend measuring your ingredients, especially your flour, by weight using a digital kitchen scale. This always ensures you get the correct amount and don’t end up with too much flour in your bowl which can greatly affect the overall texture of your cake.

Finish batter and bake

1. Add 1/3 of the flour to the creamed mixture. You are going to alternate the dry with the buttermilk and orange juice, so don’t add it all.
2. Add 1/2 of the buttermilk and orange juice.
3. Repeat alternating the dry ingredients and buttermilk/OJ mixture. When the last of the flour is mixed in, stop stirring so as not to create too much gluten and create a tough cake.
4. Then it’s time to bake! You want to divide the cake batter between your two prepared cake pans, smooth the tops and bake in the center of your oven. I always test the center of the cake with a toothpick to ensure there’s no wet batter before removing the pan. Then I let the cakes cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes on a cooling rack before removing from the pan to cool further.

Baking 101: Alternating the ingredients will help reduce the amount of time you need to mix everything together to get a smooth batter, so this will ensure a tender cake in the end.

Make the frosting

While the cake is cooling, I like to make the frosting. In a mixing bowl with an electric mixer, combine the butter and powdered sugar. You want to mix on low speed at first so you don’t end up with sugar all over your kitchen! Then increase the speed to medium until combined.

Once the sugar is incorporated, add the heavy cream, vanilla, orange juice, and zest. I mix my frosting for a very long time – for 7-8 minutes until light and cream. It might seem excessive but I will ensure you get the fluffiest and best frosting ever. And then the cake is cooled frost the cake and serve.

Recipe Tips

• Prep Your Pans The Right Way. I recommend greasing your cake pans and lining the bottoms with parchment paper. I love using Baker’s Joy spray that has flour in it for the best release. I like to spray the pans, then line the bottom with parchment paper, then give it another spray. Here is a tutorial on How To Prepare Cake Pans (in 4 easy steps!)
• Careful when zesting.When zesting the citrus, make sure to go only down to the white pith layer. The white pith layer is bitter so you want to make sure to not zest this layer, just the outer layer.
• Soften Your Butter.You want properly softened butter so that you can cream mixture properly. The sugar punches holes into the butter creating air pockets, which helps to aerate and help the cake to rise.Here are 3 quick ways to soften your butter.
• Don’t Overcream! – Cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed for about 2-3 minutes. If you cream for too long and too high of a speed you will end up incorporating too much air and softening the butter too much.
• Bring your eggs to room temperature.You don’t want cold eggs being added to your creamed butter mixture. It will seize up the butter. So place your eggs in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes before using them.

Recipe Variations

• Make Gluten Free – You can swap all purpose flour with 1:1 gluten free flour blend in this creamsicle cake.
• Make a cream cheese frosting – Instead of this orange buttercream frosting, make a cream cheese frosting instead! Stir in some orange juice and orange zest.
• Use orange extract – You could always add in orange extract for a little more orange flavor.
• Add orange food coloring – If you want more of a pop, you can add a few drops of orange food coloring to the batter, or the frosting.
• Add mandarin orange slices – I decorated with fresh orange slices, but you could swap and decorate with mandarin orange slices. Or add some in the middle of the cake!
• Skip the frosting – You could always serve a slice of this cake without the orange vanilla frosting, and just a dollop of whipped cream, cool whip, a dusting of powdered sugar and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Storing This Cake

When it comes to cakes I highly recommend making them ahead of time. There’s a lot of work that goes into them so it’s great to make them ahead!

You can store the creamiscle cake layers, unfrosted and then frost them later. You can also store the cake layers, or the whole cake at room temperature.

You can also freeze the cake layers too if you need to!

Cake Layers only:

• At room temperature: You can make the cake layers 2-3 days ahead of time. Leave them unfrosted, and wrap in plastic wrap or tin-foil. Just make sure they are completely cool before doing so.
• Freezing: You can also wrap the cooled cake layers and freeze for up to 3 months if you don’t plan to use the layers in a few days. I let them thaw at room temperature before icing them.

Frosted Cake:

• At room temperature: If you have frosted the cake, then be sure to cover it properly. I like to store the cake in a plastic cake container, like this one. It will be fine at room temperature for about 2 days. The frosting will lock the moisture in.
• Freezing: Yes you can freeze a frosted cake! You can freeze a whole cake, or slices. I recommend freezing the cake (or slices) first unwrapped until frozen solid, about 4 hours. Then wrap carefully in plastic wrap (a few layers) and a final layer of aluminum foil. When ready to enjoy, just thaw at room temperature.

Orange Creamsicle Cake Recipe FAQ’s

More Recipes To Try

• Momofuku Milk Bar Cake
• Homemade Funfetti Cake
• Berry Chantilly Cake
• Orange Creamsicle Cookies
• Chocolate Orange Cake
• Pandan Cake