Loading images...
Skip to content

Citrus Cake with Lemon Curd Filling and Orange Lemon Icing (a.k.a. Stella Cake)

 

Those spring Stella McCartney prints we have all been seeing look delicious enough to eat.  So, now you can - in the form of cake…!

I pieced together a couple different recipes so that you get a ton of fresh orange and lemon flavors in every bite.  The two recipes I mainly used as guidance are this Real Simple one and this one from the San Jose Easy Meals Examiner.  I made this cake in two days, baking and preparing everything the first day and then assembling the cake the next.  I also used a 10 inch pan to get more surface area.

What a fashionable little cake, I call her Stella:)

Here are the directions:

Citrus Cake with Lemon Curd Filling and Lemon & Orange Icing

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pans
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus more for the pans
  • grated zest of 2 oranges
  • grated zest of two lemons
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 3 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • Blood oranges*, regular oranges, lemons, limes sliced to arrange on top of the cake
  • fresh mint, also to arrange on top of the cake

Directions

  1. Heat oven to 350°F. Butter two 8″, 9″ or 10″ round cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment, butter again, and dust with flour, tapping out the excess. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
  2. Using a mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.  Mix in the grated zest of the oranges and lemons.  Beat in the vanilla, then the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
  3. Reduce mixer speed to low. Add the flour mixture in 3 additions and the milk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Mix just until combined (don’t over mix).
  4. Divide the batter equally between the prepared cake pans, leveling the top of each with a large spoon or rubber spatula.  Bake until a toothpick from the center of the cake comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes for 8-inch pans, 22 to 25 minutes for 9-inch pans and 20 to 22 minutes for a 10 inch pan.  Cool the cakes in the pans for 15 minutes, then turn out onto racks to cool completely.  (After they cooled, I wrapped and froze my cakes until the next day).

Transfer one of the cooled cakes to a plate and spread with the lemon curd. Top with the remaining cake and refrigerate to set, 30 minutes. Then frost the rest of the cake!

Lemon Curd Filling (adapted from RealSimple)

Ingredients

  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
  • 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
  • pinch salt
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Directions

  1. In a heatproof bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest and juice, and salt. Add the butter. Set the bowl over (not in) a saucepan of simmering water and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture has thickened (like the consistency of mayonnaise), 12 to 15 minutes. UPDATE: the lemon curd could take longer than 15 minutes to thicken up, just keep on whisking, I promise, it will happen.
  2. Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium bowl.  Place a piece of parchment or wax paper directly on the surface of the lemon curd and refrigerate until completely cool, at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.

Fresh Orange Lemon Frosting

Ingredients

  • 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
  • 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
  • 1 pound confectioners’ sugar (about 3 3/4 cups), sifted
  • pinch salt

Directions

  1. Beat the butter and lemon zest on high until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes.  Add the orange juice.  Reduce mixer speed to low. Gradually add the sugar, then the salt, and beat until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.  Ice the cake!  UPDATE:  I covered and refrigerated the icing overnight and then frosted the cake the next day after it thawed on the counter.

*I went to three different stores in order to find blood oranges… since the cakes were already made and I needed to decorate it… I just bought regular oranges and improvised with red food coloring. I’m sorry! I had to do it… I had no idea how unobtainable blood oranges could be!

UPDATE: You can also use grapefruits to sub for the blood oranges.  And, what I will do when I make this cake again, is instead of cutting the fruit in halves, I will drape the whole oranges and limes over the edge of the cake.  It’s easier and will probably look even better.  Also, I had no problem with my fruit running but, just in case, after you slice the fruit, lay the slices on paper towels until you top the cake with them.

This was written by Apollina. Posted on Tuesday, June 14, 2011, at 8:16 am. Filed under Fashion Cakes, Me, Sweets (and some savories). Tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink. Follow comments here with the RSS feed. Post a comment or leave a trackback.

72 Comments

  1. erin wrote:

    I love this! The cake alone is gorgeous and the inspiration is so great! Love, love, love!

