This delicious, summery cake is made with soft and moist vanilla cake layers filled with a tangy orange curd and fluffy meringue that’s torched to perfection. The flavor combination of sweet, tangy, and toasty makes this the perfect showstopper dessert for your next party.
One thing about me, I love fruit in my cakes. Fruits give the perfect sweet and tangy touch to cakes and take them from “it’s so sweet I cannot eat more than two bites” to “it’s so delicious and refreshing I can eat 4 slices!”.
Personally, I feel like the era of “overly sweet” desserts is over, and now we want perfectly balanced, delicious cakes that don’t make you feel sick after a few bites. And this cake, is just that.
Inspired by the ever popular lemon meringue pie, this orange meringue cake makes use of the fresh oranges coming out of citrus season in the form of a creamy and tangy orange curd that is filled between soft and moist vanilla and orange cake layers and finished with a deliciously torched Swiss meringue.
The combination is literally like a party in your mouth and will make you feel like Remy in that one scene in Ratatouille (if you know, you know).
It’s also very easy to decorate and looks like an absolute showstopper even if you have no cake decoration skills cause it’s basically a piece of abstract art.
All three components of this cake are super simple to make, and the result will be an unforgettable cake that you won’t forget about for a long time.
Okay enough talking, let’s get into the recipe.
Vanilla Cake Layers
This is my no-fuss vanilla cake recipe. It’s quick and simple and absolutely delicious. The cake is made with only 7 ingredients – caster sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla, flour, baking powder, cornflour, and salt. For this particular cake, however, we add an additional ingredient, orange zest.
Here are the steps for making the orange-vanilla cake layers.
- Prepare two 6″ cake pans by greasing them with butter and dusting with flour to stop the cake from sticking to the pan.
- In a bowl, add the caster sugar and orange zest. Rub the zest into the sugar using your fingers until the sugar turns orange. This helps the oil and essences in the zest release better and results in a better orange flavor.
- Add the softened butter into the zest and whisk for 3-5 minutes until properly creamed together, then add the eggs and vanilla and whisk again until fully combined. The batter might look a little split at this step, but don’t worry. Once we add the dry ingredients, the batter will come together.
- Add the flour, baking powder, cornflour, and salt and whisk on low spreed until fully combined, make sure not to over mix at this step as that may result in a dry cake.
- Transfer the cake pans equally in the prepared pan and bake for 15-20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean from the center. Don’t over bake or the cakes will dry out.
- If the cake layers have a dome at the top, even them out using a sharp bread knife.
Let the cakes cool down completely before assembling. If you try to assemble the cake while the layers are still warm, the curd and meringue will melt and you will end up with a sloppy mess.
The cake layers can be made a day in advance. If doing so, pack them tightly in cling film and refrigerate overnight.
Orange Curd
If you don’t know what a citrus curd is, it’s basically like a fruity custard. It’s made with egg yolks that give it the smooth and creamy custard-like taste and texture, along with caster sugar, orange juice, orange zest, and unsalted butter.
The curd is made on a double boiler to ensure that the eggs do not scramble due to direct heat.
Here are the steps for making the orange curd.
- Prepare the double boiler: Choose a saucepan and heat-proof bowl that fits on top of it. Fill the saucepan with water about halfway through and heat it until it starts boiling. While the water boils, prepare the ingredients in the chosen bowl.
- Add the egg yolks, caster sugar, orange zest, and orange juice and whisk until roughly combined. Once the water starts boiling, place the bowl on top and start whisking.
- Keep the heat on medium and cook the curd on the double boiler for 5-8 minutes, whisking continuously, until the curd thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Keep whisking to stop the eggs from scrambling.
- Take the curd off the heat and whisk in the butter until it’s fully melted and combined. Cover the curd with cling film, making sure the plastic sticks to the surface of the curd to stop a skin from forming on top of it. Chill for at least 2-3 hours before using until has thickened.
The orange curd can be made a day ahead and stored in the fridge overnight.
Swiss Meringue
The final component of this cake is the Swiss meringue that’s torched to give the toasty, marshmallow-y flavor and texture that pairs perfectly with the tangy orange curd. This component has to be made just before assembly as meringue deflates after some time.
There are three different ways to make meringue – Swiss, Italian, and French. You can use any technique you prefer, but I personally like using Swiss meringue because it’s the simplest to make.
Here are the steps for making Swiss meringue.
- Prepare a double boiler like we did for the curd. In the chosen bowl, add the egg whites and sugar and gently whisk together.
- Once the water in the saucepan is boiling, place the bowl with egg whites on top and start whisking. Continue whisking until the sugar is properly incorporated into the egg whites. You can test this by rubbing a little egg whites between your fingers, they should be smooth and sticky and not have any grains in them. If you feel grains, continue whisking until the egg whites are completely smooth. this process takes about 3-5 minutes.
- Let the egg whites cool down a bit, then whisk them for 15-20 minutes, starting at low speed for about 5 minutes, then medium speed for the next five, and finally on high sped until the meringue is shiny and fluffy and has stiff peaks (meaning that the meringue leaves stable high peaks that don’t fall when you pick up a whisk from it).
Remember, the meringue has to be used soon after preparation so make it only when you are ready to assemble the cake.
Assembling The Cake
Once all the components are ready, it’s time to assemble. The assembly is quite simple and as I mentioned earlier, this cake does not require much decorative skills. The meringue allows you to decorate the cake very easily and makes it look absolutely spectacular.
How to assemble the orange meringue cake.
- Add a little dollop of meringue and lace the first cake layer at the bottom of your desired plate or dish so that it does not slip while decorating.
