Tender Orange Poppy Seed Cake layers with a delicious mascarpone frosting.
Every time I make a cheese based frosting, I swear it will be my last. They are SO difficult to work with. I know I could make them more stable, but I’d have to either add more cheese or more sugar — neither of which I want to do. So I’m stuck with a delicious tasting but less stable frosting. It is what it is.
Honestly, the only reason I keep making them is because they taste so good. Not too cheesy, not too sweet, and they complement certain cakes just perfectly. Like this Orange Poppy Seed Cake!
I’ve had a lemon poppy seed cake on my radar for a while now. I have a Lemon Poppy Seed Bundt (which was delicious), but I’d been meaning to make it into a layer cake for some time. Alas, it got pushed off yet again because I thought orange poppy seed would be a more interesting and unique flavour to try. If you’d rather do lemon, you can swap it in easy enough.
What kind of oranges should I use?
I am not an expert on oranges. I’ve currently been eating my way through bags of flavourful mandarins, but otherwise oranges are never a staple around here. If you’re an orange expert and have a favourite, go with what you love. Otherwise, good old navel oranges will work. Blood orange would work well too! I used Cava Cava Navel.
Tips for Making this Orange Poppy Seed Cake
It’s a bit harder to get orange flavour to come through than lemon — it’s less potent overall. You could use an extract, but if you know me at all you know I prefer to use natural flavours when possible, and only use an extract when there’s really no other option. The key to getting that orange flavour to shine through is in the zest. Never skip the zest!
There is so much flavour packed in the zest, and my favourite way to extract it is to beat the zest with the butter and sugar. Processing it this way helps to extract the oils from the zest and get that flavour to come through. Don’t just toss the zest in at the end!
By the way, if you’re looking for a good zester, the one from Microplane are my absolute favourite. You get a superfine zest without any of the pith. Works like a charm every time.
For the poppy seeds, I toss them with my flour mixture. I find this is easiest, and there is less risk of over-mixing the batter rather than if you were to add them at the end.
Mascarpone Frosting
This mascarpone frosting goes so well with this orange poppy seed cake! It’s subtle and not overpowering like a cream cheese frosting can be, but it gives it a unique and delicious flavour. I won’t bore you with the details about how annoying the frosting was to work with — the naked cake I ended up going with should be an indication of how things went (lol).
I intended to fully frost this cake and do something rustic with the sides, but that was a total fail. The frosting was both soft and full of air bubbles, and all attempts to make an “easy” rustic swirl were futile. I ended up scraping the whole thing off and letting the pretty poppy seed studded sides shine through.
The frosting recipe makes enough to cover the whole cake though, and I’d recommend doing that because it’s so delicious. Maybe you’ll have better luck decorating than I did?
Styling inspo for this cake came from the lovely MaryAnne over at Little Epicurean. Can I just say how happy I was to find mandarin oranges with the leaves still attached?! Non-shrivelled leaves at that.
This cake did not last long around here. I had to stop myself from inhaling an entire slice as I was cleaning the kitchen afterwards. Have I mentioned I have a weakness for citrus desserts?? I hope you love this cake recipe as much as I do!
Looking for more Citrus Cakes?
Tips for making this Orange Poppy Seed Cake
- The recipe will also work in three 6″ pans. The layers will be slightly thicker than in the recipe above though, so you’ll need to increase the baking time.
- To make cupcakes, all you need to do is reduce the baking time — start checking at 15mins or so.
- The frosting recipe makes enough to fully frost the whole cake.
- Do NOT overmix the frosting once the mascarpone is added. It could split.
- To make a lemon poppy seed cake instead, just swap orange for lemon in the same amounts.
- If you prefer, you can use a cream cheese frosting instead.
- To help ensure your cake layers bake up nice and flat, check out my Flat Top Cakes post!
Orange Poppy Seed Cake with Mascarpone Buttercream
Ingredients
Orange Poppy Seed Cake:
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 Tbsp poppy seeds
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 Tbsp orange zest from 1-2 large oranges
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3/4 cup milk room temperature
- 1/4 cup orange juice fresh squeezed, from 1/2 a large orange
Mascarpone Buttercream:
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter room temperature
- 8 oz mascarpone cheese softened but still chilled, 250g container
- 4 cups powdered sugar sifted
- 1 tsp vanilla
Assembly:
- simple syrup optional
- orange slices optional
- orange leaves optional
- poppy seeds optional
Instructions
Orange Poppy Seed Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour two 8" cake rounds and line with parchment.
- In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, poppy seeds, and salt. Set aside.
- Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter, sugar and orange zest on med-high until pale and fluffy (about 3mins). Reduce speed and add eggs one at a time fully incorporating after each addition. Add vanilla.
- Alternate adding flour mixture and milk & orange juice, beginning and ending with flour (3 additions of flour and 2 of milk & orange juice). Fully incorporating after each addition.
- Bake for 25-30 mins or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean.
- Place cakes on wire rack to cool for 10mins then turn out onto wire rack to cool completely.
Mascarpone Buttercream:
- Beat butter until smooth. Slowly add in powdered sugar (1/2 cup at a time). Add vanilla and beat on med-high for 5mins.
- Add mascarpone cheese and beat just until smooth and combined. Do not overbeat.
