Beki Cook's Cake Blog: Orange Cream-sicle Cake {Recipe}

During a recent bout of strep throat in our house, my boys decided that they would live on the ice cream treat, orange creamsicles.

True to form, I decided to try to make a creamsicle cake. One of my boys has since declared it his favorite cake of all time. (Though that may just be because it's what he was eating at the time!)

What You Need:
1 white boxed cake mix
3 (large) eggs
1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter
1/4 cup orange juice concentrate
1 cup milk (not pictured)*
1-2 Tbsp. orange zest

Cream Cheese Icing (To decorate with this "petal effect," make a double batch of icing.)

*Note: You could also use 3/4-1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice instead of the concentrate... and add 1/4-1/2 cup milk to that. I didn't have enough oranges to make that happen.

Preheat the oven to 350-degrees (F). Line the bottom of a baking pan with parchment paper, and grease the sides. (I used my favorite 8" x 3" round pan. You could also use two 8-9" round pans, and divide the batter between the two.)

As with all cake mixes, I start by whisking my eggs until they're light and bubbly.

Add in the remaining ingredients, and stir on low for 30 seconds. Scrape down the bowl, and mix on medium for two minutes.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan(s).
Bake at 350 according to the pan's directions. (I bake my 8"x3" pan for 55-65 minutes. If divided between two 8"-9" pans, I would bake for 20-30 minutes.)

Remove the pan from the oven. Cool the cake in the pan for 10-15 minutes on a cooling grid, then remove from the pan and cool completely.

When cool, cut the cake into layers. (I added many layers to this one to add more icing!)
Spread a thin layer of cream cheese icing between each layer.

Cover with Cream Cheese Icing, and enjoy... or...

You can decorate the cake using the "pulled dot" or "petal effect."
To create the effect, pipe a line of large dots using round tip #12 (or #10).
Then, place your icing spatula halfway into the dot and smash or pull the dot to the side. Be sure to wipe your spatula off after every dot, or you will get mixed up colors.

Click these links to see video of my demonstration of this easy decorating technique on the local news, or a complete photo tutorial of the simple cake decorating technique.