    Tuesday, June 14, 2011 at 8:19 pm | Permalink
  2. suzie wrote:

    this is incredible!!!
    it is so beautiful to look at and an amazingly clever idea :)

    Tuesday, June 14, 2011 at 10:32 pm | Permalink
  3. baobabs wrote:

    this is a truly beautiful cake!! and i remember those stella mcCartney ads! lemon curd filling doubles the yum factor!!

    Tuesday, June 14, 2011 at 11:12 pm | Permalink
  4. sara wrote:

    This looks amazing! So, so beautiful! :)

    Wednesday, June 15, 2011 at 2:37 am | Permalink
  5. Suzy Bowlers wrote:

    What a beautiful cake – well done!

    Wednesday, June 15, 2011 at 4:48 am | Permalink
  6. fashion foie gras wrote:

    This is one of the most amazing things we’ve ever seen! What a creative piece. Hope you don’t mind but we’ve decided to spread the good word about your talents…
    http://www.fashionfoiegras.com/2011/06/stella-mccartney-inspired-cake.html

    Wednesday, June 15, 2011 at 9:58 am | Permalink
  7. Lena wrote:

    Just discovered your blog and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! :)

    Wednesday, June 15, 2011 at 12:10 pm | Permalink
  8. Fernanda wrote:

    Just BEAUTIFUL!

    Wednesday, June 15, 2011 at 12:40 pm | Permalink
  9. The Alternative Wife wrote:

    All I want to do is wear that dress while eating that delicious cake! This is fabulous! :)

    And thanks so much for your sweet comment earlier. Made my day

    xoxo
    Dawn

    Wednesday, June 15, 2011 at 3:10 pm | Permalink
  10. Patricia Scarpin wrote:

    That has got to be one of the most beautiful cakes I have ever seen in my life. ;D

    Wednesday, June 15, 2011 at 4:00 pm | Permalink
  11. Shirley wrote:

    This has to be one of the most gorgeous cakes I’ve ever seen. A million thank yous for posting the recipe, I can’t wait to try it!

    Wednesday, June 15, 2011 at 5:37 pm | Permalink
  12. Apollina wrote:

    Thank you Shirley! Let me know how you like it! :)

    Wednesday, June 15, 2011 at 6:12 pm | Permalink
  13. Steph wrote:

    OMG, this cake is so incredibly gorgeous–what an amazing decorating idea!

    Wednesday, June 15, 2011 at 9:24 pm | Permalink
  14. Allison Achauer wrote:

    Just breathtaking! I imagine blood oranges would be impossible to find now – the ones in my yard are only ripe around February or so.

    Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 1:13 am | Permalink
  15. Jessica wrote:

    Wow this is incredibly creative and beautiful. The photography is beautiful and your inspired food art inspires me to be more thoughtful in my cooking! Thank you so much for sharing. How wonderful.

    Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 2:20 am | Permalink
  16. Lindsay wrote:

    Gorgeous citrus

    Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 4:40 am | Permalink
  17. Feast on the Cheap wrote:

    Wow, I literally did not think that was a cake at first glance. Gorgeous

    Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 8:53 am | Permalink
  18. Karen wrote:

    Wow. That’s what I call food styling! Gorgeous.

    Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 9:51 am | Permalink
  19. Linnea wrote:

    Looks beautiful – and tasty

    Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 2:22 pm | Permalink
  20. Karen wrote:

    This looks absolutely fabulous. LOVE.

    Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 2:35 pm | Permalink
  21. Jessi wrote:

    Now that I live away from home and the luxury of my nana’s and aunts baking wonders, I’ve decided to teach myself how to bake my own. Immediately upon seeing this, I decided to make it attempt #2 (#1 is a Gourmet Chocolate-Glazed Tart)…I can’t wait and literally can’t stop staring at this beautiful piece of art!! Thank you for the inspiration (on so many levels)!

    Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 4:51 pm | Permalink
  22. kim wrote:

    i’m guessing your beautiful cake was the reason for lots of activity on my flickr account (“stella cake”), and tiny blog (“stellacake”) yesterday!

    how delicious! what a beautiful cake – well done!

    Friday, June 17, 2011 at 12:17 am | Permalink
  23. Ann wrote:

    This is a BEAUTIFUL cake! Can’t wait to find the perfect occasion this summer to whip it up!

    Friday, June 17, 2011 at 3:03 am | Permalink
  24. Ann wrote:

    This is a beautiful cake! Can’t wait to find the perfect summer occasion to whip it up.

    Friday, June 17, 2011 at 3:04 am | Permalink
  25. Michelle wrote:

    I am making this for myself, for my birthday. Looks amazing, thanks for the recipe!

    Friday, June 17, 2011 at 1:00 pm | Permalink
  26. Apollina wrote:

    Thanks Michelle! Let me know how it turns out and Happy Birthday!!

    Friday, June 17, 2011 at 3:03 pm | Permalink
  27. A Hint wrote:

    I love this Delia meets Chanel cake! It is amazing, bravo to the Chef!

    Sunday, June 19, 2011 at 8:36 am | Permalink
  28. Mimi wrote:

    Decadent and beautiful, I must try it!
    Currently debating whether to try it your way, or to use my own cake & frosting recipes with the same styling. Either way it will be a treat to make. You have inspired me. :)

    Sunday, June 19, 2011 at 12:34 pm | Permalink
  29. Rachel Levit wrote:

    Genius idea! i want to eat it so badly

    Sunday, June 19, 2011 at 4:16 pm | Permalink
  30. Lauren wrote:

    This is stunning!!! I can’t wait to try the recipe.

    Monday, June 20, 2011 at 1:29 pm | Permalink
  31. Adrianna wrote:

    You’re my new favorite find!! I love this cake. It’s gorgeous. Almost too pretty to eat…just almost.

    Monday, June 20, 2011 at 5:09 pm | Permalink
  32. Jaclyn wrote:

    This looks and sounds incredible. I love the photos and the decoration.

    Monday, June 20, 2011 at 9:49 pm | Permalink
  33. Theresa wrote:

    Amazing! My sister just brought a lemon-orange-dress from Primark for me from London (of course Stella-inspired ;) ) and I am thinking about making this cake now!!! So perfect!

    Thank you for this recipe!
    Yours, Theresa (neu4bauer.blogspot.com)

    Tuesday, June 21, 2011 at 12:26 am | Permalink
  34. esther wrote:

    madness, im in love

    Tuesday, June 21, 2011 at 12:49 am | Permalink
  35. Christelle wrote:

    I love that you are soo creative Apollina!!! I am soo excited for all the new opportunities coming your way. Embrace your talents and keep up the beautiful you.

    I love that Stella McCartney Twitted about you.. and the cake you made… woop woop :-)

    I love that you are genuine and humble.
    Much Love to you and much success in all your endeavors.

    Best of best.

    Tuesday, June 21, 2011 at 1:46 am | Permalink
  36. justin wrote:

    This is beautiful, and sounds delicious!
    I wish I were there to eat a piece.

    Tuesday, June 21, 2011 at 7:36 pm | Permalink
  37. Meliss wrote:

    so so clever – looks beautiful and sounds like it would taste divine – it’s edible art!

    Tuesday, June 21, 2011 at 8:43 pm | Permalink
  38. sola wrote:

    such a beautiful cake and a creative idea! i’m addicted to this blog now. thinking of making it for a wedding shower. did you have any issues with the fruit bleeding?

    Thursday, June 23, 2011 at 12:55 pm | Permalink
  39. Cyme wrote:

    Thank you! I made this for my little one’s second birthday this past weekend. All the grandmas and aunts demanded the recipe. It turned out beautiful and was delicious! No luck on the blood oranges since they are out of season, but I thought it was pretty with just the limes, lemons, oranges and mint.

