Orange Creamsicle Bundt Cake
What a fun idea to kick off the summer months of picnics, potlucks and barbeques where taking a Bundt cake is always a crowd-pleaser. My thoughts of summer swirls took me to a childhood favorite frozen treat-- the orange creamsicle. I used this orange cardamom cake from Cooking Light as my starting point for orange flavor.
To get the orange color I had in mind I knew it might not be possible with simple ingredients like orange zest and orange juice...so I added a packet of orange jello to the mix. Yes, I know, jello isn't my first go-to ingredient in baking but in this case it was a must. The cake's color made an impact and the creamy swirl of cream cheese filling completed the flavor profile I had in mind.
Now for the swirl...did it work? Well, let's cut into the cake and see together:
The swirl is there but not quite as "swirly" as I would have liked. I was hoping for a more evenly distributed swirl but it came out top heavy (bottom heavy actually since the Bundt bakes upside-down) but the idea was still a success and worthy of a repeat later this summer. An easy orange juice and confectioners' sugar icing finished off the Bundt. Want a bite?
Orange Creamsicle Bundt Cake
Remember that summer treat you used to buy from the ice cream man? The creamsicle? Well here it is in Bundt cake form!
Ingredients
Cake:
- Cooking spray and 1 TB flour to prepare the pan
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ cups sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 oranges, zested then juiced (about ¾ -1 cup fresh juice)
- 1 packet of Orange flavored Jell-o Gelatin (3 oz)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup canola oil
- 3 large eggs
Swirl:
- 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 Tablespoons butter, room temperature
- 2 Tablespoons flour
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Glaze:
- 2 Tablespoons orange juice
- 2 Tablespoons milk
- 2 cups confectioners' sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F
- Prepare the Bundt pan: spray with cooking spray then coat with 1 TB flour.
- Combine the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and jell-o in a large bowl. Whisk together to combine. Separately mix the wet ingredients of orange juice, zest, canola oil, vanilla and eggs.
- Mix the dry ingredients with the wet using an electric mixer until the ingredients are well mixed. Set aside and make the cream cheese swirl next.
- Swirl: Combine all of the ingredients for the Swirl, beating with a mixer until smooth.
- Pour half of the cake batter into the prepared Bundt pan. I found it easier to put the Swirl into a zip-loc bag, then cut a small edge of the bag and squeeze the mixture on to the orange cake batter. Alternatively you could spoon the swirl on to the batter. Finish with the remaining orange cake batter. Use a knife to pass through the layers in a zig-zag motion to make your swirl pattern.
- Bake at 350 degrees for one hour. I like to let the Bundt cool completely in the pan before turning it out.
- Let cool completely before adding the glaze.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
16Serving Size:
1 sliceAmount Per Serving: Calories: 393Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 65mgSodium: 210mgCarbohydrates: 55gFiber: 1gSugar: 34gProtein: 6g
This data is provided by Nutritionix and is an estimate only.
Holly Baker started the food blog, A Baker's House, in 2011. She is the writer, recipe creator, and photographer for the site. Holly loves to bake and shares recipes for gluten free food, canning recipes, as well as traditional desserts too. Her recipes and food photography have been highlighted by BuzzFeed, Reader's Digest, and She Knows.
giggling at what you said about the Jell-O. But look at that gorgeous orange color!:)This cake is all about summer. Love how creative you were with this theme, Holly:)
Thanks, Lora, I agree-- the color was worth pouring the entire packet of Jell-O into the batter! I thought this was a fun theme, thanks for leading us in another month of baking!
Sooo beautiful, Holly. Your orange creamsicle cake photo looks like it's camera ready for a cooking magazine. With the orange zest, I bet, it gives it just that extra bit of zingy taste, too =)
Thanks so much! The orange flavor was a bit more subtle than I expected after using orange juice, zest and jell-o gelatin but it was there nonetheless and worked well with the cream cheese swirl. Looking forward to enjoying the group's Bundts this month!
