Summer Solstice is upon us, and what better way to celebrate the longest day than with cake?! Camp Counselor Ashlee is here for today's special Mess Hall to bring us the delicious step-by-step.
Summer is such a fun season for us. We love picnics, water play, the beach, and all the fresh flowers. My absolute favorite place to get flowers right now is Trader Joe’s. I took the kids out early this morning to scope out their selection.
As sunny as it is, I put Egan in his Augie bonnet to protect his face and eyes from the sun (and it doesn’t hurt that it’s super cute!). Once we grabbed some fresh flowers and ingredients, we decided to go home and make a summer solstice cake.
Oranges always remind me of summer so I decided to make an orange and vanilla cake with orange cream cheese frosting. Clementine was ecstatic to help and even cracked her first egg perfectly, no mess. This cake was so fun to decorate and even more fun to eat. It’s in the shape of a sun and covered in decadent frosting and fresh, light fruit and edible flowers that give it a refreshing pop of color.
Orange Vanilla Cake Ingredients:
- 2 1/4 C flour
- 1/3 C cornstarch
- 2 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 C butter
- 1 1/4 C white granulated sugar
- 4 tsp orange zest
- 3 large eggs
- 5 1/2 tbsp of whole milk
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- 2 tsp vanilla
Orange cream cheese frosting
- 1 C unsalted butter
- 4 1/2 C powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 C cream cheese
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 2 tsp orange zest
- 1 1/2 tbsp fresh squeezed orange juice
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 8 inch round pans.
- Mix the dry ingredients for the cake in one bowl (flour, salt, cornstarch, baking powder, and sugar).
- Mix the wet ingredients in another bowl (eggs, orange zest and juice, butter, milk, vanilla).
- Slowly fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Only mix until combined.
- Pour the batter into the two greased pans evenly.
- Bake for 30-33 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean
- Let cool (this is important so it doesn’t fall apart while trying to cut shapes)
- While the cake cools, add the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, orange juice and zest into an electric mixer. Once the ingredients are combined, start slowly adding the powdered sugar 1/2 C at a time with the mixer still going. Do this until texture is thick and creamy like frosting. Optional: add food coloring to your frosting to make it yellow or orange
- When your cakes have cooled, remove them carefully from the pans and begin cutting your shapes. You can make it as big as the pan or use a cookie cutter like I did to make a smaller version.
- Cut triangles out of the second cake. Assemble into the shape of a sun, frost, and let your kids decorate with fresh fruit, edible flowers, and whatever else you want! Enjoy!!
Resources:
- Shop the post: Augie Brimmed Bonnet
- Follow Ashlee on Instagram.