    Friday, June 24, 2011 at 6:18 pm | Permalink
  40. Laura L. Thatcher wrote:

    Oh my goodness, this cake is gorgeous! I can’t wait to try it!

    Tuesday, June 28, 2011 at 6:38 pm | Permalink
  41. azwina wrote:

    Love the simple fruit deco, stylish bright and sassy without trying x

    Friday, July 1, 2011 at 10:55 pm | Permalink
  42. Palace wrote:

    i have officially completed making this cake and I want to thank you SO much for creating this because I do not love anything more than fashion (and stella mccartney)and food xx

    Saturday, July 2, 2011 at 7:07 pm | Permalink
  43. L'orto di Michelle wrote:

    fantastic! It is my post on your cake Stella McCartney: http://lortodimichelle.blogspot.com/2011/07/limoni-arance-un-dolce-alla-moda.html

    Tuesday, July 5, 2011 at 5:08 am | Permalink
  44. GANG AND THE WOOL wrote:

    I like ♥♥♥

    http://gangandthewool.com/2011/citrus-cake-with-lemon-curd-filling-and-orange-lemon-icing/

    Thursday, July 7, 2011 at 4:14 am | Permalink
  45. jenny eats nutella wrote:

    this is stupendous

    Friday, July 8, 2011 at 1:59 pm | Permalink
  46. Samantha Angela wrote:

    Genius! So creative :D

    Tuesday, July 12, 2011 at 2:58 pm | Permalink
  47. Apollina Whitney wrote:

    I found this recipe when I decided to google my name just for fun! :) And I LOVE lemon curd anything, and will be making this cake soon! So double-whammy.

    Friday, July 15, 2011 at 1:00 pm | Permalink
  48. Apollina wrote:

    We have the same name?! Wow, I have never met another Apollina before! It’s nice to meet you Apollina:)

    Friday, July 15, 2011 at 2:50 pm | Permalink
  49. Koko @ KokoLikes.com wrote:

    WOW this is just gorgeous. Truly beautiful, I don’t know if I would be able to eat it!

    Tuesday, July 19, 2011 at 5:34 pm | Permalink
  50. Cari wrote:

    Hi! So I made this cake yesterday and it turned out amazing! There was one catch though:
    For the curd, after standing over a pot of simmering water whisking for (I’m in no way exaggerating) 40 minutes, nothing happened. So I put it directly onto the stove top on med-low heat, whisking voraciously, and had a beautiful curd in minutes.

    I’d submit a picture if I could. Everyone ooed and aahed and it was a big hit!

    Thursday, July 21, 2011 at 12:12 pm | Permalink
  51. Lisa wrote:

    I love the look of the cake. And yes, I want to eat it :)

    Saturday, July 23, 2011 at 9:34 am | Permalink
  52. Katie wrote:

    What a great idea! It’s totally gorgeous!

    Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at 8:01 pm | Permalink
  53. liz ruiz wrote:

    I love this cake. I made it last night, but I didn’t like the frosting. I thought is tasted only like butter. The consistency was of whipped butter. Do you have any suggestions for another option?

    Thanks, Lizzy

    Wednesday, July 27, 2011 at 1:00 pm | Permalink
  54. Apollina wrote:

    Hmmm, maybe try a Lemon Buttercream Frosting. It is lighter and more lemony. You could probably add some orange juice or zest to it too! Let me know what you think!

    Wednesday, July 27, 2011 at 2:55 pm | Permalink
  55. David L. Wheat wrote:

    I linked to this recipe from Anthology Magazine (http://anthologymag.com/), itself recommended to me by GQ magazine. I made the Stella Cake today. It was delicious. In making it again, however, I will boil the lemon curd longer to achieve a stiffer consistency, so that it won’t seep from the sandwiched cake rounds as readily. I will also cut the amount of confectioners’ sugar in the icing; it tasted too much like sugar only; I prefer a creamy, buttery frosting. Additionaly, I altered the recipe to candy the garnishing fruit put atop the cake using this recipe found here: http://butteryum.blogspot.com/2010/05/how-to-make-candied-lemon-slices.html.

