Orange Poppy Seed Cake

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This refreshing Orange Poppy Seed Cake is wonderfully light and fluffy. Complete with a delicious orange buttercream and Sprinkle Pops Green Tea Sprinkle Mix, it’s the perfect cake for any festive occasion!

Thank goodness for Fridays… and more specifically Friday’s that include this scrumptious Orange Poppy Seed Cake. Can’t you just smell the orange through these pictures?! It’s so refreshing! This cake is definitely not lacking on flavor ya’ll. There’s fresh orange juice and zest in each of the three layers, as well as in the Ahh-Mazing buttercream frosting. One good lick of that stuff and you’re done. Goodbye. This is your life now.

Texture is key when it comes to cake for me, and this one is spot on! It’s light, fluffy and perfectly moist.  My favorite part though is the fantastic textural element from the delightful “pop” that the poppy seeds make in your mouth as you bite into the cake. Yep. It’s magical.

Now I don’t normally go all out with decorating my cakes, however it was a special occasion last week (my birthday, whoop whoop) so I decided to have some fun! I used Sprinkle Pop’s Green Tea Sprinkle Mix, and let me tell you – I. AM. IN. LOVE. All of their sprinkles are gorgeous, but this mix is definitely one of my favorites. It’s so unique and I adore the colors; a medley of pastel greens, yellows and oranges with a pop of teal. It was a perfect match for this Orange Poppy Seed Cake. I could definitely see this cake being served for an afternoon tea, just like the name!

Now for the nitty gritty. This cake really is relatively easy to make. You simply mix the wet ingredients together (along with the sugar) and then add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.  Pour into your pans, either two 9″ or three 8″ like I did, and bake for 25-30 minutes.  Easy right?

The buttercream frosting is definitely the star of the show.  My kiddos were licking their plates clean they loved it so much! The fresh orange juice and zest really brightens up the vanilla buttercream and pairs perfectly with the poppy seed cake. Again, it’s quite easy to make. Just dump all of the ingredients together in a mixer, and mix until smooth.

Now for the fun part: the decor! Here’s what you’ll need:

Chocolate Shards

These are actually really easy! You’ll need white chocolate melts, teal gel food coloring and orange gel food coloring.  You simply melt the chocolate, divide it into three bowls, add the teal and orange to two of the bowls and leave the third white.  Then on parchment paper, drizzle the chocolate on with a spoon, colors first. Then top with the white and using a spatula spread the chocolate out and swirl or blend it together.  Be careful not to over blend, or else you will be left with one muddy looking colors. Let the chocolate harden (only takes about 15-30 minutes, since it’s so thin) and then break up into pieces.  You can either just break it up or you can use a knife to help score where you would like your pieces to break so you achieve the desired shape you are going for.

Frosting

The orange buttercream really is quite pretty just by itself. You can simply frost the cake and it will be beautiful with the fresh orange zest showing through.  However for the look I did today, I used the same frosting, and separated it into two bowls, dying one orange and leaving the other white.  Then I spread the orange between each of the layers, frosted with the white, and then piped on a little more orange buttercream in little swirls around the top. Easy enough!

Sprinkles

This is the fun part! After frosting (before your frosting has dried or hardened) apply Sprinkle Pop’s Green Tea Sprinkle Mix to the sides of the cake.  Continue around the cake, pressing them in evenly until the entire side of the cake is covered.  Tip: Place your cake on a turn table, and then the turn table on top of a cookie sheet. This helps catch any stray sprinkles as you are applying them to the sides of the cake.

Suggestions for Easy Method

I think this cake would work perfectly as cupcakes, and you could easily top with similar (smaller) chocolate shards and these gorgeous Green Tea Sprinkles by Sprinkle Pop.  This would definitely be an easier option, yet still just as cute.  Perfect for parties, baby or even bridal showers!

Orange Poppy Seed Cake

This Orange Poppy Seed Cake is light, fluffy and

• Author: The Saucy Fig
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: three 8" cakes or two 9" cakes 1x
• Category: Dessert

Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

Cake

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup poppy seeds
• 3 tablespoons orange zest (about 3–4 large oranges)
• 1/4 cups orange juice
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (1/2 vanilla bean, paste/seeds scraped out)
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 3 3/4 cups cake flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Orange Buttercream Frosting

• 6 cups powdered sugar
• 2/3 cup softened butter
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• 2 tablespoons orange zest
• 3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Decorations

• Sprinkle Pop’s Green Tea Sprinkle Mix
• Chocolate Shards:
  • white chocolate melts
  • teal gel food coloring
  • orange gel food coloring
  • teal edible glitter (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Line the bottom of your cake pans with parchment paper and then lightly grease the sides with non stick cooking spray.  You can also grease the pans and then flour them if you don’t have parchment paper.
3. Using the paddle attachment on your mixer, beat together the sugar, eggs and oil. Then add the sour cream, poppy seeds, orange zest, orange juice, vanilla extract and paste, and buttermilk. Mix well until combined.
4. Add the cake flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda and mix on a low speed until just combined.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans and bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 25-30 minutes, or until the top is lightly golden and the cake springs back when lightly pressed down on the top.
6. Let cakes cool in the pans for a few minutes, and then remove them to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
7. Decorate: Assemble the three layers. Frost with the orange buttercream then decorate with the chocolate shards and Sprinkle Pop’s Green Tea Sprinkle Mix. (See more detailed instructions in post).

Notes

*Adapted from Sprinkle Bakes

*Make sure to use cake flour, no substitutions, or your cake will be dense and not rise properly.

Keywords: orange, poppy seed, cake, dessert, baking, birthday cake, sprinkles, sprinkle pop, cake design

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