Orange Dreamsicle Cake

First, I would like to thank my foodie friend, Alison of Wish Upon a Chef for turning me on to this recipe.

As noted in her blog post, this recipe is not for purists. It contains two highly processed ingredients: a boxed cake mix and a box of bright colored jello. If these ingredients make your nose curl in disgust, simply hit your back button. I won't be offended.

However, if your response to those ingredients is something along the lines of, Well, that's sounds somewhat interesting. Please continue, well, stick around.

One of those highly processed, pre-packaged ingredients is a box of Duncan Hines Orange Supreme Cake Mix. To be able to acquire a box of this specific cake mix, you must be lucky enough to live in a part of the country where this cake mix is readily available. I'm not. I have never been able to find this product in Conway, Arkansas, where I live.

But I loved the idea of making a cake that is reminiscent of the orange sherbet and vanilla 50-50 ice cream bar I used to buy from the guy who drove the ice cream truck through our neighborhood every summer afternoon during my childhood in the 1950's. So, since Alison's post over two years ago, I made sure to visit every grocery store in every city I've visited since then to see if I could find the elusive cake mix. I struck gold....er, orange....during a visit to my son's house in Savannah just before he moved to Florida almost a year ago and I bought two boxes. They've been sitting in my pantry ever since then.

It's been hot here...hot and sunny...which reminds me of growing up in Fresno, California, where temperatures reach well above 100 degrees daily all summer long, and I've been thinking about those 50-50 bars....and Alison's cake.

Alison adds flaked coconut to her icing and I did, too, but when I make it again, I think I'll leave it out. I love the creamy, silky vanilla icing in concert with the sweet orange of the cake and I thought the coconut was more of a distraction than an enhancement.

I also baked my cake in two 9" round cake pans instead of baking the cake in a 13" X 9" rectangle pan, mostly because the only plate I have large enough to hold a rectangle that size is a cookie sheet and...well...presentation IS everything and I'm just not a beautiful-cake-on-an-old-cookie-sheet kinda gal.

Orange Dreamsicle Cake
by Alison @ Wish Upon a Chef

PRINTABLE RECIPE

For the cake:

• 1 box Duncan Hines Orange Supreme Cake Mix
• 1-1/4 cups orange juice
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1 small box orange jello
• 3 eggs

For the icing:

• 8 ounces heavy whipping cream
• 8 ounces sour cream
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1-1/4 cups confectioners (powdered) sugar
• 1 cup sweetened coconut flakes (I will leave this out next time)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease a 9"X13" baking pan or spray with cooking spray.

Pour all cake ingredients into a bowl and mix well (about 3 to 4 minutes). Pour batter evenly into prepared baking pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely before icing. (Alison's note: You can leave the cake in the pan and ice only the top, but I like to turn it out onto a cakeboard and slather a ton of icing on the top and sides)

For the icing: Whip the heavy cream until soft peaks form. While you continue to mix, slowly add the orange juice and confectioner's sugar whipping into to stiffer peaks.

Place the sour cream and coconut in a large bowl. Stir to combine. Gently fold the whipped cream into the coconut mixture until just combined. Smooth over cake and keep refrigerated until ready to serve.