Orange Almond Poppy Seed Cake with Fresh Milled Flour

Most orange cakes taste like they're trying too hard, all sweetness and no soul. This one is different because it leans into texture just as much as flavor. Fresh milled flour gives the crumb a nutty, almost earthy depth that plays beautifully against bright citrus and the gentle crunch of poppy seeds. Almond extract adds richness without making things heavy. It is also filled with a homemade orange curd between the layers. The result is a cake that tastes like actual ingredients, not a flavor lab. It's the kind of cake that's perfect for the whole family, for breakfast with coffee, afternoon tea, or a special occasion. The fresh milled flour is what makes it special, but the technique keeps it approachable. If you've been milling your own flour and wondering what to bake that actually shows off the difference, this is it.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword orange almond poppy seed cake

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 25

Cooling Time 1

Total Time 1 55

Servings slices

Calories 982kcal

Ingredients

Cake Batter:

1 cup softened butter 230 grams
1 ¼ cups sugar 250 grams
2 tablespoons orange zest
6 egg whites
2 ¼ teaspoons almond extract
1 ¼ cups buttermilk 280 grams
3 ¾ cups freshly milled soft white wheat flour finely milled & sifted (431 grams)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 ½ tablespoons poppy seeds
⅓ cup sour cream 76 grams

Orange Curd:

⅓ cup sugar 67 grams
1 ½ tablespoons orange zest
½ cup fresh orange juice 124 grams
3 eggs
4 egg yolks
¼ cup cold butter 58 grams

Almond Buttercream:

2 cups butter 230 grams
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 ½ teaspoons almond
5 ½ cups powdered sugar 550 grams
Natural orange food coloring

Instructions

Soak the poppy seeds in water for at least 30 minutes. This will help them not absorb so much liquid from the cake batter.
Prepare the orange curd by combining the sugar, orange zest and juice into a small sauce pan. Cook over medium-low heat until heated through. Whisk the eggs and egg yolks together, then very slowly pour the eggs into the pan in a small stream while whisking continuously. Make sure you do not add a bunch of eggs at a time or stop whisking. You do not want to scramble the eggs.
Cook over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes until thickened. Continue whisking.
Cut the butter into 4 pieces, then remove from the heat and stir in the butter.
Allow to cool, then place in the fridge to cool and thicken completely.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. and grease and flour 3 8-inch cake pans.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar.
Begin to add the egg whites slowly, mixing in between. Beat for several minutes, until light and fluffy.
Mill the flour and sift it. You should have 3 3/4 cups after sifting.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, orange zest, and poppy seeds. You may need to use your hands to incorporate the zest into the flour better.
Add ⅓ of the flour mixture to the batter, followed by half of the buttermilk. Add another ⅓ of the flour, then the remaining buttermilk. Mix between each addition, then add the remaining flour.
Evenly pour batter between the cake pans and for for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove from the pans and let cool on a wire rack completely.
For the buttercream, beat the butter until smooth.
Sift the powdered sugar then add it to the bowl 1 cup at a time, beating in between each addition.
Add the almond and vanilla extracts and beat until light and fluffy. Add desired amount of orange food coloring and beat until combined.
To assemble the cake, frost the bottom layer with a thin layer of buttercream, then pipe a border of buttercream around the edges. Fill the middle with about ½ cup of the orange curd.
Place the second layer on top and repeat the above steps. At this point, I would recommend putting it in the freezer for about 20-30 minutes to harden up so the layers don‘t start to fall.
Put the final layer on and frost the rest of the cake as desired.

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