When my oldest son Joshua turned 21 last year (in 2018) he didn't really have a special request for a cake. But at that time, he was obsessed with eating Orange Creamsicles so I decided to make him an Orange Creamsicle Cake.
He had no idea what my plans were for a cake, so it was really fun to surprise him with this giant popsicle cake that was both an Orange Dreamsicle on the outside and orange-flavored cake on the inside!
Dreamsicle or Creamsicle?
Before I tell you about this cake, I have to ask... do you call this a Dreamsicle or a Creamsicle? From my Google searches, it seems the terms are basically interchangeable in day-to-day conversation. Both refer to an ice cream bar with vanilla ice cream center and an orange sherbert outer layer.
But Creamsicle is a registered trademark name of an official product (here), while Dreamsicle might have been an ice cream product at one time, but is no longer being produced. You can read more about Creamsicle vs. Dreamsicle here.
So... what do you call them? Leave me a comment. For the purpose of this blog post, I'm gonna roll with Creamsicle.
Let's get on with the details...
In this photo, you can see just how big the cake was compared with a real Creamsicle. My proportions might have been a little off, but it was just so stinkin' cute!
The cake was baked in this Alphabet pan. I used some of the squares to block off a row on the end and one of the corners so I didn't waste as much cake. I still had to do a little carving to get the "bite" shape and curved top, but the pan helped so much! Overall, I think the cake ended up being about 8" wide by 11" tall.
The marble slab I displayed the cake on is from Sur la Table and it was 16"x20". Find it here --> https://amzn.to/2njMo8z.
I really wanted my Creamsicle to be as "real" as possible, so when decided to cut the bite out, I wanted it to be white on the inside (or look like it). To get this look, I decided to first cover the whole thing with a thin layer of white fondant, then go back and add the orange fondant over the top.
After it was covered with orange, I used an Xacto to cut off the bottom and cut out the bite mark to reveal the white beneath. To say I was SUPER happy with how it turned out would be an understatement!
Richy (the husband) cut me a popsicle stick using a piece of lauan that I actually put between the two layers of cake so that it looked legit. I washed the part I pushed into the cake, then covered it in plastic wrap and carefully trimmed off any visible plastic. It was perfection!
I should also note - he only made a very small sharp point to push into the cake. I wasn't going for the whole stick. Haha!
Orange Creamsicle Cake
He ended up loving his cake!! But knowing Joshua, I knew that having a Creamsicle Cake wouldn't be enough... he's want it to be Creamsicle flavored too! I had zero experience with this but I decided to keep it simple.
In keeping with my usual mode of operation, I decided to adapt my vanilla cake recipe. I used Orange Supreme Cake mix and Instant Cheesecake Pudding mix. If you'd rather make a scratch cake, check out this Orange Dreamsicle Cake recipe over on Buttery Sweet.
For the filling, used vanilla buttercream but colored it orange. Don't ask me why... I should've left it white or "cream" colored. The fondant used for this cake was homemade marshmallow fondant.
Shop for supplies here:
Duncan Hines Signature Oran...Shop on Amazon
Sur La Table Marble Pastry ...Shop on Amazon
Jell-O Instant Cheesecake P...Shop on Amazon
4 Pieces Craft Knife Knife ...Shop on Amazon
Alphabet Cake PanShop on Amazon
Jet-Puffed Mini Marshmallow...Shop on Amazon
I think that's all the details I can share on this Orange Creamsicle Cake. At the end of the day, it's one of my all-time favorite cakes! Sweet and fun and easy and delish!!
Do you have questions? Leave me a comment!
We also had Orange Candy Apples at the party... check out my recipe for Candy Apples any color here and how to prevent bubbles on candy apples here.
Check out the recipes below:
Jenni
Rose, Oh my gosh, this is the cutest! Thank you for linking to my Creamsicles/Dreamsicles post. I'm going to add your spectacular cake to my roundup on that page. It is just perfection!
Rose
Thanks SO much Jenni!! xx
Karen Hudson Truett
You are sooo talented!
Rose
Thank you Karen!
Elizabeth
I want to save this to my pinterest but I don't
see any save option on the pics. Can you make it so this info how to make the cake be saved? This is the cutiest cake I have ever seen.
Rose
If you hover over any pic, a pin it button should show up in the corner! If not, you can also go pin it directly from here: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/189573465552734065/?nic=1
Khyati Arora
Looking so yummy thanks for this great Recipe
Alana LeSueur
You are so talented...I also have a friend, that lives in Calgary, AB, who also makes cakes for weddings etc., so it appears that she is in good company with you, in being so creative...BTW, I grew up eating creamsicles and they still are my favourite ice cream treat (although they just do NOT taste as great...more artificial stuff, I suspect)...any mother who would spend that sort of time, hand creating something so special for her young adult son is a very good mother.
Maria Cruz
Hi another good post!Love when you share your family pics too.I use to make for a friend until he move away, a Tic tacs cake every year. Make it to look like one and use mandarins and orange zest and of course de orange tic tacs pulverized because he would eat them a lot and were the inspiration.