- Add a thing layer of meringue on top, add a little extra at the edges. Create a well in the center by raising the sides of the meringue a little higher than the center, Try to make it a little textured and dramatic around the edges using a spoon or spatula. The more texture the meringue has, the better it will look after getting torched.
- Torch the meringue properly, make sure it gets dark to get that toasty flavor.
- On top of the meringue, add 2 tablespoons of orange curd in the center of the meringue and evenly spread it around using. a spoon or spatula. I like to drip it down to the edfe of the cake from one or two places, just for decorative purposes.
- Top it with the second cake layer, then repeat the layer of toasted meringue and curd. Keep the meringue layer a little lesser than before as we will be topping it with more meringue to finish.
- Add a few dollops of meringue on top of the curd, and spread it around, keeping it high and textured. You can be as artistic as you like at this step.
- Once you are done adding the meringue, properly toast it in all places using. allow torch. I like the keep the meringue very toasted as it gives a good balance of flavors since the meringue itself is quite sweet. And you’re ready to serve!
I love that with minimum effort, this cake ends up looking like it’s straight out of Pinterest and would make the perfect centerpiece for your next party! Remember, you can make the cake and curd a day before assembly!
Ready to get started? Let’s go!
PS: I always measure ingredients in grams, never in cups. Using a measuring scale is the only way to bake accurately. Cups are unreliable and can give different measurements, so I suggest you buy a measuring scale before you start baking! If you can’t get your hands on one, you can use the online tools for converting grams into cups; however, I do not guarantee their accuracy.
Orange Meringue Cake
Equipment
- 2 6" cake pans
- Electric whisk or stand mixer with whisk attachment
- Silicone spatula
- Saucepan with heat proof bowl for double boiler
- Spatula
- Blow torch
Ingredients
Orange Curd
- 2 egg yolks
- 70 grams white granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp orange zest
- 50 ml fresh orange juice
- 45 grams unsalted butter
Vanilla Cake
- 170 grams caster sugar
- 2 tbsp orange zest
- 170 grams unsalted butter softened
- 2 tsp vanilla paste/essence
- 3 eggs
- 150 grams all-purpose flour
- 20 grams corn flour can sub for more flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
Swiss Meringue
- 2 egg whites
- 100 gs white-granulated sugar
Instructions
Orange Curd
- Prepare the double boiler: fill a saucepan halfway with water and let it come to a boil. Meanwhile, take a heat-proof bowl that fits at the top of the saucepan.
- In the bowl, add the egg yolks, orange zest, fresh orange juice, and sugar into the bowl and give it a quick whisk.2 egg yolks, 70 grams white granulated sugar, 1 tbsp orange zest, 50 ml fresh orange juice
- Once the water in the saucepan has come to a boil, reduce the heat and bring the water to a simmer. Then, place the heat-proof bowl with the orange curd mixture on top of the saucepan. Make sure that the bottom of the bowl is not touching the water.
- As soon as you place the bowl on the saucepan, start whisking the mixture and keep whisking continuously to stop the eggs from scrambling from the heat. Keep whisking until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon, about 5-8 minutes.
- Once thickened, remove the curd from the heat, add the softened butter, and whisk until it’s melted and incorporated into the mixture.45 grams unsalted butter
- Cover the orange curd with cling film and chill it in the fridge for at least two hours. Make sure that the cling film is touching the surface of the curd to stop a film from forming on top.
Vanilla Cake
- Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius. Prepare the cake pans by greasing them with butter and dusting with flour to make sure that the cake does not stick to them while baking.
- In a bowl, add the sugar and orange zest in a bowl. Rub the zest into the sugar to release the oils until the sugar is orange. Add the butter and whisk for 3-5 minutes on medium-high speed until it’s properly creamed with the sugar.170 grams caster sugar, 2 tbsp orange zest, 170 grams unsalted butter
- Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk again until combined. The batter might appear split at this step, but don’t worry.3 eggs, 2 tsp vanilla paste/essence
- Add the flour, baking powder, corn flour, and salt and whisk on low speed until everything is just combined. Do not over mix at this step or the cake might become tough and dry.150 grams all-purpose flour, 20 grams corn flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt
- Transfer the batter equally into both pans and bake for 15-20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the pan. Make sure not to over bake or they will dry out.
- Let the cakes cool completely before assembling. If assembling the next day, pack the cake tightly in cling film and store in the fridge.
Swiss Meringue
- Prepare a double boiler. Add the egg whites and sugar to the heat-proof bowl off the heat, give it a quick whisk, and place it on top of the saucepan. Keep whisking until the sugar is fully incorporated into the egg whites. Check if it's done by rubbing a little between your fingers and mix until you cannot feel any sugar granules.2 egg whites
- Let the meringue cool down, then whip using an electric or stand mixer with a whisk attachment starting on low speed, then medium speed, then high speed. Whisk until the egg whites reach stiff peaks.100 gs white-granulated sugar
Assembly
- Add a little dollop of meringue and lace the first cake layer at the bottom of your desired plate or dish so that it does not slip while decorating.
- Add a thin layer of meringue on top and create a well in the center by raising the sides of the meringue a little higher than the center. Torch the meringue properly, make sure it gets dark to get that toasty flavor.
- On top of the meringue, add 2 tablespoons of orange curd in the center of the meringue and evenly spread it around using. a spoon or spatula. Top it with the second cake layer, then repeat the layer of toasted meringue and curd. Keep the meringue layer a little lesser than before as we will be topping it with more meringue to finish.
- Add a few dollops of meringue on top of the curd, and spread it around, keeping it high and textured, then toast the meringue properly in all places using a blow torch
