Orange Poppy Seed Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

This is sunny and fresh from the orange, with a tender cake and rich frosting that balances everything out perfectly. My mother-in-law’s birthday cake request every year, I promised to share the recipe one day and now I have.

For a fancy bakery style look, slice each cake in half so you have four layers. But if slicing cake layers horizontally makes you nervous, don’t do it. Seriously. Make it as two thicker layers and move on with your life. It will still be delicious and impressive.

what You’ll Need

Every thing needs to be room temp!

Equipment

• Two 8-inch round cake pans
• Parchment paper
• Mixing bowls
• Whisk
• Hand mixer or stand mixer
• Rubber spatula
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Microplane or fine grater for zest
• Cooling racks
• Long serrated knife, if torting the layers
• Offset spatula for frosting

For the Cake

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 5 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 tablespoons poppy seeds
• Zest of 2 oranges
• 6 tablespoons fresh orange juice
• 1 cup canola oil
• 4 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup Greek yogurt
• ½ cup whole milk

For the Frosting

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2½ cups full-fat cream cheese, softened
• 6 cups powdered sugar
• 2-4 tablespoons fresh orange juice
• Orange zest, for decorating, optional

Instructions

Step One: Prepare the Pans

Heat your oven to 350°F. Grease two 8-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.

Don’t skip the parchment. This is a soft cake, and parchment is cheap insurance against heartbreak.

Step Two: Mix the Dry Ingredients

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and poppy seeds.

Add the orange zest and whisk again. This helps distribute the zest instead of leaving you with one weird clump of orange in the middle.

Step Three: Mix the Wet Ingredients

In another bowl, whisk together the orange juice, oil, eggs, vanilla, Greek yogurt, and milk until smooth.

It may look a little thick because of the yogurt, and that’s fine. Just make sure the eggs are fully mixed in.

Step Four: Make the Batter

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just smooth.

This is not the moment to beat it into submission. Once the flour disappears and the batter looks even, stop. Overmixing is how you get a tough cake, and nobody wants that.

Step Five: Bake

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. If you want very even layers, weigh the batter as you divide it. If not, just do your best.

Bake for 28 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Step Six: Cool Completely

Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn them out onto cooling racks.

They need to be completely cool before frosting. Not mostly cool. Not “I’m tired and this is probably fine.” Cream cheese frosting and warm cake are a bad team.

Step Seven: Make the Frosting

Beat the butter until it’s smooth and creamy. Add the cream cheese and beat until everything is fully blended and fluffy.

Gradually mix in the powdered sugar, then beat in the orange juice a little at a time until the frosting is light and spreadable. If it gets too soft, chill it for 10 to 15 minutes and rewhip.

Step Eight: Level and Torte the Layers

Once the cake layers are completely cool, use a long serrated knife to slice the dome off the top of each cake. You can discard the scraps, but obviously the correct answer is to eat them as a snack.

If you want four thin layers, slice each cake layer horizontally in half. If you want two thicker layers, leave them alone. Both ways work.

Step Nine: Fill the Cake

Place three cake layers on a cooling rack and spread an even layer of frosting on top of each.

Place one frosted layer on a cake stand or plate, then add the other two frosted layers, making sure they’re level as you go. Add the final unfrosted layer on top.

Step Ten: Crumb Coat and frost

Spread a thin layer of frosting over the top and sides of the cake. This layer traps crumbs, and it does not need to look pretty.

Refrigerate the cake for 20 to 30 minutes, until the crumb coat is firm to the touch.

Spread the remaining frosting over the chilled cake, covering the top and sides.

Step Eleven: Decorate

You can decorate with orange zest, piped frosting, twisted orange slices, or nothing at all.

I like an offset look with orange slices on one side because it looks intentional and makes it easy to slice the first few pieces. Practical beauty. The best kind.

Storage Instructions

The frosted cake can stay at room temperature for up to one day if your kitchen is cool.

For longer storage, refrigerate it tightly covered for up to five days. Let chilled cake sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving so the frosting softens and the crumb tastes its best.

You can also freeze the unfrosted layers for up to two months. Wrap them well, freeze flat, and thaw before frosting.

In Case You’re Wondering

Printable Recipe