Love it. Childhood memories... 🙂
Me too! I can't believe I haven't introduced my youngest to creamsicles yet. he loved this cake and I think it would be fun to share my favorite summer treat with him. next time the ice cream truck comes around we'll have to run outside for sure!
I haven't had an orange creamsicle in years. Your post has reminded me of that sweet treat. It's a bonus in cake form. I'd rather have that anyway.
I can almost hear the ice cream truck's song as I enjoyed this cake. I think summer and creamsicles go together for sure. I agree with you-- cake might top ice cream in this case!
Oh my goodness!! I absolutely love the flavors you played with here this month and I think your swirl totally worked. This is awesome. Definitely going to bookmark this one to make soon.
Just noticed your facebook post-- Happy Anniversary to you! Hope there is cake involved to celebrate! What a fun month of baking, the Bundts look great! I've joined your #RFR5K group and will be exercising so I can continue to eat Bundts and more each month. : )
Just as pretty to look at as I'm sure it is to eat. This would definitely be a hit on anyone's dessert table. Love it!
Hi Karen, yes, this color cake was a fun surprise when I cut into it. I wasn't sure how effective the Jell-O would be and it worked out well. I can't imagine the sugar and calories in this one...so I choose to ignore those details and eat it anyway!
Oh, I love this cake! what a great idea to use jello gelatin?!!! and I'm also definitely going to check out the orange cardamom cake from Cooking Light . . uh, yummmm!!! Your bundt looks beautiful! happy friday!
I think I'd like to try the orange cardamom cake too. I use cardamom in Spritz cookies but don't bake with it much beyond that. I think with orange it would be lovely.
Hi Holly didnt realise there is such a fabulous group for bundts, I would love to join in! I am drooling over your swirly creation and now gonna pop on to see what others have created! Such fun!
It's a great group of bakers and always fun to have someone join us! Lora and Anuradha lead this group. If you drop either of them a note (their bundts are shared above) I am sure they can add you to the group's facebook page.
Nicely done, love the jello in there and it looks so moist!!
Thanks, Tara, what a fun month of Bundt baking! I am on my way over to see your Zebra Bundt-- the title has me curious and I bet it is great!
This is such a great flavor for summer! I look forward to giving this a try! 🙂
Thanks, Jennifer! Hope you have a great summer!
I would never have thought to use Jello. What a great way to add flavor along with the color! Your creamsicle cake is beautiful, as is that lovely cake stand.
Thanks, Stacy, the cake stand is from Home Goods. I like the option of changing the ribbon color and it is nice just white as well. They had other sizes at the store too. Might have to treat myself to another one.
I've never eaten a creamsicle... I've heard of fudgesicles (did I spell that right?) but we have neither in Australia! This cake looks gorgeous though. I love the contrast between the creamy ribbon and the moist orange cake 🙂 Hm, you've made me want to eat a creamsicle. And this cake. I'll be making it soon (though I don't own a bundt tin, so do you think it'd work in a normal round 20cm cake tin?) x
Oh gosh I didn't think of explaining a creamsicle-- sorry about that! It is a frozen popsicle that combines the flavors of orange and vanilla, sometimes in a swirl and other times the vanilla is on the inside and the orange sherbet-like flavor is on the outside. It's a great summer treat that i associate with the ice cream man at the beach but we can buy it in stores too.
I think it is worth trying this in a round cake tin, just don't over-fill it with the batter as a Bundt pan contains a lot of batter so this recipe might be too much for a 20 cm cake tin.
Oh yum this sounds perfect for summer! I love creamsicles and having one in cake for would be awesome!
Did she say "Orange Creamsickle"????? I really need to go buy a bundt pan. Looks fabulous Holly.
Nice job! LOVE Orange Creamsicles--this cake sounds delicious!
What a beautiful cake, Holly! Orange creamsicles are an all time favorite of mine. I've pinned this recipe to try. 🙂
What a pretty summery bundt cake, it looks lovely. Good job with this month's theme.