Assembly:
- Place one layer of cake on a cake stand or serving plate. Drizzle with simple syrup if desired. Top with approximately 1 cup of buttercream, spread evenly.
- Repeat with remaining layer and apply a thin layer of frosting all over to crumb coat the cake. Chill for 20mins. You can leave the cake naked or fully frost the cake after chilling if desired.
- Decorate the top with fresh orange slices, orange leaves, and poppy seeds if desired.
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Mirosha Chandrasekaran says
I gave this a try. Loved the flavor of the cake but it was crumbly which made frosting hard. Not sure if I did anything wrong.
Olivia says
Hi Mirosha! The cake should not be crumbly. This can happen sometimes though if the batter is overmixed. Did you grease and flour your pans? That will help too. And don’t run a knife around the edges before you release the cake from the pans.
Niyatee says
Hi I love how pretty this cake is, I like how your cakes are beautiful but they don’t look. Artificial at all. I must confess I hardly ever make cakes( they intimidate me a bit 🙂 I follow you just to look at them, but this cake is so beautiful I think am gonna make it into cupcakes and try it out!
Olivia says
Hi Niyatee! Thank you so much. You should totally try this one! It’s as easy as it gets when it comes to decorating 🙂 But cupcakes will be just as delicious!
Lisa says
Should this cake be refrigerated given the mascarpone icing?
Olivia says
Hi Lisa! Yes, I would recommend that you do.
Aanchal Mittal says
I tried this cake at home. Everyone liked it and praised me.
Thanks for sharing.
Olivia says
Hi Aanchal! So happy to hear that! Glad everyone loved it 🙂
Dina C says
This cake was tasty but VERY crumbly. What did I do wrong?
Olivia says
Hi Dina! It should not be crumbly! Here are some things that come to mind as possible causes:
– cake batter was overmixed
– cake was baked too long
– flour was measured incorrectly (I spoon and level into my measuring cups rather than scooping)
I hope that helps!
Smith says
Hi Olivia,
Definitely going to try! I think, my family would love it. What happens if I leave out the poppy seeds?
Olivia says
Hi Smith! You can leave out the poppy seeds without issue if you just want an orange cake.
Cynthia Thomas says
Hi.can i substitute butter for oil?
If so how much please. Tia
Olivia says
Hi Cynthia! It should work fine but will change the flavour an texture — use the same amount as butter.
Alaina says
Hi Cynthia,
I made this recipe and substituted plain vegetable oil instead of butter. I haven’t tried it with butter to compare, but the recipe definitely came out AMAZING. I love lemon poppyseed so I was so glad to see a little twist on that. My cake was light and moist, and the marscapone frosting complements it well. It was a big hit!
Olivia says
Thanks so much for your tips Alaina! So glad you liked it 🙂
Hana says
Looks amazing! Think it would be okay to make this a 3 layer or would the soft frosting not hold that much weight?
Olivia says
Hi Hana! I think it would be fine. It would be a bit heavier, but I don’t think it would be detrimental 🙂
Carrie says
Where does the 1/4 cup orange juice go? I saw it in the ingredient list for the cake, but didn’t see it used in the article directions. I made the cake today and didn’t end up using the juice anywhere.
Olivia says
Ack, so sorry Carrie!! I missed including that in the directions, thanks for calling it out. You add it when you add the milk. I hope the cake still turns out well for you!
Carrie says
Thanks! The cake turned out ok but didn’t have a strong flavor, that is probably why. I will certainly try this cake again, next time with the cream cheese frosting.
Olivia says
Ugh, really sorry about that. I try to proofread all my recipes, but things slip through the cracks at times. I hope you do try it again!
Oksana says
I bet this cake is as delicious as it look (I must confess that all your cakes look like masterpieces ).
I wanted to share what I read in one of the blogs somewhere. The blogger was using an orange oil in orange cakes. Oil is natural and healthy so no regrets when adding it to a batter. Hope this tip will help.
Olivia says
Thanks so much Oksana for the sweet comment! I will look for orange oil to try it out 🙂
Erika Smith says
I am the same in that I love the taste of a cheese frosting but HATE working with it! Am I going to hate working with this mascarpone or is it going to be the best thing that ever happened to me? You’re awesome Olivia!
Olivia says
Lol!! Thank you Erika for this comment. I think it’s going to be a little of both!!
Meredith says
If making lemon instead of orange, would you still recommend 1/2 c of the fruit juice?
Olivia says
Hi Meredith! Use 1/4 cup of juice for either (not 1/2 cup).
DeeDee Bryans says
Looks absolutely delicious…can’t wait to make it!
Olivia says
Hi DeeDee! Thanks so much, I hope you love it!!
Yvette Mader says
Although I haven’t made this cake yet I have made a couple others and will be making your lime and coconut cake for Easter. All of your are amazing and so different! I look forward to further adventures in baking your cakes!
Olivia says
Hi Yvette! Exciting about the coconut lime, I hope you love that one was much as I do. Thanks so much for your sweet comment!!
Sheila Shahane says
Suggestion with cheese frosting-cut the butter. Use 6 tbsp. butter to 8 oz. of cheese.
Olivia says
Hi Sheila! Thanks for the tip. I don’t like my CC frosting to be too cheesy though which is why I add more butter. I might give this a try though!