    Monday, August 15, 2011 at 12:17 am | Permalink
  56. ICONIC•O wrote:

    We@ICONIC•O love your cake, check out our blog post about it here!:
    http://iconico.nl/wp/archives/1384

    Tuesday, October 18, 2011 at 3:12 pm | Permalink
  57. Camila wrote:

    I totally love this cake!

    Friday, December 2, 2011 at 11:50 pm | Permalink
  58. estelle wrote:

    Such an arty-looking cake! This is applied fashion, my dear, hihi. Congrats :) I will have to try it, too, though ;)

    Friday, December 9, 2011 at 11:08 am | Permalink
  59. Sanjeeda wrote:

    It sure is beautiful, but how does it taste??

    Wednesday, December 14, 2011 at 3:05 pm | Permalink
  60. DM wrote:

    This cake look so beautiful & delish! I am very inspire to bake. Thank you for posting such. It is ending up on my blog. http://dsm-n0w-inthemoment.blogspot.com/

    Saturday, December 17, 2011 at 8:47 am | Permalink
  61. Veronica wrote:

    Beautiful cake. I’m totally inspired by it and want to make one too. :)

    Friday, February 24, 2012 at 1:59 am | Permalink
  62. Apollina wrote:

    Thank you so much Veronica!

    Friday, February 24, 2012 at 9:01 am | Permalink
  63. Melissa Abercrombie wrote:

    Just finished making this cake for a friend’s birthday tonight~ absolutely beautiful! I can’t believe how wonderfully every step turned out~ as rich as rich could be! Thank you so very much for this beautiful gift for my friend!

    Saturday, March 3, 2012 at 2:18 pm | Permalink
  64. Apollina wrote:

    How wonderful! You’re so very welcome:) And Happy Birthday to your friend!

    Saturday, March 3, 2012 at 2:30 pm | Permalink
  65. Halle wrote:

    I’m in love. 100%. A cake that is equivalent to fashion? Yes, please! I’m going to [try] to make this for my get-together next weekend!

    Sunday, March 4, 2012 at 3:40 pm | Permalink
  66. Michelle wrote:

    Just came across your blog via this cake on Pinterest – I absolutely love the fashion-inspired cakes and this one is stunning. So clever and keep it up!

    Sunday, March 11, 2012 at 11:38 am | Permalink
  67. Carrie wrote:

    I love your fashion cakes.

    Tuesday, March 13, 2012 at 5:04 pm | Permalink
  68. Sarah wrote:

    Oh. My. Goodness. I think I’ve just found my birthday cake!! You’ve no idea how hard it was to find a cake that I really wanted to bake for my birthday as well as impress! This is FANTASTIC! I loved it from the moment I saw it! You’ve got yourself another devotee. Thank you :)

    Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 6:35 pm | Permalink
  69. Melissa wrote:

    I just made a cake similar to this one for my dad for Father’s day. It got lots of oohs and ahhs! Thanks for the gorgeous inspiration!

    Sunday, June 17, 2012 at 9:35 pm | Permalink
  70. Krystyn wrote:

    Oh wowzers! This looks so zesty and refreshing. I love it and I’m going to try it this summer. Thanks!
    -Krystyn

    Thursday, June 28, 2012 at 11:09 am | Permalink
  71. caroline wrote:

    This is such a beautiful cake, I have a serious case of cake envy.
    Thank you for sharing!

    Wednesday, October 24, 2012 at 12:28 pm | Permalink
  72. grayskey wrote:

    oh a vegan version of this cake would be wonderful … and more appropriate for Stella who is vegan :)

    Friday, December 28, 2012 at 2:13 pm | Permalink

One Trackback/Pingback

  1. Woodward Design > beautifully delicate cakes on Wednesday, June 15, 2011 at 6:52 pm

    [...] Stella McCartney Cake (cake and fashion in one!!) on Apollinas [...]

Post a Comment

Your email is never published nor shared. Required fields are marked *
*
*