Orange Buttermilk Cake

Orange Buttermilk Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting – Super light and super delicious! Bursting with orange flavor! Super easy to make with a box of cake mix. Cake mix, buttermilk, melted butter, eggs, orange juice, orange zest, and vanilla extract. Frost the cake with a light and fluffy cream cheese and cool whip frosting. I could not stop eating this cake! Great for parties and potlucks!

slice cake topped with an orange slice with text overlay

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Easy Orange Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

This Orange Buttermilk Cake is the BEST! And the cream cheese frosting – OMG! I am not a really big sweets person, but I could not stop eating this cake. It is SO good. White cake bursting with orange flavor and topped with a delicious cool whip and cream cheese frosting. I mean, who wouldn’t love this?!?! You must give this cake a try ASAP!

orange cake on a platter

How to Make Orange Cake with Cake Mix

This cake is super easy to make with only a few simple ingredients. In a large bowl, add white cake mix, buttermilk, melted butter, eggs, orange juice, orange zest, and vanilla extract. Mix with an electric mixer until smooth. Lightly spray a 9×13-inch cake pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper. Pour cake batter into the prepared pan, and bake until a toothpick comes out clean. Cook the cake on a wire rack and then add the frosting.

The frosting is the star of this cake and it is very easy to make. In a medium bowl, beat together cream cheese, confectioners sugar, granulated sugar, orange juice, and orange zest with an electric mixer. Carefully fold in Cool Whip with a spatula. Speed the frosting over the cooled cake.

  • Line the cake pan with parchment paper to easily lift the cake out of the pan.
  • To make homemade buttermilk, combine 1 cup of milk with 1 Tbsp of white vinegar or lemon juice. Let stand for 5 minutes or until the milk starts to curdle.
  • Can bake the cake in any pan that you prefer – round cake pans, loaf pans, or bundt pan. You will need to adjust the baking time.
  • You can omit the frosting and make a quick orange glaze or pour some warm orange marmalade over the cake.
  • I prefer to use fresh orange juice in this cake. You can substitute bottled orange juice if you prefer.
  • Store the cake tightly covered in the refrigerator.
slice cake topped with an orange slice

Citrus Sheet Cake for a Crowd

As I said, this cake is one of our favorites! I like to garnish the cake with extra orange zest and orange slices. This dessert is perfect for a potluck or cookout. Store the cake in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve it. I like to serve the cake at room temperature, so I take it out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes to an hour before serving. Here are a few more cake recipes from the blog to complete your dessert table:

slice cake topped with an orange slice with text overlay

Orange Buttermilk Cake

Yield: 12 people
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Orange Buttermilk Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting – Super light and super delicious! Bursting with orange flavor! Super easy to make with a box of cake mix. Cake mix, buttermilk, melted butter, eggs, orange juice, orange zest, and vanilla extract. Frost the cake with a light and fluffy cream cheese and cool whip frosting. I could not stop eating this cake! Great for parties and potlucks!

Ingredients:

Cake

  • 1 box white cake mix
  • cups buttermilk
  • ¼ cup melted butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 orange, juiced and zested
  • tsp vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 1 (8-oz) package cream cheese, softened
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 orange, juiced and zested
  • 1 (8-oz) container Cool Whip

Instructions:

  • Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease & flour a 9×13-inch cake pan.
  • Using a mixer, beat together cake mix, buttermilk, melted butter, and eggs for 3 minutes. Stir in orange juice, orange zest, and vanilla extract.
  • Pour batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
  • Allow cake to cool completely on a wire rack.
  • Using a mixer, beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, granulated sugar, juice of half an orange, and the zest of a whole orange at medium speed until creamy. Carefully fold in cool whip. Spread frosting on top of cooled cake.

Notes:

  • Line the cake pan with parchment paper to easily lift the cake out of the pan.
  • To make homemade buttermilk, combine 1 cup of milk with 1 Tbsp of white vinegar or lemon juice. Let stand for 5 minutes or until the milk starts to curdle.
  • Can bake the cake in any pan that you prefer – round cake pans, loaf pans, or bundt pan. You will need to adjust the baking time.
  • You can omit the frosting and make a quick orange glaze or pour some warm orange marmalade over the cake.
  • I prefer to use fresh orange juice in this cake. You can substitute bottled orange juice if you prefer.
  • Store the cake tightly covered in the refrigerator.

Steph

Remember this recipe.

Pin this recipe to your favorite board now to remember it later!

Pin This Recipe
orange cake on a cutting board with text overlay
slice cake topped with an orange slice with text overlay

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