This orange vanilla bean cake recipe is moist, tender, and has wonderful flavor! If you love orange cakes, you must try this recipe!
No matter what time of year, orange cake is always a popular choice. This refreshing layer cake is soft, moist, and has the perfect amount of orange and vanilla flavor with tiny flecks of vanilla bean in every slice.
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees, grease and flour three 8 inch x 2 inch round cake pans. I also like to line my pans with circles of parchment or wax paper. *If lining pans with wax paper, be careful not to forget to peel it off of the finished cake layers- it becomes completely transparent!
- Combining the Dry Ingredients: In a medium sized bowl, add the flour, baking powder, salt, and orange zest. Whisk to blend for 30 seconds and set aside.
- Combining the Wet Ingredients: In another bowl, combine the sour cream, milk, orange juice concentrate (thawed), vanilla bean paste, and orange extract.
- Butter and Sugar: In the bowl of your mixer, beat the softened butter until smooth. Gradually add the sugar and beat on medium speed for 3-5 minutes until fluffy and lightened in color.
- Adding the Eggs: Add the room temperature eggs one at a time, mixing until the yellow of the yolk disappears.
- Alternating dry and wet ingredients: With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture and the sour cream mixture alternately, beginning and ending with the flour mixture (3 additions of dry ingredients, 2 of wet). Add the drops of coloring gel at this time also if you are tinting the batter.
- Slightly increase the speed and mix batter just until combined. Do not mix above medium speed or over-mix.
- Divide the batter between the three prepared 8 inch cake pans.
- Time to Bake! Bake at 325 degrees for 28-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached.
