This vegan orange curd cake is the perfect combination between sweet and fruity. It features 2 layers of moist and fruity orange sponge cakes, with a homemade orange curd and orange flavoured buttercream decorated with fresh orange slices.
This recipe has been made in collaboration with Tilda. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. (For more information along with affiliated links, check out my disclosure policy.)
Vegan Orange Curd Cake
This cake has been long awaited! I’ve been hinting about it over on my Instagram for the past week, and it’s been so much fun letting you guess what I had planned. I’ve love oranges and orange flavour. I can still remember the time I had fresh orange juice on the beach in Italy as a child and that memory has stayed with me. Something about the flavour of orange tingles all the right notes for my taste buds.
I’ve already shared a few small batch fruity cakes (including Vegan Blueberry Cake, Vegan Lemon Curd Cake, and Vegan Blackberry Cake), but no orange?! Definitely time to fix that – haha!
This fresh and fruity cake features 2 light and moist orange cakes, sandwiched with homemade orange curd, fresh orange segments and creamy orange buttercream, decorated with fresh slices of whole orange and a mint leaf for decoration. This style of cake is definitely unique which i’ve created.
This is truly the ultimate fresh orange cake. It’s the perfect cake to bake for summer, parties or special occasions as it doesn’t just taste amazing it’s an absolute show stopper!
That being said, it’s easy to make! This cake contains 4 components:
Cakes: 2 scrumptious orange cakes are the star of the show here. They contain so much orange that it makes the cake super moist, it’s one of the best orange cakes iv’e ever tried!
Buttercream: A cake is not a cake without a heap of buttercream. To compliment the orange flavours and overall soft, moist texture of the cake, I made an orange flavoured buttercream. The buttercream contains a drop of orange food gel to give it a gorgeous peachy colour. This can be optional.
Orange Curd: This orange curd is incredible! It not only takes minutes to put together and make, but it tastes fantastic. The orange really pops and the actual curd melts in your mouth. You really need to make this!
Decorations: The entire cake comes together once you add on the slices of orange and mint leaves. It reminds me of something you’d see in a French patisserie.
Why you NEED to make this cake?
- Easy to make
- Scrumptious
- Light and fluffy
- Extremely fresh
- Fun to make
- The perfect addition to any dinner table / celebration
- Fruity and refreshing
Tilda Rice Milk
I am SUPER excited to share this recipe with you as it has been made in partnership with Tilda. I have been the biggest fan of Tilda for years and I thoroughly enjoy their packet rices especially their Firecracker flavour and their pilau rice is a great accompaniment to a homemade spicy curry.
I am incredibly excited that they recently announced the launch of their brand new product – Tilda Rice Milk! If you’re on the look out for a delicious dairy-free milk alternative, you gotta try this.
This rice milk is absolutely delicious, vegan friendly, gluten-free and organic. It has a gorgeous, natural sweetness to it, which makes it perfect for baking with and adding extra flavours to your recipes / bakes! It also tastes delicious in smoothies and on breakfast cereals.
I used this milk in the cake, for the buttermilk, and in the orange buttercream. It pairs beautifully with the succulent flavours of fresh orange.
This rice milk is available now in Waitrose supermarkets. I have attached the link directly to it on the Waitrose website here, and also on Tilda’s website. Make sure to look out for it in store also, definitely pick on up when you see them!
I highly recommend trying this milk out! It’s not only great for baking with, but tastes divine in iced coffee – YUM!
Equipment to help make this cake:
Cake tins:
This recipe is written to use with two 6″ cake tins. If you wanted a larger cake, double up on ingredients and bake accordingly. Make sure to find push up / loose base cake tins. These are great for removing a cake with ease.
Greaseproof paper:
Make sure to line the cake tins before pouring in the batter and baking. Lining the base and sides with greaseproof paper will make releasing the cake fast and easy.
A stand mixer:
You can make all the components of this cake in a bowl with a hand held whisk or spoon, but if you’re wanting a really light and airy buttercream, a stand mixer with balloon whisk attachment is a must.
Piping bags:
To help get even layers of buttercream and to swirl the curd into the middle of the cake, fill piping bags with the mixtures and pipe away. It’s much easier to get even layers with the use of piping bags.
Piping tips:
To help give height and extra detail to the cake, transfer any left over buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a large open star-tip nozzle and pipe a swirl of buttercream around the top edge of the cake. It’s extremely simple but effective.
Microplane:
An orange cake wouldn’t be right without lots of orange zest. Use a microplane to create the orange zest. Alternatively, use a very fine grater.
Saucepan:
To help make the most delicious orange curd, you’ll need a saucepan. Non-stick ones are my personal favourite, but any will do.
Heat proof Spatulas:
Make sure you’re using heat-proof spatulas when making the orange curd, as you wouldn’t want the spatula melting.
Make sure to PIN this photo to your favourite Pinterest Board!
This cake is truly juicy and bursting with flavour, what’s not to love? You’re going to love it!
Happy Baking!
Looking for more fruity desserts? Check these out:
The BEST Vegan Lemon Loaf Cake
Vegan Strawberries + Cream Puffs
Vegan Strawberries and Cream Macarons
Vegan Strawberry Cream Brownies
No-Bake Vegan Strawberry Shortcake Cheesecake
If you make, and love this recipe, please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating below. Thank you & happy baking!
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Vegan Orange Curd Cake
- Total Time: 6 hours / overnight
- Yield: 8–10 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This is the PERFECT Vegan Orange Curd Cake recipe! It’s super moist, soft, and loaded with orange!
Ingredients
Ingredients for the orange curd
- 3 tablespoons of corn flour + 2 tablespoons of water
- 100g of dairy-free butter/margarine
- 100g of caster sugar
- 170ml of fresh orange juice
- 2 large oranges (zest)
- 100g of vegan condensed milk*
Ingredients for the cake
- 240ml of dairy-free milk
- 1 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar
- 210g of self-raising flour
- 200g of caster sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
- 60g of vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon of orange extract
- 1 large orange (zest only)
Ingredients for the buttercream
- 200g of dairy-free block butter*
- 200g of icing sugar
- 2 tablespoons of dairy-free milk
- 1 teaspoon of orange extract
- Orange food gel
+
- Orange slices
- Mint leaves
Instructions
Method (orange curd)
- In a small bowl, add in the corn flour and water. Stir together into thick paste.
- Add the cornflour paste, dairy-free butter, sugar, orange juice, orange zest and condensed milk into a medium sized saucepan.
- Place the saucepan on the hob and heat over low to medium, stirring constantly, preferably with a whisk. After around 5-8 minutes the orange curd will thicken. If the curd isn’t thickening, turn up the heat and constantly whisk.
- Pour the curd into a heat proof jar or bowl, cover and place aside to cool down.
- You can either put it in the fridge or keep it at room temperature to cool. Before you use it, give it a good stir as it will thicken.
Method (cake)
- Preheat your oven to 180℃ fan and line two, 6 inch loose base / push up cake tins with grease-proof paper.
- In a bowl, combine the dairy-free milk with the apple cider vinegar and whisk until fully combined. Set aside for 10 minutes to curdle. This creates a vegan ‘buttermilk’.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Mix well to combine. Stir in the orange zest.
- Add the oil, orange extract and orange zest in to the ‘buttermilk’ and whisk to combine.
- Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix.
- Pour equal amounts of batter into the lined cake tins. Make sure to tap the tins on the worktop to remove any air bubbles.
- Pop the cakes into the centre of the preheated oven and bake for around 25-30 minutes. You will know they are done when you put a knife or skewer in and it comes out clean and they are springy to the touch.
- Place the cakes on a cooling rack and allow to cool fully. Once cool, pop them into a sealed container to keep them fresh before frosting.
Method (buttercream)
- In a large mixing bowl, add in the dairy-free butter, whip until creamy. I use a stand mixer with a balloon whisk attachment, a hand mixer will work great too.
- Sift in the icing sugar and pour dairy-free milk and orange extract, whip on high speed for a couple of minutes to incorporate it.
- Add in a drop of orange food gel to colour the buttercream a pale orange / light peach colour (optional).
- Place one of the cakes on a serving plate or cake stand. Dollop some of the buttercream on top and spread out until even using an off-set spatula or pallet knife.
- Make a well in the middle of the buttercream and fill with 2 – 3 heaped tablespoons of orange curd.
- Lay some mandarine or orange segments over the curd then place the second cake layer on top. Press it down gently so it sticks. Coat the whole cake with a thin layer of buttercream. This creates a crumb coat.
- Place the cake into the the fridge to set for 10- 15 minutes.
- Remove the cake from the fridge and apply a second coat, this time thicker. Create decorative lines in the buttercream by dragging an off set spatula though the buttercream in a vertical pattern.
- Transfer any left over buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a star-tip nozzle. Pipe a swirl of buttercream around the top edge of the cake, and fill the middle in with orange curd.
- Slice up an orange. Dry the segments on some kitchen paper to soak up any excess moisture. Press the orange slices on the sides of the cake, finishing off with a mint leaf for decoration.
- Slice and enjoy!
Notes
To store: Keep this cake stored in a sealed container in the fridge. Best eaten within 3 days of making.
Un-iced cakes can be stored in a sealed container at room temperature for 2 days.
The orange curd can be kept in a sealed jar in the fridge for up to a week. Just give it a vigorous stir before using.
What vegan block butter to use? I like the Naturli Vegan Block or Flora Plant Based Block Butter Alternative.
What condensed milk should I use? My two favourites are Natures Charm Coconut Condensed Milk and Carnation Oat based condensed milk. Both are vegan and can be found in supermarkets and online.
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: Approx 40 minutes total
- Category: Cakes and layer cakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
